February 27- March 3
With the Tommy Bahama Open CSI-W taking place
February 27-March 3, the second last jumping competition in Florida
for Las Marismas was proving beneficial to the horses as well to
Yvonne. Again Mondriaan Las Marismas had no more than two rails
in the Low Amateur-Owners and Jilou Las Marismas and Maretty Las
Marismas remained in the Medium Amateur division. The highlight
was Maretty Las Marismas' 8th place finish in one class where they
had the time in the jump off but incurred four faults.
February 20-24
In the ZADA Wellington Masters CSI-A, Yvonne
Losos de Muniz moved into the Medium Amateur-Owner Jumpers with
Maretty Las Marismas and Jilou Las Marismas, a scopey mare who is
gaining a lot of attention, while Mondriaan Las Marismas remained
in the Low Division. In classes of dozens of competitors, fast and
clean is the only way to get a prize. Yet for Las Marismas, Florida
is more of a training camp for the new jumpers whose results were
no worse than eight faults all week. The best and most satisfying
result was Jilou Las Marismas' clean and conservative round for
10th place in the Medium Amateur speed class.
February 14-17
_small.jpg) |
Yvonne and Inatana Las Marismas
|
Rain hampered much of the competition during
the 2002 ZADA Enterprise Wellington Dressage Classic, February 14-17,
including cancellation of the Grand Prix Special on Saturday. A
little rain, however, didn't dampen the spirits of Las Marismas'
riders who came to Florida to train, gain experience and prepare
for the remaining dressage shows in 2002, including the FEI Championships
of the Americas in July.
In Diana Ramos de Tejeda's last Florida competition,
she and trainer Diederick Wigmans were very satisfied with her results
with Arabella, the mare who she has only ridden two days before
each of the three dressage competitions since she was purchased
at the end of 2001. Riding Third Level this weekend, Diana warmed
up with 62.8% in Test 1, good for 10th place. Test 2 rode better
for the pair who finished 5th with 65%. The satisfying finale was
a 4th place finish in Test 3 with 59.7%. A tough class, the winner
Ashley Holzer had just 63.4%.
With veterinarian studies taking precedence
for Georgie Fernandez this weekend, Diana got a little more mileage
in the ring with Gerogie's new mount Hulster Las Marismas. In Third
Level, Test 1 they rode a nice test to finish with 62% while in
Test 2, they managed a 53%.
New horses and new levels didn't rattle Yvonne
Losos de Muniz. With Donaldson Las Marismas moving into Fourth Level,
they rode Test 1 confidently for 63.8% and 6th place. He finished
the weekend after taking 3rd in Test 2 with a score of 61.7%. With
scores of 62.3% and 59.2% in Prix St. Georges for Inatana Las Marismas
and Lando Lee Las Marismas, Yvonne felt confident in the horses'
readiness to try Intermediare I. In a class of 22, Inatana Las Marismas
scored 63.3% which put her in 8th position, while Lando Lee Las
Marismas received a 58.9% and 19th place for his efforts.
February 14-17
Las Marismas' Dutch stallion Littus Las
Marismas continued his European tour with Dutch Team rider Emile
Hendrix in Vigo CSI-W, February 14-17. Their top results included
a clean round in a time of 60.20 in a 1.35m Table A class.
Las Marismas was ecstatic with the result that
put them ninth out of 47. The highlight of Vigo CSI-W was Hendrix
and Littus Las Marismas' third place finish in the Six Bar Competition
on February 16 behind Urs Fah riding As Oxytetra and Franke Sloothaak
and Gio Granno. After going clean through the line of six jumps
four times already, Littus Las Marismas knocked only one rail in
the fourth jump off round. Their efforts tied them for third place
with Eric Navet and Ella du Moulin II.
February 6-10
Las Marismas' show jumpers took part in the
Kilkenny International CSI-A, February 6-10, in Wellington, FL,
with Yvonne Losos de Muniz competing all three mounts in the Amateur-Owner
Division. With an unlucky rail in each class, the highlight of the
show was Yvonne and Maretty Las Marismas' fourth place finish in
the $10,000 Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. Maretty Las Marismas,
still fussing with her head while on course, is beginning to trust
the guidance of her new rider after only one month together.
February 7-10
Emile Hendrix, a member of the Dutch Show Jumping
Team, has included Las Marismas' nine-year-old grey Dutch stallion
Littus Las Marismas (Concorde x Ramiro) in his string of Grand Prix
jumpers. In their first competitions together the pair had very
good results. Competing February 9 at Bordeaux CSI-W against the
top riders in Europe such as Patrice Delaveau, Marcus Ehning and
Wout-Jan Van der Schans who finished first, second and third respectively,
Hendrix guided Littus Las Marismas conservatively around the 1.40m
Table A course after incurring four faults mid way. With only one
rail the pair finished 20 out of 32. On February 10 Hendrix and
Littus Las Marismas teamed with Van der Schans and his horse Loreas
for the 1.40m Bordeaux Relay. In a combined time of 113.96, they
finished ninth out of 13 teams. Michael and John Whitaker wasted
no time on course and with 102.75, two seconds faster than the second
place finishers, they were the decided winners.
February 2
 |
Yvonne and Maretty Las Marismas
|
For the tenth year in a row Windsome Farm sponsored
the $25,000 Dressage/Jumper Spectacular at the Wellington Dressage
Show, held in conjunction with the Gold Coast Jumper Classic. The
event teams one dressage and one jumper rider together with each
rider performing the other's discipline. The jumper riders rode
a Third Level, Test 3 test, while the dressage riders jumped a "Hit
and Hurry" course set at a 1.10m.
Eleven teams participated and it was Las Marismas'
Yvonne Losos and Laura Kraut's student Jessica Saalsfield who narrowly
missed knocking the team of four-time Olympian Ann Kursinski and
Grand Prix dressage rider Bent Jensen from the winners circle, a
honour bestowed upon them for the fourth year in a row.
Jessica rode Hulster Las Marismas to a score
of 66.095 in the dressage phase, good for third place points, while
Yvonne and Maretty Las Marismas finished the jumping phase with
a score of 25, good for second place points.
Their combined score of 21 put Jessica and Yvonne
in a tie with Michael Godfrey and Albena Konstantinova and only
one point behind the winners.
January 31 - February 3
 |
Yvonne and Mondriaan Las Marismas
|
It was a weekend of subtle introductions as
Las Marismas riders Yvonne Losos de Muniz, Diana Ramos and Georgie
Fernandez took to the competition ring for the first time with their
new mounts.
Diana and Arabella's top scores included an
eighth place with 64% in Third Level, Test 1, fourth place with
65% in Second Level, Test 2 and fourth place with 63% in Second
Level, Test 4. Georgie Fernandez and Hulster Las Marismas got acquainted
by experimenting in Prix St. Georges and Fourth Level. They finished
with respectable scores in the mid 50s.
Yvonne had a satisfying weekend as well. She
and Lando Lee Las Marismas finished with 61% in Prix St. Georges
and were extremely pleased with a 61% in their very first Intermediare
1 test together. The highlight for Yvonne was competing for the
first time on her new mare, the stunning Inatana Las Marismas. They
took third place on three occasions: 63.6% in Prix St. Georges;
67.5% in Fourth Level, Test 2 and 67.9% in Fourth Level, Test 3.
It was a busy week for Las Marismas as Yvonne
competed not only in the dressage ring but also in the show jumping
ring. With trainer Laura Kraut inspiring her students to ride well
and ride competitively, Yvonne felt at ease although Las Marismas
was debuting a couple of new jumpers recently competing under Dutch
Team rider, Emile Hendrix. The shining star is Jilou Las Marismas
who confidently sailed around the High Preliminaries (1.40) fault-free
with Laura. Their efforts were awarded with a third place ribbon.
In the Low Prelims (1.30m) Yvonne had only four
faults aboard Maretty Las Marismas, the other new jumper from Stal
Hendrix, and just eight faults with Mondriann Las Marismas, a young
gelding acquired in 2001. On the weekend Yvonne took the horses
in the Low Amateur Owners (1.30m) and consistently placed in the
top 20% in a field of more than 80 entries. On the Saturday she
was clean with Jilou Las Marismas, had four with Mondriann Las Marismas
and eight faults with Maretty Las Marismas. Sunday turned out to
be an exceptional close to the first jumping competition of the
season with the new horses. With only one rail each for Jilou Las
Marismas and Mondriann Las Marismas in the first round, Yvonne and
Maretty Las Marismas finished double clean for seventh place out
of 83 entries.
Photos courtesty of
Cealy
Tetley and Betty
Cooper

|