WELLINGTON, Fla.--Germany riders continued their domination at the Global Dressage Festival, consistently beating America riders on their home turf.

Felicitas Hendricks on Drombusch OLD (Photo by Susan Stickle) Germany’s Felicitas Hendricks on Drombusch OLD won the CDI5* Grand Prix Freestyle and Frederic Wandres on Bluetooth OLD won the Grand Prix Special in the International Arena at WEF during “Friday Night Stars” on Friday, March 15.

Hendricks, 24, who finished second in the five star Special last year to Wandres, won this year with a score of 77.245%, performing to a disco soundtrack in her first ever five star Freestyle.

It’s easy to forget that Hendricks is still eligible to ride in the Under-25 division and not in senior ranks.

Sweden’s Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén on Devanto was second with a score of 74.565%, while another German, Anna-Cristina Abbelen, finished third on Sam Donnerhall with 73.895%.

“It was super fun," said Hendricks, who with Drombusch is the reigning European Under-25 Championship gold medalist. "I loved it here last year already, and I think we improved from last year, which is something really special. The atmosphere was amazing, the crowd was great and it was super nice to experience a different atmosphere. I love Global, dressage’s usual venue, but it was really fun to come here too and do it at WEF.”

 

HENDRICKS' freestyle is of high technical difficulty, but she rode with quiet hands and invisible aids.

She moved seamlessly between movements, and included tough transitions and a testing floorplan, like double pirouettes immediately out into canter half-passes.

She finished with a metronomic passage and a one handed piaffe to halt.

“Drombusch has a great passage which really feels like being on a cloud,” she said. “I’ve had him since he was 6. I bought him from my uncle and trainer Christoph Koschel who thought that he might be the right match for me, and he turned out to be right. It’s been a long journey, but it was very rewarding, and I couldn’t wish for a better dance partner. It’s even more special because we’ve gone all the way together.”

This was Drombusch’s final show of the Florida season, where he has won seven of his eight starts, as he will fly back to Germany in a week.

After giving the horse a break, Hendricks will map out his summer season in Europe.

Having ridden at seven Olympics, Vilhelmson Silfvén, 28, has much experience to draw on, and she had to think on her feet when a mistake crept into her freestyle test on Devanto, which she rode to her well known “Puttin’ on the Ritz” soundtrack.

“I actually had a super feeling, the best I’ve had in a freestyle,” she said. “Until I had a mistake, and then I lost him. So then there were more mistakes because he got upset. He thought he was going into an extended canter, but I wanted to do two-tempis, so he almost fell over. But anyway I’m happy. This is the third time he’s gone in here (the WEF arena) and every time it gets easier. The atmosphere was great tonight.”

Abbelen’s ride, the 17-year-old Sam Donnerhall, was the oldest horse in the class, and she increased the degree of difficulty of her floorplan for this show.

“After every ride I’m super happy to have him, that he’s super sound and that every day he’s willing to work,” she said. “That he’s fresh and that I made it into a five-star grand prix and freestyle is really a great gift.

“The music is pretty explosive and powerful, like Sam, and I’m sporty too, and the music covers that really well," said Abbelen. "I changed my floorplan for this five-star because I thought we were ready now that we’ve known each other for three years, so I wanted to take the risk and it worked out really good.”

After Wandres’ win in Wednesday’s qualifying grand prix, he said he would “try to go for a little risk to shine bright” in Friday night’s CDI5* Grand Prix Special, and he did just that.

Riding Bluetooth OLD, Wandres pulled off a near-flawless performance, posting a new personal best in this test of 78.34%.

Riders from the USA placed second and third: Anna Marek on Fayvel was second place with 70.617%.

This was Marek and Fayvel's second ever CDI grand prix special, and they set a new personal best, beating their previous high score by 2.34 percentage points.

Ashley Holzer put a tense performance with Hansel in Wednesday’s grand prix behind her, and finished third on Blue Hors Don Olymbrio gelding with a 70.149%.

Last to go in the class, Bluetooth exuded power and grace with a light, consistent contact, and Wandres presented him in an uphill frame with the hind legs always engaged.

“It felt like a flawless, harmonious ride,” said Wandres. “I had a wake up call in the grand prix when I had that mistake in the one-time changes, and I was angry with myself because normally our strength is that we can show mistake-free rides, but that pushed me even more for today.

“I felt like where I could go for risk, I rode it out more tonight. For Bluetooth it’s the beginning of the season, but he’s going back to Europe next week. Here in Florida this season we really invested in working on the details and I think it worked out. I spend a lot of time with my horses, not just the riding, and here I can really do that, so I am very happy tonight.”

Katherine Bateson Chandler capitalized on her CDI3* Grand Prix win on Thursday to win again on Friday in the CDI3* Grand Prix Special.

Last to go in the class, she rode Haute Couture to 70.043%, the only one of the 15 starters to crack the 70% barrier.