Canadian Sharon Merkel-Beattie Win Grand Prix Special at CDI Burbank

Ottawa, ON — Sharon Merkel-Beattie of Sturgeon County, AB, won the Grand Prix Special at the CDI 3* Y/J  Burbank Mid Winter Dressage, held February 26–28, 2010, at Los
Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, CA.

Riding Essence of Glory (Evergreen x PB Goodwill), a 14-year-old Canadian-bred Hanoverian mare co-owned by Merkel-Beattie and Donna Scott, the duo scored
64.042% for the win.

“I was really proud of Essence of Glory. She was steady and attentive. The special is a good test for us, and I was very happy with how the trot portion of the
test progressed as it really flowed. We had some very nice moments in our
piaffe-passage tour and were rewarded by the judges,” said Merkel-Beattie. “I
am training with Dirk Glitz at Yarra Yarra Ranch in Pleasanton, California. His
help has been invaluable and I look forward to the next month of training.”

Lorraine Chappell of Aldergrove, BC, and her horse Carpatino (Carpaccio x Coriolan), a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding, placed third in the Grand Prix Special.

In the Grand Prix test, Wendy Christoff of Delta, BC, riding Pfalstaff, her 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding sired by Palladium, finished in third, scoring 65.149%, just behind Untied States
Olympic Medalist Guenter Seidel and US Pan Am Games Medalist Jan Ebeling. Merkel-Beattie and
Essence of Glory earned a score of 64.298% for fourth place. Christoff and
Pfalstaff went on to place second in the Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of
65.650%

“It was a fun show and the weather made for very interesting riding and competing. On Friday the weather was good and we rode outside in the assigned arenas, but
Friday night a huge storm came through dumping two to three inches of rain and
hail during the next 24 hours,”
said Christoff. “My horse was very good on Friday in the Grand Prix. The entire
competition was moved indoors, and I thought he handled the spooky environment
very well. I was very pleased with him in his freestyle on Sunday. I am looking
forward to competing again in Del Mar as he is getting better with each show.”

Ashleigh Luca-Tyson, a Canadian who currently resides in Phoenix, AZ, and Uniek (Gribaldi x Haarlem), a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare owned by Luca-Tyson
and Sally Williams, finished in fifth in the Intermediaire I test. In sixth
place was Lindsey Stroh of Camrose, AB, and Lancelot, a 10-year-old Danish
Warmblood gelding sired by Lobster and owned by Vickie Argals. Travolta, a
10-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding sired by Olympic Ferro, owned and ridden
by Joni Lynn Peters rounded out the Canadian entries in seventh spot. Peters
and Travolta also won the Intermediaire Freestyle.

Luca-Tyson and Uniek finished in fifth, with a score of 64.123%, in the Prix St. Georges test. Peters and Travolta were sixth and Stroh and Lancelot earned eighth
place.

Young rider Jennifer Wood of Nanoose Bay, BC, and her horse Mister (Corleone x Wisconsin), a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, finished third in both the
Young Riders Team and Individual tests.

The international judging panel included Canadians Cara Whitham (FEI O), Lorraine Macdonald (FEI I) along with Dr. Jean-Michel Roudier (FEI O—FRA), Mary Seefried (FEI O— AUS) and  Jane Weatherwax (FEI I—USA).