Tina Irwin Sets 2017 Small Tour Record at Adequan Global Dressage Festival 7

Canadian dressage athlete, Tina Irwin of Stouffville, ON earned the world’s highest small tour score on record for 2017 during week seven of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF), held Feb. 23-26, 2017 in Wellington, FL.

Tina’s remarkable ride took place Feb. 26 in the CDI 1* FEI Intermediate I Freestyle aboard Laurencio (Laurentio x Donerhall), a 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding she co-owns with her husband, Jaimey. Despite a power outage that stopped their music and forced a re-start, Tina and Laurencio kept their composure to earn the record-breaking score of 78.708%.

“This was Laurencio's first show of the season since Devon of last year, and I was very happy with the outcome,” said Tina, a 2011 Pan American Games team silver medalist. “I felt a bit rusty with him on the first day of competition, but then we made our comeback the following two days. He really rose to the occasion for our freestyle on Sunday. I was extremely happy with our performance. I think our highlights are the degree of difficulty, and how well the music fits to him.”

Jaimey also had an impressive test in the Freestyle. Partnered with Donegal V (Johnson x Gribaldi), a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Team Irwin Supporters Group, he scored 75.625% to claim third place. Together, Jaimey and Donegal V also captured two other top results during week seven, finishing second in both the CDI 1* FEI Prix St. Georges and the CDI 1*FEI Intermediate I with scores of 70.482% and 74.123%, respectively. Hot on his heels, Tina finished third in both classes, earning marks of 69.781% and 73.860% with Laurencio.

"It is great competing together with Jaimey,” Tina explained. “I am happy for him when he does well and vice versa. I may be a bit more competitive than him though, so when he gets ahead of me it pushes me to be better and go for it. It helps to both be competing at the same level, as we can really relate to one another and talk about our rides and horses together - which helps make us better. The only time it hinders us is when we ride back-to-back and can't help each other. Then I have my mother there to be my eyes on the ground and she is always a confidence builder.”

Fellow Canadian, Jill Irving of Moncton, NB, did the maple leaf proud in the big tour when she and Arthur (Jazz x Contango), a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Windhaven, earned a third place finish with 68.059% in the CDI-W FEI Grand Prix Special on Feb. 25.

Representing Canada in the FEI Under 25 (U25) division was Mathilde Blais-Tetreault of Montreal, QC. Riding Utah (Jazz x Landwind II B), her 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, she brought home a second place finish in the FEI U25 Grand Prix Freestyle, earning 67.00% from the judges.

In the FEI Young Rider division, Vanessa Creech-Terauds of Caistor Centre, ON, topped the leaderboard in the Team class with a score of 69.167% riding Fleur de Lis L (First Dance x De Niro), an eight-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Diane Creech and Louise Leatherdale. The pair also finished second in the Individual and Freestyle classes, after earning marks of 68.158% and 71.250%. Toronto’s Alexandra Mehhji rode to a third-place finish (70.000%) in the Freestyle aboard Rigo (Rotspon x Weltmeyer), a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Diana Belevsky.

Ava MacCoubrey of Coburg, ON, was the top-placed Canadian in the FEI Junior division. She and Pablo (Cordial Medoc x Voltaire), a 20-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Lori Bell, finished second in the Team class with 68.874%. Riding Ritter Benno (Rolls Royce x Weinberg), she earned another second-place finish, this time in the Individual class, after scoring 69.184%. MacCoubrey and the 16-year-old Westphalian gelding, owned by Nicholas Hansen, also brought home third in the Freestyle with a final mark of 70.375%.

In the FEI Young Horse 6 Year Old division, Pia Fortmuller from Priddis, AB earned back-to-back wins aboard Frieda (Furstenball x Rouletto), an up-and-coming Hanoverian mare she co-owns with Lars Busch. On Feb. 25, the duo earned a score of 85.400% in the FEI Preliminary Young Horse Test for 6 Year Olds. They followed up with a score of 85.000% in the FEI Young Horse Test for 6 Year Olds – Final on Feb. 26.

Competition continues at the AGDF until mid-march, with the next CDI competition taking place March 2-5. For more information and complete results, visit http://gdf.coth.com .