Category: News

https://www.usef.org/media/press-releases/us-equestrian-announces-us-dressage-team-short-2

“With him,” she explained, “this is his second year at the Grand Prix. He knows his stuff now, but we’ve been trying to polish it all up. We’ve done a lot of halt rein-back, a lot of cantering and halting, [and] just a lot of work with halts because he’s not a huge fan of them, so we’ve worked on those moments where he could possibly get distracted and lose points.”

Coming off back to back FEI wins in December, Lyle and the 13-year-old KWPN gelding again scored a double victory at the Palm Beach international Equestrian Center this week. 

On Thursday, the pair kicked off the 2021 Adequan Global Dressage Festival with a win the FEI Grand Prix CDI3*.

“I was quite happy with him,” said Lyle, of their 71.304% score.

“He’s a little more nervous than I was anticipating. I don’t know if it’s the cooler weather or what, but he was a little on edge, which is interesting because we’ve shown here plenty of times before. There was a bit of a different horse in [the ring]. We lost a few points in our piaffe and passage, were lacking a bit of harmony and elastic energy, and that can be such a highlight for him.”

In Saturday’s FEI Grand Prix Special CDI3*, the pair repeated their winning ways, scoring a 74.830% from the judges to take the victory by three percentage points.

“He felt much more comfortable in his own skin [on Saturday],” said Lyle. “I was really happy with him. He felt much softer in his back, and the connection through the ride was a lot better than in our test on Thursday. He was really able to show off some of his highlights today, and I’m thrilled with the overall performance.”

She continued, “He’s always had a lot of talent for the collected work—the piaffe, passage, pirouettes. When he’s nice and supple and happy like he was [on Saturday], he really shows it off nicely. With him, we’re always trying to find ways to keep him relaxed mentally in his work. He tries very hard, and we always work to keep a very clear understanding between us about what I’m asking of him.”

What she won’t be asking of the grey gelding this season is an appearance in the popular Friday Night Freestyle or the World Cup Qualifiers at AGDF.

“We’re focusing on the Special with him this year,” explained Lyle. “We’ve chosen not to focus on the Freestyle or World Cup Qualifiers in hopes of making the short list to go to Europe with him.” 

The Dressage Today team would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in our Win-a-Day contest with U.S. Olympic dressage rider Adrienne Lyle, and to our sponsor, Vita Flex PRO, who made this opportunity possible for our fans.

We were overwhelmed by the number of entries and struggled to narrow down our choices. Ultimately, with the help of Adrienne, we selected Lexi Rohner, who entered the contest on behalf of her daughter Genevieve Rohner.

Genevieve is a 12-year-old grade IV para-equestrian from Park City, Utah, who stole our hearts with her big dreams and inspiring story. Scroll down to learn more about Genevieve.

Genevieve Rohner’s Story

The Winning Essay

I, Lexi Rohner, am the official entrant. I am entering on behalf of my daughter. 

Hi Adrienne!  My name is Genevieve. I’m 12 and I am a grade IV para-equestrian. I love to compete, and I want to be on a horse more than anything in the world. My parents started my brother and I in Hippotherapy when we were four because we have Cerebral Palsy. I loved it so much I decided riding horses was for me forever. When I was five, I told my mom I was going to the Olympics, even though I didn’t know there was a Paralympics. My current coach, Sydni Peterson, is amazing. She has taken me from Training 3 to working at Second level in one year. She knows how much I want this, and she supports my goal to make the 2024 Paralympic team and represent the U.S. I am very dedicated.

In my first recognized shows in 2018, I qualified for the USDF Region 7 Championships, the California Dressage Society Regional Championships and the California Junior Championships. At the shows, I earned scores between 62 and 68 percent in Training Level Tests 2 and 3 and placed fifth and sixth overall. I even got second in one of the qualifying rides. My goal wasn’t to win, but to see how I fit in for competition. I competed with 14 riders and I was the only para-equestrian. I was 10 and everyone else was over 12. Also, I trained on a quarter horse named Cody in Utah where I live and competed on a Morgan named Karamel in California. At one of the competitions, I was the youngest and the oldest competitor was Hilda Gurney. We got to take a picture together.

Now I ride a beautiful Arabian/Saddlebred mare named Star. She is the best horse ever and I love her so much. Last year we showed our first FEI test and scored 67 percent! My goals for the next two years are to learn more Grade IV FEI tests and compete them in Tryon in October and Wellington in the winter. I also want to earn scores toward my USDF bronze medal.

In Utah, I am the only American para-dressage rider. When I go to shows now, I am usually the only child and there are no other para-dressage riders. Right now, I am the youngest classified para-equestrian in the U.S. If I make the 2024 team, I will be the second youngest ever in the whole world to make it to the Paralympics. That’s my goal and I would be so excited if you came to my barn to help me in any way toward that!

Dec. 18, 2020

The United States Elite and Pre-Elite squads have been updated by the U.S. Equestrian Federation heading into the Olympic year.

The squads–that will be updated throughout 2021–are:

ELITE

Katherine Bateson-Chandler, 45, of Wellington, Florida and Alcazar, 15-year-old KWPN gelding, owned by Jane Clark

Olivia LaGoy-Weltz, 37, of Haymarket, Virginia and Lonoir, 16-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding, owned by Olivia and Mary Anne McPhail

Adrienne Lyle, 35, of Wellington, Florida, and Salvino, 13-year-old Hanoverian stallion, owned by Betsy Juliano LLC

Adrienne Lyle and Harmony’s Duval, 12-year-old KWPN gelding, owned by Duval Partners LLC

Steffen Peters, 56, of San Diego, California, and Suppenkasper, 12-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Akiko Yamazaki, Four Winds Farm

Sabine Schut-Kery, 52, of Thousand Oaks, California, and Sanceo, 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion, owned by Alice Womble

PRE-ELITE

Charlotte Jorst, 56, of Reno, Nevada, and Kastel’s Nintendo, 17-year-old KWPN stallion, owned by Kastel Denmark

Jennifer Schrader-Williams, 40, of Roy, Washington, and Millione, 17-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding, owned by Millione Partners LLC

Nick Wagman, 47, of San Diego, California, and Don John, 12-year-old KWPN gelding, owned byBeverly Gepfer

The lists are based on past performances to identify combinations eligible for assistance in training and support.

The dressage elite and development programs, the USEF said, aim to identify and support athletes who have the potential to represent the U.S. in international competition. 

Early focus to select combinations for consideration for the American team for the Tokyo Olympics will be during winter at the Global Dressage Festival of seven international events in Wellington, Florida and one at Temecula, California followed by qualifiers in April in Sacramento, California; Ocala, Florida and Tryon, North Carolina.

There is uncertainty over competitions in Europe before the Games at the end of July. A European competition swing was planned prior to the pandemic to select the team of three combinations plus a reserve, but then canceled.

Kim Beaudoin for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.

Wellington, FL – January 16, 2021 – Day three of Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) continued on Saturday, January 16, with a second victory for Adrienne Lyle (USA) and Harmony’s Duval, this time in the FEI Grand Prix Special CDI3*, presented by Harmony Sporthorses. The first week of AGDF concludes on Sunday, January 17, and the circuit hosts 10 weeks of international and national dressage competition until April 4. Free live streaming and on-demand of select classes are available to view at GlobalDressageFestival.com.

Lyle and the Duval Partners LLC’s 13-year-old KWPN gelding (by Rosseau) earned a 74.830% for their day’s performance. The pair landed three percentage points above second-place finisher Jennifer Williams, who earned a personal best score (72.192%) with Millione, an 18-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding by Milan owned by Millione Partners. Third place went to Susan Pape (GBR) on Harmony’s Eclectisch, Harmony Sporthorses’ 12-year-old KWPN stallion by Zenon, who received a 71.724% from judges.

“He felt much more comfortable in his own skin today,” said Lyle of the gelding. “I was really happy with him. He felt much softer in his back, and the connection through the ride was a lot better than in our test on Thursday. He was really able to show off some of his highlights today, and I’m thrilled with the overall performance.”

“He’s always had a lot of talent for the collected work,” she continued, “the piaffe, passage, pirouettes. When he’s nice and supple and happy like he was today, he really shows it off nicely. With him, we’re always trying to find ways to keep him relaxed mentally in his work. He tries very hard, and we always work to keep a very clear understanding between us about what I’m asking of him.”

After two successful competition weeks (AGDF 1 and competition at the AGDF venue in December) Lyle does not have a definitive plan as to when the pair will compete next, but intends to give Duval a chance to have a bit of fun. “He has done so well, and we won’t train super hard in between shows,” she said. “He gets to go home and have a little bit of fun!”

Earlier in the day, Anna Marek (USA) bested the FEI Intermediate I CDI1* riding Felissirana, Alise Carrico’s 11-year-old KWPN mare by Belissimo M. The duo rode to a score of 69.618%. Second place went to Luuk Mourits (NED) and Harmony’s Don’t Stop The Feeling, Harmony Sporthorses’ 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Don Primus, with a 68.324%. Jessica Howington (USA) closed out the top three aboard her own J’Adore, a nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Jazz, scoring a 67.029%.

Victory in the FEI Intermediate A CDI3* went to Mikala Münter (USA) and her own 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding Skyfall, receiving a 67.529%. In the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle CDI3*, Kevin Kohmann (GER) marked his third victory of the week aboard Equitas LLC’s 11-year-old KWPN stallion Five Star (by Amazing Star), ending the week with a 76.855%. Second place was awarded to Joanne Vaughan (GEO) and Forbes 7, her own 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Fidertanz, received a 66.450%.

Competition at AGDF will conclude tomorrow after a full schedule of classes, including the FEI Intermediare 2 CDI3*, the 2020 Summit Farms Future Challenge Prix St. Georges Series Final, and the 2020 Lövsta Future Challenge Young Horse Grand Prix Series Final before the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W, presented by Lövsta, beginning at 1:00 PM. For more information and to see a full list of results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.

Results
Place, rider, nationality, horse, horse information: judge E%, judge H%, judge C%, judge M%, judge B%; final score

FEI Grand Prix Special CDI3*, presented by Harmony Sporthorses:
E, Christof Umbach (LUX); H, Agnieszka Majewska (POL); C, Cesar Torrente (COL); M, Debbie Rodriguez (USA); B,Janet Foy (USA)

1. Adrienne Lyle (USA) on Harmony’s Duval, Duval Partners LLC’s 13yo KWPN gelding by Rosseau: 75.426, 75.426, 74.362, 74.574, 74.362; 74.830%
2. Jennifer Williams (USA) on Millione, Millione Partners’ 18yo Danish Warmblood gelding by Milan: 73.723, 72.979, 70.745, 70.532, 72.979; 72.192%

3. Susan Pape (GBR) on Harmony’s Eclectisch, Harmony Sporthorses’ 12yo KWPN stallion by Zenon: 71.915, 72.447, 71.383, 70.426, 72.447; 71.724%
4. Guenter Seidel (USA) on Equirelle W, Louise Leatherdale’s 12yo KWPN mare by Florett AS: 72.979, 69.149, 72.128, 70.957, 73.404; 71.723%
5. Jan Ebeling (USA) on Indeed, Vantage Equest Group II, LLC’s 13yo Danish Warmblood mare by Hofrat: 72.553, 70.745, 70.106, 70.319, 71.809; 71.106%
6. Katie Johnson (USA) on Quartett, Kylee Lourie’s 13yo German Warmblood gelding by Quarterback: 74.787, 67.234, 69.043, 70.319, 66.489; 69.574%
7. Karen Lipp (USA) on Whitney, Kathleen Oldford’s 16yo Hanoverian mare by White Star: 66.702, 66.596, 66.383, 68.511, 66.489; 66.702%
8. Krystalann Shingler (CAN) on Fidelio, Krystalann Shingler’s 13yo Oldenburg gelding by Fidertanz: 65.000, 62.660, 63.830, 66.277, 62.021; 63.958%

Photo credit: © SusanStickle.com. These images may only be used in relation to this press release and with credit.

Video Credit: ©Richard’s Equine Video

Adrienne Lyle (USA) and Harmony’s Duval. (©SusanStickle.com)

By: Kim Beaudoin for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc. | January 15, 2021

The 2021 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) kicked off its tenth season at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL, on Thursday, January 14, with a victory for Adrienne Lyle (USA) and Harmony’s Duval in the FEI Grand Prix CDI3*, presented by Harmony Sporthorses. The first week of AGDF continues through Sunday, January 17, and the circuit hosts 10 weeks of international and national dressage competition until April 4. Free live streaming and on-demand of select classes are available to view at the link below.

WATCH CLASS ON-DEMAND HERE.

Lyle and the 13-year-old KWPN gelding by Rosseau owned by Duval Partners LLC have been dominating in the Global Stadium at PBIEC lately, coming off of a double victory weekend in December.

“I was quite happy with him,” said Lyle of the day’s performance, which resulted in a score of 71.304%. “He’s a little more nervous than I was anticipating. I don’t know if it’s the cooler weather or what, but he was a little on edge, which is interesting because we’ve shown here plenty of times before. There was a bit of a different horse in there today. We lost a few points in our piaffe and passage, were lacking a bit of harmony and elastic energy, and that can be such a highlight for him. Now we take this, and we move on to the Grand Prix Special. That’s a test that really counts for us, but this was a good starting place.”

The gelding has now marked six wins in his last 13 starts, and Lyle hopes to continue on and refine their work this season. “With him,” she explained, “this is his second year at the Grand Prix. He knows his stuff now, but we’ve been trying to polish it all up. We’ve done a lot of halt rein-back, a lot of cantering and halting, [and] just a lot of work with halts because he’s not a huge fan of them, so we’ve worked on those moments where he could possibly get distracted and lose points.”

She continued, “We’re focusing on the Special with him this year. We’ve chosen not to focus on the Freestyle or World Cup Qualifiers in hopes of making the short list to go to Europe with him. We have a wonderful group of owners who are supporting us, and we’ll just keep on enjoying the season for now.”

Despite plenty of training time at home due to the global pandemic, Lyle is excited to have Duval back in competition, and admitted that the break wasn’t as beneficial for him as it was for others.

“We had time to train at home due to COVID, but it wasn’t a big advantage because he is a horse that needs to be exposed, out, and doing something,” she noted. “To sit at home all summer, it was a bit difficult to get his mind back into it, but his strength in the collection work is continuing to improve. His overall rideability has always been the biggest focus with him because he can get a little distracted.”

Second place in the class was captured by Susan Pape (GBR) on Harmony’s Eclectisch, Harmony Sporthorses’ 12-year-old KWPN stallion by Zenon, earning a 70.522%. Third place went to Jennifer Williams (USA) on Millione, Millione Partners’ 18-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding by Milan (70.456%).

“I thought it was great that the Harmony Sporthorses were one and two in the class today,” concluded Lyle. “Leslie Malone [of Harmony Sporthorses] was generous in allowing us to purchase Duval when he was young, making it possible for us to bring him along like this.”

The FEI Prix St. Georges CDI1* awarded first place to the USA’s Anna Marek and Felissirana, Alise Carrico’s 11-year-old KWPN mare by Belissimo. Marek and the mare were awarded a final score of 70.323%. Second place went to Raul Corchuelo (COL) aboard his own Maverick, an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Millennium (69.412%). Karen Lipp (USA) rounded out the top three with her own Infinity, an eight-year-old KWPN gelding by Dream Boy, scoring a 68.353%.

In the FEI Prix St. Georges CDI3*, Kevin Kohmann (GER) took home the blue ribbon, earning a 71.118% with the 11-year-old Equitas LLC KWPN stallion Five Star, by Amazing Star. Second place went to Joanne Vaughan (GEO) and her own 10-year-old gelding Forbes, by Fidertanz.

Other Canadian results for Thursday include a win in the FEI PSG for Amateurs for Floratina and Chloe Gasiorowski (67.853%).

Competition at AGDF will continue tomorrow with a full schedule of classes, including the FEI Intermediare 1 CDI3*,presented by Diamante Farms, before the FEI Grand Prix CDI-W, presented by Lövsta, beginning at 11:50 AM. For more information and to see a full list of results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.

FEI Grand Prix CDI3*, presented by Harmony Sporthorses

1. Adrienne Lyle (USA) on Harmony’s Duval, Duval Partners LLC’s 13yo KWPN gelding by Rosseau: 70.326, 70.870, 69.022, 74.130, 72.174; 71.304%

2. Susan Pape (GBR) on Harmony’s Eclectisch, Harmony Sporthorses’ 12yo KWPN stallion by Zenon: 70.543, 69.783, 68.261, 72.500, 71.522; 70.522%

3. Jennifer Williams (USA) on Millione, Millione Partners’ 18yo Danish Warmblood gelding by Milan: 72.391%, 71.630%, 67.174%, 72.500%, 68.587%; 70.456%

4. Katie Johnson (USA) on Quartett, Kylee Lourie’s 13yo German Warmblood gelding by Quarterback: 66.739, 68.478, 68.152, 67.065, 69.565; 68.000%

5. Jan Ebeling (USA) on Indeed, Vantage Equest Group II, LLC’s 13yo Danish Warmblood mare by Hofrat: 70.543, 65.870, 67.500, 66.630, 69.348; 67.978%

6. Guenter Seidel (USA) on Equirelle W, Louise Leatherdale’s 12yo KWPN mare by Florett AS: 67.174, 69.130, 66.739, 67.391, 69.348; 67.956%

7. Karen Lipp (USA) on Whitney, Kathleen Oldford’s 16yo Hanoverian mare by White Star: 65.543, 66.304, 65.761,65.217, 66.413; 65.848%

8. Jessica Howington (USA) on Cavalia, Jessica Howington’s 14yo KWPN mare by Sir Donnerhall I: 62.065, 66.304, 64.891, 61.848, 65.652; 64.152%

9. Jill Irving (CAN) on Degas 12, Jill Irving’s 19yo Hanoverian gelding by De Niro: 63.587, 63.804, 61.848, 61.522, 61.087; 62.370%

10. Krystalann Shingler (CAN) on Fidelio, Krystalann Shingler’s 13yo Oldenburg gelding by Fidertanz: 68.587, 60.326, 62.935, 59.130, 58.913; 61.978%