Sunday February 20, 2005

Saturday Was the Day for Repeat Performances at the Florida Dressage Classic

Gibson and Lex Barker Undefeatable

Many of the prior day’s winners proved their consistency today in day three of the Zada Enterprises, LLC Florida Dressage Classic. A favorite among today’s repeat performances was Olympian, Michelle Gibson riding Lex Barker owned by Scott Vehner and Mike Benneny of Elite European Sport Horse, Inc.

Today Gibson and Lex Barker (Longchamp x Werther) won the $1000 FEI Intermediaire-I with a score of 69.250%, a slight increase over their winning score of 69.000% in yesterday’s Prix St. Georges. “He’s a cool horse,” explained Gibson, “He is relatively inexperienced, as he hasn’t shown a lot but he’s matured a lot and I’m really pleased with how he’s going.”

Gibson credits her success with the big gelding to the team effort at Elite European Sport Horse. “Scott and Mike are fantastic and we all have a great relationship. It’s a real team effort,” said Gibson. When asked about Lex Barker’s strong points, Gibson stated matter-of-factly, “He’s good at every thing. His lateral work is very good. He can sit for the pirouettes and push off for nice extensions.”

The judge’s scores over the past two days reflect their agreement with Gibson’s assessment! Another very consistent pair, Ashley Holzer and Pop Art came in second to Gibson with a score of 68.875%, followed by Karen Lipp on Lipton with a score of 66.375%.