Del Mar National 05

Del Mar National, April 26-29, 2005
In the CDI division, Donna and Domino were awarded the “best dressed” award for their immaculate turnout in the jog. A $500 gift certificate from Performance Saddlery will buy a lot of nice, new tack. Domino also did well in his classes, placing ninth in the Prix St George with a 64.75%. He was fourth in the Intermediate I with 66.5%, just behind Olympians Stefan Peters and Debbie McDonald. Domino was spectacular in his trot work in the Intermediate Freestyle, but some very impressive airs above the ground in the canter (caused by the 10,000 people celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the Fairgrounds) dropped him to seventh.
Skyler Evans rode Jazzman to second place in the Young Riders Team Test. There was some disagreement between the judges, with Jeanne McDonald scoring her first with a 68 but Sarah Geike only seeing her fourth with a 63%. Both judges really like her freestyle however, scoring her at 72.18%. But once again she was second to last year NAYRC team gold medallists Dani Judy and Antaeus.
In the national levels, Katy Barglow rode Martha Brown’s Valentine to two firsts and a third in the first level classes. She probably would have also won the stake, but got caught in a 3 hour Cinco de Mayo traffic jam and missed the class. Next year, we hope the Del Mar show won’t be on the May 5th weekend!