Matthew Johnson and Petersborg's Qasanova  (Karl-Heinz Frieler)

Verden, Germany - The Five-year-old Championship of the 2014 FEI World Breeding Championships for Dressage Young Horses continued on Friday in the WM Arena. Matthew Johnson and Petersborg's Qasanova performed once again on the international stage as the sole U.S. representative, earning a 12th-place finish in the Small Final for Five-year-old Championship, the second qualifying opportunity for the Final.  

Johnson (Lake Worth, Fla.) rode Petersborg's Qasanova (Quaterback x Kajana I/Calypso II) to an overall score of 7.52, an improvement from Thursday, from the Ground Jury of Ghislain Fourage, Andrew-Ralph Gardner, Kurt Christensen, and Dr. Dietrich Plew. The Danish Warmblood stallion earned the highest trot score of the class with a 9.3, as well as received an impressive 8.8 for his canter mark. He received 7.5 for his rideability and 7.0 for his final impression, though the electric environment created tension in his walk, resulting in a walk score of 5.0 and preventing him and Johnson from being higher up on the scoreboard. The pair gained valuable experience on the world stage with much positive feedback on the talent of the combination for the future. 
 

The Netherlands's Emmelie Scholtens and Estoril 17 were the winners of Friday's Five-year-old Test with a score of 8.40. 

To learn more about the 2014 FEI World Breeding Championships for Dressage Young Horses, visit http://www.wbfsh.org/GB/WBYHC.aspx.