Caroline Wagner Joins the Elite of Australian Dressage

Caroline Wagner and Tango V photos by: Franz Venhaus

By: Scott Pollock

It has only been in the last few years that the winners of the CDI Grand Prix competitions in Australia have become far more difficult to predict.  Five years ago you could be nearly certain that it would be out of two or three competitors but these days things are different. There are now at least 8 horse and rider combinations, which could claim the top position on the dais, and these numbers seem to be growing on a yearly basis. A great sign for Australian dressage!

Not only are there more competent riders at this level but many of them also have a team of horses competing in the lower levels, ensuring their sustainability for the future. One such rider is the Victorian rider, Caroline Wagner.

It was back in 2005 that Caroline retired from the showring after very impressive results for many years. There were not many awards that Caroline hadn't won on numerous occasions. These included 4 Garryowen and 2 Pope Cups wins which are regarded as Australia's most prestigious awards in this discipline. "I had some wonderful times and some wonderful horses but I had always wanted to concentrate on a dressage career and it was time for a new challenge."

Initially Caroline gained her dressage experience with her horse, WS Nevada (also known as NEV). "I purchased him in 2005 in June, he was medium level at this time and it was Mary Hanna who found him for me and became my coach.   I was very lucky with Nev as he is a super horse who tried his very best and always gave his all and he took me through to Grand Prix and placing at CDIs."

In 2011, Caroline was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to purchase one of Mary Hannah's top Grand Prix horse, Tango V. "We bought him in April, just two weeks prior to the Sydney CDI which he was entered in.  We were already going with Nev so we took Tango as well. It was one of those very wet years with the arena absolutely drowned. Tango and I did quite a good trot tour but unfortunately we had several miscommunications in the canter tour and finished on 57.44%, which wasn’t great for our first start but there were some good moments so we just focused on those!"

Since then, Caroline and Tango have significantly improved at every competition. They are now up there with the best in Australia. " We have come a long way from the early days and have formed a good partnership that still feels like we have room for even bigger and better scores – that elusive 70% is there for the GP, we just have to keep working on it! At the moment we seem to be getting a new personal best at each event which is great! We got 68.66 % in the Grand Prix at DWTS (Dressage With The Stars) and we also had a PB at the Orange- CDI Dressage with Altitude in the Freestyle where we won with 72.725! That was a great competition for us as we won all 3 GP classes."

This sort of improvement doesn't come easily and usually not as quickly. When watching this combination it is apparent that they have a great partnership. It is an art in itself to be able to read your horse to ensure you get the best results. "Tango is a very special boy and requires a lot of attention! It suits him well to be in a small personal stable barn where he can be treated as no 1 for everything in and out to his paddock first in the mornings and fed first too. Keeping Tango happy in his general life also helps keep him relaxed in his work."

Due to Caroline and Tango's impressive results over the past year, they were planning to head to Europe to gain some international experience but things haven't gone to plan so Caroline intends to now stay in Australia and keep training Tango and her four young horses which are extremely well bred.

As 2014 will host the FEI World Equestrian Games, the Sydney CDI is extremely important for those aiming to secure a spot to represent Australia. Caroline couldn't agree more. "Sydney CDI is always a big event on the calendar but with the WEG just around the corner we will all be keen to get a good score on the board - hopefully another PB! The Sydney CDI is a well respected event overseas so it is important to keep trying to get better scores to help raise the profile of Australian Dressage in Europe!"

The Sydney CDI will be a great opportunity to see Caroline and her peers battle it out in the Grand Prix competitions. And to make things even more interesting, there will be the likes of Judy Dierks on Feramo K, Brett Parbery on DP Weltmeiser and Katharine Farrell on Luxor 118 whose horses have only started competing at Big Tour but are already showing very impressive scores. The outcome is unknown but the exciting atmosphere is a definite.

• The Prydes EasiFeed FEI Grand Prix will be held on Thursday the 1st May.
• The Bates Saddles Grand Prix Special will be held on Friday the 2nd May
• The Grand Prix Freestyle will be held on Saturday the 3rd May

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