Victoria Winter and Belinda Trussell Open Dressage Competition for Canada at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

Lexington, Kentucky—Victoria Winter of Toronto, ON and Belinda Trussell of Newmarket, ON were the first competitors for the Canadian Dressage Team on the opening day of Dressage competition on Monday, September 27, 2010 at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) held in Lexington, KY.

Winter performed the Grand Prix test riding Proton, Neil and Cindy Ishoy's 16-year-old Baden-Wurttemburger gelding sired by Patriarch. With a score of 66.681%, she earned a provisional placing of 15th from the panel of five international judges.

"I just started riding him about 10 months ago, so it's a really new partnership, which is a little bit difficult in this sport because you really need to know your horse. Over the season we have really got to know each other," said Winter after her ride. "I am really pleased because we put in a really good clean test."

Riding Anton (Antaeus x Melit), a 10-year-old German-bred gelding owned by Robyn Eames, Trussell earned 69.021% and is currently sitting in seventh place following the first day of competition.

"Anton felt good in the ring. To get a 69% at this venue on the world stage makes me really pleased. Overall he is really a spectacular horse, and he is completely there for me in the ring," said Trussell. "I would like to thank his owners, my mom and dad; Christilot Boylen and Robert Dover for helping me and all the sport staff from Equine Canada—they have been incredible."

"I am really proud of my two riders. They went in and they accomplished exactly what I hoped they would. It puts us in a nice position after the first day of the first day of competition," said Dressage Canada technical coach/advisor, Robert Dover.

The Grand Prix competition is held over two days, Monday and Tuesday, and is used to determine the Team Medals. Teams are comprised of four horse-rider combinations, with the top three scores counting towards the final results.

Tomorrow, 1988 Olympic Team Bronze Medalist Ashley Holzer of Toronto, ON, will compete with Pop Art, an 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Moreen Nicoll and Rusty Holzer, and 1984 Canadian Olympian Bonny Bonnello of Calgary, AB will compete with Pikardi (Point Maker x Daimont), a 13-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding co-owned by Bonnello and Jean Bell. Their rides in the Grand Prix test will determine Canada's final team placing.