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Monday, March 24, 2008

Winter Equestrian Festival Zada Dressage at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center

It’s Been a Good Winter Season for Cathy Morelli

Cathy Morelli and BeSe certainly have been enjoying a good season this winter. The pair unveiled a new freestyle just last month at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby and finished fourth in the Grand Prix Freestyle. Not bad, Morelli said, for the first time out. “I have to give some credit to Yvonne Barteau. She came down to Florida the week before the Derby and helped me with the music and choreography.” In exchange, Morelli has helped coach Barteau and her daughter Kassandra, who racked up around a dozen wins at the Derby.
PhelpsPhoto: Jusdge Stephen Clarke congratulates Cathy Morelli and BeSe

Morelli also gives credit for her good show season to her partner, BeSe, who, she said, “feels fantastic.” Despite his tremendous talent, Morelli said he’s not been the easiest of horses over the years. “He’s a horse I could never push too fast because he’s very sensitive and he could be volatile. So, I’ve always had to take things at his pace. It was always difficult to know just how much to push and when not to push. I think he’s one of the most difficult horses I’ve ever had to ride in that sense.”

A humble person, Morelli is quick to point out that her success hasn’t entirely been on her own. “I have a great crew helping me.” That crew includes her barn manager, her clients, friends and her students. And it wasn’t just in the Grand Prix ring that Morelli showed success this past weekend at the WEF Zada Dressage show. With the five-year-old mare BW Callista, owned by Leslie Valente, Morelli earned blue ribbons at First Level.

And, her working student, Jennifer Griger, collected blue ribbons with Leopold, a Holsteiner gelding owned by Darenda Sheridan. “She won all her classes,” Morelli said.

One thing Morelli also has is luck. She finished all her rides just 30 minutes before the start of the pouring rain that caused Saturday evening’s Grand Prix Freestyle to be postponed to Sunday. The eventual winner of the Freestyle was Ashley Holzer with Pop Art with a score of 76.80 percent. And, just as in Thursday’s CDI Grand Prix, right behind Holzer was fellow Canadian Jacqueline Brooks with Gran Gesto and a score of 72.20 percent. Winner of the Intermediaire Freestyle was Marco Bernal with Halbgott and a score of 68.20 percent. Second was Simone Williams and Wunder Ein with 67.90 percent.