Leatherdale Farms Concludes Successful Wellington Season

Wellington, Fla. – April 6, 2018 – Throughout the 2018 Adequan Global Dressage Festival [AGDF], Leatherdale Farms performance horses earned top scores and wrapped up the final few weeks of competition with strong performances in both the international and national arenas. Grand Prix dressage riders Diane Creech and her daughter Vanessa Creech-Terauds rode five Leatherdale Farms horses during the last three weeks of competition in Florida to finish out the AGDF season on a high note.

During AGDF 10, Creech-Terauds competed two horses in the CDI arena for the Florida International Youth Dressage Championships. She rode both Fleur de Lis L and Rob Roy in the young rider division and had great scores and placings all around. Her top mount, Fleur de Lis L, a 9-year-old Hanoverian mare (First Dance-EM De La Rosa, De Niro) received consistent scores and placed in the top five all weekend long. In the Young Rider Team test, the mare earned a score of 69.412 percent for fifth place, a score of 67.892 percent in the Young Rider Individual class for third place and a score of 70.417 for third place in the Young Rider freestyle. To conclude the prestigious championship, Fleur de Lis L was awarded the Reserve Champion title in the Young Rider division.

Vanessa Creech-Terauds and Fleur de Lis L

"I was so happy with Fleur and our overall ranking, especially after winning the division last year. I can’t complain about finishing in second!” Creech-Terauds said. “All three tests I was very pleased with. Fleur is so comfortable in this ring now that I’m able to really ride her and not worry about what she’s thinking of the atmosphere. I thought our freestyle was our best ride this weekend, so I’m happy to end on a high note.”

Rob Roy, a 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Rubin Royal-SPS Glory Dream, Glorieux), and Creech-Terauds have a long competition history together, and their partnership showed during the youth championships. The pair earned a score of 66.912 percent in the Young Rider Team test and a score of 66.422 percent in the Young Rider Individual.

“I’m so proud of Rob Roy,” Creech-Terauds explained. “The first day in the covered arena he was a little excited – he was just so ready to show everyone what he could do, but he does try to listen to me when he’s excited so it’s too bad we had a couple mistakes. The next day was much better and I’m happy with how comfortable he was in the stadium for it only being his second time in there. This horse can do no wrong in my eyes, so I’m so happy with him.”

Joining her daughter in the CDI ring, Creech competed Chrevis Christo in the CDI3* Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. The 15-year-old Danish Warmblood (Chrevis Cavallo-Chrevis La VI, Matador) has continued to improve throughout the season and earned high scores in his classes. In the Grand Prix, the pair earned a score of 69.978 percent and placed fourth, and in the Grand Prix Special, they were awarded a score of 67.319 percent.

“Christo is such an amazing horse,” Creech exclaimed. “He’s developing and becoming more and more consistent. He’s improving a lot – he can do all the movements, they are no problem for him. He’s very elastic and he swings through his body so well. He’s working towards finding more confidence, but he’s always trying. He’s a really nice horse.”

The two riders also took advantage of the national show during Week 9 to add to their progress with two talented geldings by His Highness. Creech continued to show Hallmark 3, a 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding (His Highness-Lapislazuly, Laucier) in the big tour and saw great improvement with top placings in his open classes. In the Grand Prix, Hallmark 3 earned a score of 69.13 percent to claim a first place ribbon and continued to impress in the Grand Prix Special, earning a score of 70.957 percent to secure second place.

Developing her new partnership with Harley L, a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding (His Highness-MS Eileen, Expri), Creech-Terauds showed much improvement in the Young Rider division. The pair placed third in a very competitive Young Rider Team Test and in the Young Rider Individual Test they rode to a score of 68.824 percent from the judges’ panel.

After taking a short break during the eleventh week to train, both Creech and Creech-Terauds were selected to represent Team Canada in the Week 12 Nations Cup aboard Leatherdale horses. Creech-Terauds represented Canada in the Under-25 division aboard Devon L, while her mother rode on the senior team in the CDIO3* with Chrevis Christo, earning standout scores of 68.565 percent in the Grand Prix, 65.979 percent in the Grand Prix Special and 65.325 percent in the Grand Prix freestyle. Their scores helped Team Canada win a silver medal in the team competition, beating competitors Team Spain and Team Australia.

“I’m very proud to have represented my country in the CIDO3* Nations Cup,” Creech continued. “It was a great event and I can’t thank Louise Leatherdale enough for her support – she will always be my inspiration.”

With the Florida season complete, the horses will begin to make their journey back to Caistor Center, Ontario, where they will receive a break before gearing up for the summer show season. Creech-Terauds has her sights set on competing at the FEI North American Young Rider Championships in July and will declare both Fleur de Lis L and Rob Roy for consideration. Creech is making a bid for the World Equestrian Games with Chrevis Christo and will continue to show him this summer in Canada to meet the selection criteria.

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