New Zealand Riders Make Their Mark On Day One Of Dressage

## New Zealand Riders Make Their Mark On Day One Of Dressage ### New Zealand's top dressage riders put in strong performances on the first day of the CDI3* at Taupo, with Vanessa Way taking out the Grand Prix and John Thompson winning the Intermediate I Freestyle. Way, riding the 14-year-old Dutch warmblood Wango Tango, scored 68.543% in the Grand Prix to win by a comfortable margin from Australian Brett Parbery on DP Weltmieser (65.789%). Thompson, riding the 12-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding JHT Antonello, won the Intermediate I Freestyle with a score of 75.750%. The pair also won the Intermediate I class earlier in the day with a score of 69.474%. Other New Zealand riders to perform well on the first day of competition included Julie Brougham, who finished third in the Grand Prix with a score of 65.324%, and Melissa Galloway, who finished fourth with a score of 64.609%. In the Young Rider Grand Prix, New Zealand's Samantha Morrison finished second with a score of 67.125%, while her compatriot Kate Laurie finished third with a score of 66.375%. The CDI3* at Taupo continues on Saturday with the Grand Prix Special and the Intermediate I Freestyle. **Quotes:** * "I'm really happy with Wango Tango today," said Way. "He's a very talented horse and he's really starting to come into his own." * "I'm very pleased with Antonello's performance today," said Thompson. "He's a very special horse and I'm looking forward to the rest of the competition." **Sources:** * [Equestrian Sports New Zealand](https://www.nzequestrian.org.nz/) * [International Equestrian Federation](https://www.fei.org/)