Jill Giese and John Dingle of Pemberton’s Dreamcatcher Meadows are in Louisiana this week, where their champion horse Ballerina DMV will be receiving multiple awards at the Adequan/U.S. Dressage Federation Annual Convention, taking place in New Orleans until Saturday (Dec. 8).
Based upon her excellent scores over the past year, Ballerina DMV will officially be named the USDF’s Dressage Sport Horse Breeding Mature Yeld/Maiden Mare champion for 2012, as well as the Materiale Horse of the Year in the four- and five-year-old mare class.
“She earned these recognitions by … having the highest median score compared to the other horses competing in the standings,” said Cristen Brown, USDF awards services coordinator. “Her scores are excellent.”
So excellent, in fact, that Ballerina DMV earned the highest median among all four Materiale classes, meaning she will also be honoured the Sunshine Sport Horse Association Trophy — one of the USDF’s six perpetual trophies.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to bits,” said Giese. “It’s beyond a dream come true and the owner, Bus Fuller, is ecstatic.”
It’s the second-straight time Ballerina DMV will be honoured as a Materiale Horse of the Year, as she was the top three-year-old mare in 2011.
Canucks hit skeleton podium
Canadian sliders earned three podium finishes over two days of Intercontinental Cup skeleton racing at the Whistler Sliding Centre on Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 1 and 2).
Dave Greszczyszyn had a third-place finish in men’s competition on Saturday, while Germany’s Alexander Gassner took top spot and the U.K.’s Dominic Edward Parsons was second. Charles Wlodarczak was 0.11 seconds behind Greszczyszyn on Saturday to finish fourth. In Saturday’s women’s race, Canada’s top slider was Lanette Prediger, who was fifth.
Micaela Widmer was sixth on Saturday but returned Sunday to post a silver-medal finish behind American Noelle Pikus-Pace. Sophia Griebel was third for Germany.
Wlodarczak also hit the podium Sunday in second place, sandwiched between winner Gasser and bronze medallist Parsons.
The Intercontinental Cup circuit is now at Park City, Utah, for races ending this Saturday (Dec. 8).
Nordics solid in Coast Cup race
The Whistler Nordics’ bantam boys got right back to dominating their age group during the season’s first big cross-country ski race, as athletes from the local club took four of the top five spots in the Coast Cup opener at Whistler Olympic Park on Sunday.
Michael Murdoch, Fraser Doak and Sam Johnston finished first through third, respectively, while Ian Davidson was fifth in the bantam boys’ division. Whistler’s bantams were also impressive in girls’ races, with Mila Wittenberg and Linnea Uunila placing one-two.
At the juvenile level, Austin Reith finished second and Hunter Sones was sixth in the boys’ event, while Keeley Wentzel had the top local finish for girls.
Lauren Doak and Jenya Nordin had good results in junior girls’ competition, taking second and third place, and Nicki Murdoch also finished in the silver position in junior women’s competition.
Whistler’s Larson Rickli won the peewee boys’ race ahead of Spud Valley Nordic Jack L’Estrange, and the Pemberton club’s Sam Ellis had the top atom boys finish, placing fourth. Savannah McKinney-Lincks of the Spud Valley squad placed second in the peewee girls’ event.
The great results for Sea to Sky skiers wasn’t limited to youth, either, as Camille Cheskey finished second and Brent Murdoch was fifth in Sunday’s open men’s race.
Avalanche take Community Cup silver
The Whistler Avalanche U12 girls’ team finished second in this year’s North Shore Community Cup, matching the result of last year’s U12 squad in the annual soccer tournament.
The Avalanche fell 1-0 to the North Shore Ferraris in Sunday’s final in North Vancouver despite carrying much of the second-half play. The Ferraris found the lone goal five minutes after halftime and managed to hang on as the Avalanche fired 11 shots at the North Shore net in the second half.
