Wellington, Fla. – March 17, 2017 – Canadian young rider Vanessa Creech-Terauds, 17, and Fleur de Lis L, an 8-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Leatherdale Farms, topped the competitive field of riders in Friday’s FEI Young Rider Team Test at the Florida International Youth Dressage Championships. The Florida International Youth Dressage Championships will be the pair’s last show to wrap up the 2017 season in Wellington, and Fleur de Lis L went out with a bang earning a 70.5 percent.
“Fleur felt amazing today!” Creech-Terauds said. “She was very focused, and you could tell she was very happy after our ride. I gave her big pats for being so super.”
“She was very powerful today and I think that really showed through,” Creech-Terauds explained. “We took a couple more chances today — I asked for more power in the extensions and the canter. Our changes were really good, and we did some of the best pirouettes we’ve ever done. She really always stays with me in the ring and that’s what I love.”
Though this is Fleur de Lis L’s first season competing in the Young Rider division, the pair had success in 2016 when they represented the Canadian Junior Team with standout rides at the Adequan®/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships. They earned individual silver medals for both their Junior Individual test, scoring a 70.184 percent, and their Junior Freestyle, scoring a 70.55 percent in Colorado.
“She is a chestnut mare, but once I bonded with her it has been amazing,” Creech-Terauds laughed. “I really feel that bond with her and we’re so close. Once we are focused and in sync with each other, it’s the best feeling in the world.”
“I’d love to thank Louise Leatherdale for helping me and supporting me through all of this,” she continued. “It’s amazing that Fleur is one of her homebred horses by her stallion First Dance, who is in Kentucky. She’s seen Fleur come up the ranks and really prove herself in the show ring, which is so exciting. I’m really grateful to her!”
Creech-Terauds and Fleur de Lis L will head home for the Canadian tour season, and hope to compete in the Adequan®/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships over the summer.
American rider Bebe Davis and Fiderhit OLD, a 9-year-old Oldenburg mare, took second place with a 69.816 percent. Davis was proud of the mare’s performance in the ring and their progression in the four short months of working together.
“I’m just so proud of her progress,” Davis said. “How much she’s changed even from two weeks ago to now just makes really happy.
“I think my test was really harmonious, which was something we were definitely working towards,” she explained. “She’s a little bit on the hotter side, so just getting her to relax and enjoy her time in the arena was really a big goal for us. Our trot work was much more harmonious than it was in our last show.”
Looking forward, Davis hopes to go to Europe again in the near future. “Europe was an awesome experience last year. I’d love to go to North Americans in Saugerties, and hopefully Festival of Champions again in August at Lamplight.”
Rounding out the top three was Canadian rider Camille Carier Bergeron and Expression, a 12-year-old Westphalian gelding, with a 69.316 percent.
Competition will resume on Saturday, March 18 at 8:30 a.m. with the FEI Young Rider Individual CDIY in the Van Kampen arena.
Results: FEI Young Rider Team Test
Rider/Country/Horse/Total Score
1. Vanessa Creech-Terauds/CAN/Fleur de Lis L/70.500
2. Bebe Davis/USA/Fiderhit OLD/69.816
3. Camille Carier Bergeron/CAN/Expression/69.316
4. Codi Harrison/USA/Katholt’s Bossco/67.368
5. Lauren Asher/USA/Honnerups Event/67.316
6. Emily Smith/USA/Dublin/66.237
7. Cassie Schmidt/USA/Monet 30/64.895
8. Cassie Schmidt/USA/Diego/64.368
9. Isabelle Thompson/USA/Denzel BC/64.184
10. Sophia Schults/USA/Farley 4/63.868
11. Robert Leuck/USA/Macciato/63.421
12. Yanina Woywitka/CAN/R’myattack/63.368
