Canada’s Cindy Ishoy Completes 4th Dressage World Cup Final

Multiple Olympian Cindy Ishoy recently completed her 4th World Cup Finals competition held from April 20-23 in Amsterdam, NED.

Ishoy, of Jerseyville, ON, was Canada’s sole representative at the Finals aboard her 12-year-old Badden Wurttenberg gelding Proton (Patriarch/Rosenkavalier), her mount at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Despite having several very good moments in both the Grand Prix (GP) and Grand Prix Freestyle (GPF), minor mishaps prevented Ishoy and Proton from realizing their full potential.

“As I entered the arena, Proton was soft in my hands and we were both relaxed. Things felt so harmonious and Proton showed no signs of resistance; I really don’t know what happened,” said Ishoy of her Grand Prix ride. Unfortunately the judges noted the moments of resistance which resulted in an uncharacteristically low score for Proton of 61.291%.

In the Freestyle “B” Finals, Proton seemed to be a little more settled in the electric indoor atmosphere, which can cause even the most seasoned Grand Prix horse to tense and lose their focus.

“I managed to get things organized and had some very nice piaffe and passage down the centre line,” commented Ishoy. “We were ready. Proton is a really great horse and he truly belonged there.” The judges rewarded their freestyle performance, which features contemporary hip hop music by 50 Cent, with a score of 67.525%.

Ishoy and Proton had arrived in Europe in advance of the Finals in order to work with the legendary Siegfried Peilicke, with whom Ishoy has trained since the age of 21.

Before returning home to Canada, Ishoy will take advantage of some additional European exposure by competing in the CDI3* Hagen, Germany from April 27 - May 1.

Ishoy and Proton qualified for the World Cup Final by capturing the Canadian League Finals at Toronto’s Royal Horse Show last November. Ishoy has the distinction of holding Canada’s best finish at a World Cup Final, an accomplishment achieved with her famous mount Dynasty in 1988 in s’Hertogenbosch, Netherlands where they placed second overall.