WELLINGTON, Fla.--The U.S. team of Anna Marek, Ashley Holzer, Meagan Davis and Jordan LaPlaca won the gold medal in the dressage FEI Nations Cup, narrowly beating a strong German team, with Canada placing third on Thursday, March 19 at the Global Dressage Festival.
Anna Marek on Fayvel (Photo by Centre Line Media)The Nations Cup competition went down to the wire with less than 1.5 percentage points separating the top three.
The U.S. team, led by Chef d’Equipe Christine Traurig, came out on top by the slimmest of margins.
For the past five years, Germany has dominated this competition, until Marek broke the German stranglehold.
With a mistake-free test, her score tipped the balance in the U.S.’s favor, handing the U.S. an historic victory in the opening competition of the 2026 FEI Dressage Nations Cup series—the only leg held outside Europe.
With three teams competing in the Nations Cup, the U.S. team concluded on a total of 205.631, Germany placed second on 205.043, and Canada won the bronze with 204.196.
THE LAST TIME the U.S. team won the Wellington Nations Cup leg was in 2020, when the format still allowed for a mixture of grand prix and small tour combinations.
Team USA, left to right: Anna Marek, Meagan Davis, Jordan LaPlaca, Ashley Holzer (Photo by Centre Line Medai)The U.S. result was particularly notable given that two of the riders, Davis and LaPlaca, were making their senior team debuts, and both Holzer and anchor rider Marek received late call-ups after the withdrawal of two selected combinations.
First to go, Holzer finished on 67.652% on Hawtins San Floriana, setting a solid start for the team, while Marek scored 69.435% on Fayvel to win for the U.S.
“Christine chose me to go last, which is always a big honor,” said Marek, who is based near Ocala, Fla. “In a team competition, there’s even more added pressure because I want to have a good ride for my team. I didn’t know what score I needed for gold and, honestly, it wouldn’t have really mattered. I just went in there wanting to ride the best test I could."
“This gold medal is huge, though, because it was important to his owner Cynthia Davila for Fayvel to be on a team, so it’s special to share this with her. He’s a very special horse. He was hers to ride, and then I started riding him, and [my coach] Anne Gribbons always loved him, so Cynthia let me carry on, and we’ve been enjoying every second of it.”
Davis on Toronto Lightfoot placed fourth individually on a score of 68.544%.
She attributes much of the Totilas gelding’s ability to focus in a big atmosphere to having cows as well as a children’s trampoline right next to her ring at home in Loxahatchee, Fla.
“I was a little nervous when a helicopter sounded like it was landing in the ring with us, but Toronto trusted me and never missed a beat,” she said. “We lacked a little impulsion, but we did a clean test, so we did what we needed to do. There’s only up to go from here with him.”
Holzer on Hawtins San Floriana also had a clean test, something that has previously eluded them.
“I have not done a clean test ever on this horse until today, so I’m thrilled,” said Holzer, who represented Canada at four Olympics before switching countries. “I love this horse so much, and she’s a sensitive, hot tamale, so for her to be calm and quiet and respond to me is a very special feeling."
“You cannot take for granted what an honor it is to be chosen to ride on a team for your country,” she said. “It was a close competition, and yes, there’s added pressure, but there’s also the added strength of people rooting for you, which is wonderful. It was great to have two younger combinations here, because you don’t get used to the feeling of riding on a team unless you actually get to do it.”
LaPlaca on Gold Play had a disappointing 65.131% test, but still helped to deliver a gold medal.
“It’s what you dream of,” said LaPlaca, who is from Ledyard, Conn., and was contesting just his fourth big tour CDI with the horse. “Honestly, each day riding him is a win. Being on a team that is so strong and to gain this experience was top-notch—you can’t beat it. To have the camaraderie, teamwork and the spirit of being together makes it that much more fun, because dressage can be isolating."
“However, I was a little bummed about the test today because he took over in places and was more electric than he has been, which is kind of cool, because we did back-to-back CDIs,” he said. “So, he’s got the heat, but it caused a lot of mistakes. The highlight was him showing me that he enjoys being out there. Now, it’s just a lifetime of refinement and making it all easier and calmer.”
The silver medal winning German team was led by the Paris Olympic team gold medalist, Frederic Wandres on Varrenberg who led individually with 69.913%.
Wandres’s fiancé Lars Ligus on Zara K2, who was in just his second ever senior CDI (the first was the Wellington Nations Cup during the 2025 AGDF) had a contributing score of 66.978%.
Emma Caecilia Lienert, 22, on Windermere J’Obei W was another rider making her senior team debut, and she scored a new personal best. of 68.152% in the duo’s second senior CDI.
They have had a good run in the U25 ranks, winning all seven of their starts at AGDF this season.
The horse was formerly campaigned by New Zealander Melissa Galloway, including at the Paris Olympics.
Germany’s Chef d’Equipe Michael Klimke rode Harmony’s Fado to score 66.63%.
The anchor rider for the Canadian team, Olympian Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu, on Jaccardo was the individual second to Wandres on 69.826%.
The Canadian team was rounded out by the Olympic duo of Camille Carier Bergeron on Finnländerin, along with Denielle Gallagher on Come Back De Massa and Alexandra Duncan on Hitmaker.
