September 23, 2004 – Ste-Adele, Quebec – Canada’s Evi Strasser enjoyed phenomenal results this summer competing in Europe, most recently celebrating a fantastic second place finish in the Grand Prix Freestyle at CDI-W Marianske Lizne, Czechoslovakia, held August 27-29, 2004.

The first alternate for the 2004 Canadian Olympic Dressage Team riding Quantum Tyme, Strasser of Ste-Adele, QC, took advantage of her European base to compete at several events sanctioned by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). Strasser began her journey by showing Foto Tyme, her five-year-old Westphalian stallion by Florestan I, to a tenth place finish in the 2004 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Verden, GER. In total, 42 entries contested the Five-Year-Old Division with Foto Tyme and the winner, Florenico 2, sharing the same sire.

It was with her current Grand Prix mount, Quantum Tyme, that Strasser enjoyed her best result at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses. Back in 2000, Strasser showed her promising chestnut Oldenburg gelding to a fourth place finish in the Five-Year-Old Division, a result that rocked the European competitors and remains the best Canadian finish in the event’s history.

“I first saw Quantum Tyme in a photo for the Oldenburg auction catalogue,” recalls Strasser of the horse by Quattro. “I already knew his history, so I called a friend in Germany and asked him to go and buy the horse for me. The first time I laid eyes on him in person was after I already owned him! That was when Quantum Tyme was turning three, and I have trained him all the way to the Grand Prix level myself.”

Now nine years of age, Quantum Tyme and Strasser are enjoying their first year of Grand Prix competition together with remarkable results in Europe. From July 23-25, Strasser competed against a strong field at Great Britain’s CDIO Hickstead, one of the few team events for dressage. A score of 66.875% placed Strasser seventh overall in the Grand Prix while 70.57% earned them fourth place in the Grand Prix Freestyle.

The following weekend, July 30-August 1, Strasser traveled to CDI Bern, Switzerland, where slightly lower scores left her fifth in the Grand Prix Freestyle and ninth in the Grand Prix, won by Spain’s Beatriz Ferrer-Salat and Beauvalais who would go on to claim the Individual Bronze Medal at the Olympic Games just weeks later.

However, Strasser came back strong for CDI-W Marianske Lizne, CZE, held August 27-29. After finishing third from a field of 23 riders in the Grand Prix with a score of 68.417%, Strasser had the disadvantage of performing her Freestyle routine immediately following 2004 Olympic Team alternates for Germany, Ann Kathrin and Renior Unicef, whose country had just been crowned the Olympic Gold Medallists once again. Strasser’s ‘Circle of Life’ Freestyle programme, set to music from the Disney production, ‘The Lion King’, impressed the panel of five international judges, garnering an incredibly high score of 73.475% and placing her runner-up to Kathrin who claimed victory with a score of 74.875%.

“Quantum Tyme was super, the best that I have ever felt him,” exclaimed Strasser of her performance. “I received two ten’s for the pirouettes, and nine’s for my piaffe and passage. You rarely get a ten in any test, let alone in the Grand Prix! The comments from the judges praised Quantum Tyme’s quality, and I feel very lucky to have such a world-class horse.”

Strasser’s time in Europe also included the opportunity to spend three days following CDIO Hickstead with world-renowned trainer and Finnish Olympian, Kyra Kyrklund.

“Training with Kyra made such a difference,” explained Strasser of the horse’s development. “It was like day and night between showing Quantum Tyme in Canada in the Olympic Selection Trials and showing now in Europe. I had been riding him very conservatively, I didn’t want him to be overwhelmed by the Grand Prix test, but Kyra said it was okay to really ride him now, to give him the reins and to challenge him. Now, Quantum Tyme allows me to go for it and doesn’t become tense about all of the movements. In general, he is an exceptional horse!”

Last year, Strasser and Quantum Tyme were members of the Silver Medal Team at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and enjoyed a top ten finish individually. This winter, the pair made their Grand Prix debut during the winter circuit in Florida, and earned the qualifying scores necessary to compete in the Olympic Selection Trials where they finished fifth overall to be named the first reserve.

Strasser and Quantum Tyme will next contest the FEI World Cup Dressage League Final at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON, from November 10-11, 2004. While the pair has an overwhelming lead in the World Cup point standings coming into the Canadian League Final, all entries start equal with their results at the Royal ultimately determining Canada’s sole representative for the 2005 World Cup Final.

“I would love to win the Canadian League and go to Las Vegas for the 2005 World Cup Final, but no matter what the outcome is at the Royal, I will go back to Europe and try to ride in the World Cup tour there,” noted Strasser who has ridden in the Final twice before, in 1995 and 1997, with her Atlanta Olympic mount, Lavinia. “I don’t just want to go to the World Cup Final, I want to go and ride competitively.”

While Strasser will prepare for the Canadian League Final at home in Ste-Adele, QC, just north of Montreal, her focus is on the continued development of Quantum Tyme and her own riding ability, which means traveling back to Europe.

“I have a good horse and I feel like I can be a better rider when I compete against the best,” reflected Strasser, a native of Bavaria, GER, who became a Canadian citizen ten years ago. “The exposure makes it easier to ride at that level because it becomes more comfortable. To compete against the best in the world makes you realize that you can do it, that you can be successful, and you will learn and get better. It makes you a stronger competitor and rider.”

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PHOTOGRAPH
“Evi Strasser and Quantum Tyme recently enjoyed great success in Europe that included a second-place finish in the Grand Prix Freestyle at CDI-W Marianske Lizne, CZE.”
Photo Credit – Cealy Tetley