Dressage – Merveldt Third In Italian Grand Prix Special

IRELAND’S Anna Merveldt finished in third place in the Grand Prix Special at the three-star dressage show in La Mandria, Italy, today (Sunday) with James Connor’s dark bay 13 year-old gelding ‘Coryolano’ on a score of 68.75 per cent. Yesterday Merveldt took a third place in the Grand Prix Special Qualifier on ‘Coryolano’ and on Friday won the opening Intermediaire II at the Italian show. Germany’s Ulla Salzberger was today’s winner with ‘Herzruf’s Erbe’. Canadian-born, Merveldt came to Ireland as an infant, and made dressage history last year with ‘Coryolano’ at the World Cup show in Lipica, Slovenia, when she and Judy Reynolds from Naas became the only Irish riders ever to win two classes at the same international event. Merveldt also won the Grand Prix Special in the World Cup dressage show at Marianske Lazne in the Czech Republic in August of last year. Reynolds and Merveldt were announced this week as members of Horse Sport Ireland’s 2009 High Performance dressage squad, along with Yvette Truesdale and Anne-Marie Dunphy.