Alberta Equine ...On-Line News: Team Canada, Reigning "Dressage Team of the Americas," Is Ready to Defend Their Title

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Team Canada, Reigning "Dressage Team of the Americas," Is Ready to Defend Their Title

at the 2006 Cadillac Challenge of the Americas, March 11in Wellington

February 23, 2006

Team Canada quadrille members (l-r) Chris von Martels, Ashley Holzer, Eva-Marie Pracht (coach), Cheryl Meisner Linssen, Susan Dutt-Roth, Lisette Milner, and Tom Dvorak. Jacqueline Brooks and Evi Strasser (not pictured) are Team Canada's Pas de Deux riders.
Photo Credit: SusanJStickle.com

WELLINGTON, FL --- Eva-Marie (“Evi”) Pracht, a member of Canada’s Bronze Medal Dressage Team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, is coaching Team Canada for the second year as they head into the Cadillac Challenge of the Americas as the reigning champions of this international team musical freestyle event that benefits the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). “It brings a lot of money for cancer research and we all have fun doing it,” Pracht said. “It’s a wonderful idea.” Pracht designed the choreography for Team Canada and has coached the riders at all of their weekly rehearsals, which began in January. Karen Robinson of Applause Dressage created the team’s soundtrack.

The fifth running of this annual event will be held at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida, on March 11, 2006, starting at 5:30 pm. In addition to the competition, which features three international eight-member teams, the Cadillac Challenge includes a gala with dinner and dancing and a silent auction starting at 8:00 pm. Each of the teams will perform in two dressage-to-music formats – a quadrille (six horses and six riders, which counts for 60% of their score) and a Pas de Deux (two horses and two riders, which counts for 40% of their score).

Pracht noted she performed on a 12-member quadrille as part of the closing ceremonies at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in her native Germany. “That was a very big event – six men and six women rode in it. That’s how I know how to do this,” Pracht revealed. Team Canada will once again aim to beat the Americans (Team Purina Mills USA) and the European/Latin Americans (Team International sponsored by Morgan Stanley and the Cultural Trust of the Palm Beaches) to retain their title of “Dressage Team of the Americas.”

The coach and riders are keeping their music and choreography a secret until the night of the performance, but at the team’s practice session on February 22, they shared some of their thoughts and feelings about participating in the Cadillac Challenge.

Susan Dutt-Roth, who will be competing for her second year and will ride her own Rheirattack, has the beneficiary of the event foremost on her mind. “Personally, I’ve been affected by cancer. I lost my husband to cancer at a young age, and I lost my son to cancer at the age of eight,” Dutt-Roth said. “I have spent many years in hospitals. In both cases, they were cancers that there was very little research done on, and my husband’s and son’s chances for survival were very low because of the lack of research. Therefore, I’m all for research and helping with funding.” In addition to the cause being close to her heart, Dutt-Roth is also enthusiastic about participating as a rider in the Cadillac Challenge. “It’s just a great event. I had so much fun last year, I can’t wait to do it again this year!”

Ashley Holzer, who hosts the team practices at her Wellington stable, was a teammate of Pracht’s on Canada’s Olympic Bronze Medal Team in 1988, as well as a competitor for Canada at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. She is competing in the Cadillac Challenge for the second year, and will again ride her stallion Imperioso. “It’s fun, first of all that we get to be together with our Canadian teammates, which is great,” Holzer said. “And it’s fun to have a benefit to raise money for something we all feel very strongly about. We’ve all been affected by breast cancer. I lost my husband’s grandmother to breast cancer 10 days after my daughter was born. It was tragic. So to have the chance to raise money for cancer research while doing something we all love doing and having fun at the same time, I don’t think you can get a better equation than that.”

Lisette Milner, an American who resides in Wellington, is competing on the Canadian team for the second consecutive year and will again ride her Dutch stallion Eminence.

She noted that her mother, who passed away, was Canadian and that she has many relatives in Canada that she visits frequently. “My mother would be very proud that I’m representing Canada,” Milner said. She noted that she is also very supportive of the BCRF. “I’ve had friends that have had breast cancer and it’s a very serious disease. If I can help in any form or fashion to raise money, I’m all for participating. And it’s fun! Dressage, generally speaking, is not really a team sport and to do something like this is all about being a team member. It’s taught me a lot about being a team member.”

In last year’s winning performance, Milner and Holzer performed a finale movement to the quadrille – a piaffe/pirouette, which appeared on the cover of Dressage Today. “It was quite a trick to get those stallions working together head-to-head and tail-to-tail!” Milner said. She noted cheerfully that the team does feel the pressure to maintain their title. “We understand that the other teams are out to get us,” she laughed, “and our competitive edge is coming out because we have every intention of winning again this year and raising the Canadian flag!”

Cheryl Meisner Linssen, who also rode on the team last year, will ride Lucky Strike in this year’s quadrille. “Overall it’s a lot of hard work but when it comes down to the night of the actual event it’s so much fun,” Linssen enthused. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s just a great time and it’s for a great cause.” Linssen is undaunted by the pressure to maintain the title. “We’ve got a solid team, we’ve got good solid riders, and some really nice horses,” she said confidently. “I don’t think we’ve anything to worry about.”

Team Canada will have two first-time participants in their quadrille – Tom Dvorak and Chris von Martels.

Dvorak, a German native, moved to Canada in 1982, and was named to the Canadian Equestrian Team in 1990. He was a member of Canada’s 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Team, but was unable to compete when his horse sustained an injury. Dvorak rode Clearly Canadian at the 1998 Volvo World Cup Final in Sweden. In the Cadillac Challenge, Dvorak will ride West Side Lady owned by Sue Platz. Dvorak said he feels “a lot of pressure” to maintain Canada’s title of “Dressage Team of the Americas,” but that he is enjoying the experience. “We’re having fun with it,” he said. “ Of course we’re taking it seriously. It’s serious fun.” As a first-timer, Dvorak admitted he was not sure what to expect of the big night’s performance, but he was looking forward to it. “It sounds like a huge event and I’m really glad that I was invited to be on the team and to be part of all of it. I am proud to be on the Canadian team, as always.”

Von Martels will ride Korenebloem Charmeur owned by Patricia Tomney. Von Martels is an alumni of Canada’s Young Riders program and was a member of the Ontario Team at the 2003 North American Young Riders Championships, and he represented Canada at the 2005 Sydney CDI3* in Australia. “I’m looking forward to the competition. It will be a fun time and it’s for a great cause,” said von Martels. “I have a lot of great riders with a lot of experience as teammates and I’ll gain a lot of experience from them. Any opportunity I can have as an up-and-coming rider to represent the country is a huge benefit.” He noted that he does feel the pressure to maintain Canada’s title in the Cadillac Challenge. “Certainly we have big shoes to fill. Evi Pracht does a super job in choreographing everything for us and Karen Robinson does a super job with the music, so in the end, I think it will be a great time!”

Also participating on Team Canada are Jacqueline Brooks and Evi Strasser who will ride the Pas de Deux. Brooks competed for Canada at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where Canada captured the Team Silver Medal. Strasser, a German native, was named to the Canadian Equestrian Team in 1994 and represented Canada at the Volvo World Cup Final in 1995 and 1996 and also competed in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

The Cadillac Challenge of the Americas Schedule of Festivities

Saturday, March 11, 2006, International Polo Club Palm Beach, Wellington, Florida

5:30 pm Opening Freestyle ridden by Leslie Morse with Tip Top

The Cadillac Challenge Competition: Pas de Deux and Team Quadrilles performed at the Grand Prix level

7:30 pm Awards Ceremony – “Dressage Team of the Americas” title presented

8:00 pm The Challenge Gala: Dinner, Dancing, and Live Auction in the International Polo Club Palm Beach Grand Marquee

The 24 riders in the Cadillac Challenge are world-class competitors. Riders are:

• Team Purina Mills USA: Quadrille Riders – Betsy Steiner, George Williams, Lynda Alicki, Pamela Goodrich, Bent Jensen, and Susan Jaccoma. Pas de Deux Riders – Leslie Morse and Charlotte Bredahl Baker.

• Team Canada: Quadrille Riders – Chris von Martels, Susan Dutt-Roth, Ashley Holzer, Cheryl Meisner Linssen, Lisette Milner, and Tom Dvorak. Pas de Deux Riders – Jacqueline Brooks and Evi Strasser.

• Team International sponsored by Morgan Stanley and Cultural Trust of the Palm Beaches: Quadrille Riders – Marco Bernal, Patrick Burssens, Mimi Block, Silke Rembacz, Jan Brons, and Karen Lipp. Pas de Deux Riders – Tina Konyot and Katherine Bateson-Chandler.

Sponsors of The Challenge

Cadillac is the Official Vehicle of the Cadillac Challenge of the Americas and the event’s title sponsor; Purina Mills is the USA team sponsor; Morgan Stanley and Cultural Trust of the Palm Beaches is the Team International sponsor; Cunningham & Cunningham is the event insurance sponsor; and Wild Horse Winery is the official wine for the gala and cocktail party. Promotional Partners for the Cadillac Challenge are: the United States Dressage Federation (USDF); Equestriangraphics.com; DressageDaily.com; HorseSport USA; and Equestrianmag.com. Tiffany is the sponsor for the trophies and rider gifts. Ecogold of Canada will award coolers to the winning team.

Ticket and Table Information

Single VIP tickets are available at $250. General admission tickets are $20 each.

Tables are available at the Gold, Silver, and Bronze level. Tables are for 10 guests.

• Gold Table Sponsor: $6,500 includes premier box seating at the competition and premier seating at the gala for 10 guests. In addition, Gold Table Sponsors will receive table signage, as well as patron recognition on event invitations, in the event program, and on promotional posters to be displayed throughout the Wellington community.

• Silver Patron: $4,000 includes box seating at the competition and prominent seating at the gala for 10 guests. Silver Patrons will receive recognition in invitations and the event program.

• Bronze Patron: $2,500 includes box seating at the competition and a table at the gala for 10 guests.

For Tickets and Table reservations and information, please visit the Cadillac Challenge of the Americas website at www.barnbook.com/challenge.html or contact Mary Ross, chairman of the Cadillac Challenge, at 561-852-2591.

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