WELLINGTON, Fla.--Adrienne Lyle rode Harmony’s Duval to win the Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO3*on Friday, March 19,  and Sabine Schut-Kery on Sanceo, won the Grand Prix Special CDI3* on Saturday at the Dressage Festival..

Adrienne Lyle on Harmony's Duval (Photo by Susan Stickle)Lyle and Harmony’s Duval,won the freestyle under the lights, scoring  80.020 percent.

“It was worth staying up past my bedtime!” she joked.

“There’s really nothing that compares to riding at Global on a Friday Night Stars,” said Lyle. “It’s one of my favorite experiences in the horse world. To do this on Duval, who we had from when he was unbroke, all the way up to becoming an individual gold medalist here, is just really special. I’ve got an unbelievable group of owners that have supported me along the way. ”

Lyle said that her freestyle is from her previous mount, Wizard in 2011 at Dressage at Devon, but thought it would fit well for her mount’s second ever freestyle.

“I wanted to go back to something I knew since Duval has done one freestyle in his life, so I could give him a good experience out there,” she said.

Lyle and the gelding produced top performances all week, achieving the highest scores in both the grand prix and grand prix special before contesting the freestyle.

“I started with the canter work with him when planning the degree of difficulty," she said. “I think he’s got some fun, powerful canter work. It’s not the most difficult freestyle out there nowadays. When I made it, they didn’t have the degree of difficulty score the way that they do now. But it still has double pirouettes and piaffe pirouettes, so it gets enough degree of difficulty points. I think it’s a really fun one; it doesn’t always have to be for him the most difficult every time he goes out.”

 

“THE REASON why I gave Adrienne such a high mark was an easy one – the hair on the back of my neck was standing up because the music and power and expression of the whole performance was outstanding,” said judge at G Stephey Clark of Great Britain, who gave Lyle an 82.775 percent.

Second place went to the night’s youngest competitor, 21-year-old Benjamin Ebeling, in his first senior grand prix freestyle under the lights on Illuster Van De Kampert.

“I was talking with my teammates Adrienne Lyle and Katherine Bateson Chandler]and Jennifer Williams, about the fact that it’s so cool that I got to grow up watching Adrienne and Katherine and people like my dad [Jan Ebeling] all ride on a team together,”  he said. “Finally I’m here, and it’s surreal.”

Ebeling had a successful career in the Under 25 division and worked his way up to the senior level with Illuster.

The pair had never ridden this freestyle together, and Ebeling noted that the “Star Wars”-themed ride had just been finished the day before.

“It was ready yesterday, and I ran through it on foot before I got here. That was the first time ever riding to it,” he said. “This is his first time competing for three days in a row. In the warm-up he was a little tired, which is to be expected. But then as we got in that arena, he perked up. Let me tell you, I had so much fun riding that freestyle, because I’m also a ‘Star Wars’ fan!”

Third was Canadian Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu and All In, scooring 77.065 percent.

 

SABINE SCHUT-KERY on Sanceo, posted her second win of the week, this time in the FEI Grand Prix Special CDI3*, presented by Iron Spring Farm of Coatesville, Pa..

Sabine Schut Kery on Sanceo (Photo by Susan Stickle)Schut-Kery rode Sanceo to a score of 75.660 percent, topping the competitive class by over two percentage points.

“Of course it’s amazing,” she said, “I don’t even know what to say! My heart always goes to Sanceo for pulling it off. I felt that there were some things that I could’ve done better today as I was riding, but then I also tried to just stay focused and make sure that I didn’t start making other mistakes. It really felt so amazing. He is always with me and always pulls it off. Obviously he can have a strong day with a high score, and a lower day, and so can I.”

The pair has won every class that they’ve competed in this season, coming all the way from California to test their talents and marking a few personal best scores along the way.

Schut-Kery will now head back to the west coast after their busy season.

“I do feel like it’s time for a little break,” she said. “The horses do their job so well, but getting excited does put a little more performance pressure on them. I think he is ready to go home and relax for a while before we get back to it.”

Second place in the FEI Grand Prix Special CDI3* went to another West Coast rider, Nick Wagman on Don John, with a 73.340 percent, and third was west coaster Anna Buffini on FRH Davinia la Douce, with 69.936 percent.