Canadians score top results in the CDI Ginny Rattner Memorial in Oregon
Founded by Justin and Ginny Rattner in 1998 on over 40 acres in the US Pacific Northwest, DevonWood is an internationally recognized, park-like equestrian venue which hosts dressage, eventing, vaulting, and other competitions year-round. Ginny’s long held dream was to host an FEI CDI event. Sadly, she passed away in 2013 following a battle with cancer. This past weekend, 10 years later, her son Noah and husband Justin made those dreams come true.
At the inaugural Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Ginny Rattner Memorial CDI3* at the Devonwood Equestrian Centre in Sherwood, Oregon from June 1 – 4, Canadian Pia Fortmüller made her season debut with notable results.
Aboard Frieda (Fuerstenball Old x Rouletto), a 12-year-old Hanoverian mare she co-owns with Lars Busch, Fortmüller scored a 69.109% for the win in the CDI 3* Grand Prix. Two days later, the Foothills, AB, native and Frieda again topped the leaderboard by dancing their way to a 68.106% in the CDI 3* Grand Prix Special.
In the CDI 3* Grand Prix Freestyle, Rochelle Kilberg of Surrey, BC, took home the winning ribbon. Riding her own Florentino, a 13-year-old Dutch warmblood gelding, the pair set a personal best with a score of 70.295% over USA’s Paige Ruhl and Yatzee FPF, who finished with a score of 66.735%.
Claire Robinson of Edmonton, AB, collected a pair of personal bests while aboard Glamour Boy (Bojengel x Jazz), a 12-year-old Dutch warmblood gelding owned by Carol Robinson. In the CDI U25 Intermediate II, the pair scored 68.765% and two days later in the CDI U25 Grand Prix Freestyle, the duo finished with a score of 69.420%.
Other notable performances of athletes vying for a qualification for the Pan American Games later this year:
Gloria Schriever of Langley, BC, aboard her own Hilton, sired by Totilas, an 11-year-old Portuguese Sport Horse gelding, finished in second place in the CDI 1* Prix St-Georges with a score of 68.853%.
Lindsay Seidel-Wassenaar of Bluffton, AB, and her own Gaga, a 12-year-old Dutch warmblood mare, finished with a score of 68.088% in CDI 1* Intermediate I and 71.040% in the Intermediate I Freestyle to Music.
Dominique Buckland of Langley, BC, aboard Spangkaergaards Romulus (Romanov x De Noir 3), a 14-year-old Danish warmblood gelding she co-owns with Gary Buckland, posted a score of 68.088% in the CDI 1* Intermediate I and an impressive 72.610% in the CDI 1* Intermediate Freestyle to Music.
Shelley Lawder of Langley, BC, and Balancee, a nine-year-old Westphalian mare she co-owns with Molly Brewer, finished with a score of 68.294% in the CDI 1* Intermediate I.
For more information on the Ginny Rattner Memorial CDI event, please click here.
History and Hard Work Pay Off for Barisoff and Quincy in DIHP Canadian Hunter Derby 3’6”
By: Thunderbird Show Park
Patience paid off on Saturday, June 3 for Mariah Barisoff, who topped the $3,000 DIHP Canadian Hunter Derby 3’6” Open with her horse Quincy at Thunderbird Show Park’s Odlum Brown BC Open, finishing on a score of 102.
The winning pair know each other well but were light on recent experience. A recent nursing school graduate, Barisoff was making her 3’6” hunter derby debut; it was also her first show back after taking time off for school. She purchased Quincy as a green five-year-old in 2015, but the pair hasn’t competed a full season since 2019, when they ended the year making the trip to Toronto for The Royal Winter Fair and CET Medal Finals.
Photo Credit: Quinn Saunders
“This was our first show back at Thunderbird in my hometown, and this derby meant a lot to me,” Barisoff said. “I was quite nervous going in; we’ve been knocking the rust off a bit all week, and I was just hoping for a smooth round.”
Her trainer Eliza Hunt attributed Barisoff’s success to extra time the rider had been putting into her preparation, improving the quality of her warm-up and hacking her horse in the mornings before competition.
“He’s a cheeky fella,” laughed Barisoff. “I’d describe him as a bit of a ‘jock.’ He knows he’s good at his job, and he doesn’t really want to practice. And because he’s an exuberant horse, he’s a very good jumper. But he keeps me humble. Even though you have a great round today, tomorrow might not be the same. He keeps me on my toes.”
Riding is in Barisoff’s blood. Her mother is a barrel racer and still competes today. “I have a barn of Quarter Horses at home — Quincy is my only warmblood,” she continued. “So, he lives at home with a barn full of rodeo horses! And me and my mom go through it together. We both take our flat lessons, and we go to our separate worlds. I love it.”