July 4, 2004 – Blainville, Quebec – In an exciting finale to the CDI***-W Blainville Dressage International held June 30-July 3 in Blainville, QC, Cindy Ishoy of Jerseyville, ON, pulled out all the stops to win the Grand Prix Freestyle as part of Saturday evening’s signature ‘Casino de Montreal Musical Freestyle Extravaganza’.

A sold-out crowd of 1,500 people packed into tents and bleachers to enjoy the evening performance that was also being filmed for television broadcast. Riding her 10-year-old German-bred gelding, Proton, Ishoy performed to a musical composition entitled ‘Criminal Intent’ compiled by Shelley Brown, a member of the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra. The Freestyle program displayed a high degree of technical difficulty that highlighted Proton’s world-class piaffe, considered the hardest movement to achieve in dressage, to earn an incredibly high score of 75.175% from the five-member panel of international judges.

“I am really happy,” smiled Ishoy, 52, who, on Thursday, was named to her sixth Canadian Olympic Dressage Team. “Proton was there for me and was really trying for me. This horse does not have a weakness.”

In 1988, Ishoy led the Canadian Dressage Team to the Bronze Medal at the Seoul Olympics and narrowly missed capturing the Individual Bronze when she placed fourth riding the legendary Dynasty.

Finishing in close second was Ishoy’s 1988 Bronze Medal Teammate, Ashley Holzer, who will once again ride alongside Ishoy in Athens. Holzer, a native of Toronto now living in New York City, had the crowd cheering as she too completed a technically difficult and extremely artistic Freestyle performance set to piano music. Her score of 74.975% reflected the quality of her Freestyle performance, as well as the quality of her horse, Imperioso, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion. Holzer and Imperioso had claimed victory earlier in the week in Thursday’s Grand Prix competition.

Julia Vysniauskas of Cochrane, AB, placed third following an awe-inspiring display of partnership with her mount, Syntax, a 12-year-old gelding bred in Slovenia. The 22-year-old earned a score of 69.50% for her performance set to ABBA music.

Home crowd favourite Evi Strasser of Ste-Adele, QC, took fourth place with a score of 69.275% earned riding Quantum Tyme while Jacqueline Brooks of Mount Albert, ON, finished fifth with a score of 68.925% aboard Gran Gesto. Both Strasser and Brooks were members of Canada’s Silver Medal Team at the 2003 Pan American Games with the same horses.

In the Intermediaire Freestyle, Tom Dvorak of Hillsburgh, ON, was unbeatable. The first competitor into the ring with Beaumarchais, a 10-year-old Hannoverian gelding owned by Susan Holden, Dvorak earned a high score of 74.075%. None of the riders who followed were able to better his score, and Dvorak had the pleasure of performing the final Intermediaire Freestyle test of the evening with West Side Lady, Susan Platz’s nine-year-old black Hannoverian mare. Performing to music from ‘West Side Story’, of course, Dvorak earned a final score of 74.825% to win the competition and place second.

“It’s all just coming together,” noted Dvorak, 38, who represented Canada at the 1998 World Cup Final. “Both horses are really coming into themselves, and I am so thankful to the owners for allowing me to ride these wonderful horses.”

Holzer and Gambol, a beautiful 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by Dr. Diane Fellows, placed third with a score of 72.30%.

The CDI***-W Blainville Dressage International held June 30 to July 3 at the Blainville Equestrian Park acted as a World Cup Qualifying event and saw over 200 horses competing at various levels. The feature event, Saturday night’s signature ‘Casino de Montreal Musical Freestyle Extravaganza’, will enjoy national television coverage when it is broadcast in French on Sunday, July 25, at 1 p.m. on RDS, and in English on Saturday, July 31, at 2 p.m. on Global Television.

CDI***- W Blainville – Grand Prix Freestyle Results

Athlete, Hometown, Horse, Score
1. Cindy Ishoy, Jerseyville, ON, Proton, 75.175%
2. Ashley Holzer, Toronto, ON, Imperioso, 74.975%
3. Julia Vysniauskas, Stouffville, ON, Royan II, 69.500%
4. Evi Strasser, Ste-Adele, QC, Quantum Tyme, 69.275%
5. Jacqueline Brooks, Mount Albert, ON, Gran Gesto, 68.925%

CDI***- W Blainville – Intermediaire Freestyle Results

Athlete, Hometown, Horse, Score
1. Tom Dvorak, Hillsburgh, ON, West Side Lady, 74.825%
2. Tom Dvorak, Hillsburgh, ON, Beaumarchais, 74.075%
3. Ashley Holzer, Toronto, ON, Gambol, 72.300%
4. Jessica Costello, Mount Albert, ON, Litmanen, 66.150%
5. Chris von Martels, Ridgetown, ON, Top of Magic, 62.900%