WELLINGTON, Fla--Laurence Vanommeslaghe of Belgium won the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI4* on Friday, Feb. 11, during “Friday Night Stars” at the Global Dressage Festival, while Charlotte Jorst 0f Laguna Beach, Calif., posted her second win in as many days on Kastel’s Nintendo in the World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle,

Laurence Vanommeslaghe on Edison (Photo by Susan Stickle)Vanommeslaghe rode Edison to their first-ever CDI victory and a career best of 79.115 percent, just edging out the winners of the qualifying Grand Prix, Frederic Wandres of Germany on Bluetooth OLD, who was second with 79.045 percent.

Benjamin Ebelin of Moorpark, Claif.,, last to go of the 10 riders, clinched third riding Illuster Van De Kampert to score 77.370 percent.

After the pandemic-induced drought of shows, the spectators were keen to show their support, and almost immediately after Vanommeslaghe began her test, whoops rang out, and the crowd clapped along to her bold heavy metal-themed soundtrack.

“I was so delighted,” said Vanommeslaghe. “I was very tense because there was a lot of public for me, and it was our first international show in a long time. I could really feel the support of the crowd. My tension went away when I could hear them. I think the horse likes the music, and the public, he really likes to move in rhythm with the music.”

 

THIS WAS a game-changing result for the Paris-based 50-year-old rider, who was competing outside Europe for the first time and whose previous top score was 75.525 percent from the spring of 2021.

Charlotte Jorst on Kastel's Nintendo (Photo by Susan Stickle)She has had the horse for two years after finding him in Holland and trains with Christoph Koschel.

“Unfortunately, the horse was injured before the European Championships (in Hagen in September of 2021}, so I had to rest him for several months,” said Vanommeslaghe. “That’s why my summer season in Europe ended early and why I decided to come here.

“It’s the first time that my horse flew on a plane, and this is all a big adventure for me,” she said. “The show is amazing. We will finish the season here and then go back to Europe and try for the Belgian team for the World Championships.”

“I had a very good feeling during the test," said Wandres. "For me that’s very important, because I had some shows when I started with him where he was a little bit shy, and I could not take what he offered me in the warm up into the ring. So that is already much better, and we find more and more together.”

“It was such a big environment in there tonight,” said Ebeling. “There was a little bit of tension from my horse. The show organizers do such a great job of advertising the show, so of course there was a big audience, and he got a little excited. We had some mistakes related to tension, but overall I was very pleased.”

Jorst rode the 19-year-old Kastel’s Nintendo in the Freestyle to a soundtrack from “Pirates of the Caribbean” complete with pirate motif on both her stock and the horse’s ear bonnet.

Jorst scored 79.075 percent to edge out Spain’s Juan Matute Guimón, who was second with 78.050 percent on Quantico, and Anna Buffini finished third with 77.605 percent on FRH Davinia La Douce.

Two judges awarded Jorst over 80 percent.

“I came back from Aachen, and there I almost had an 80 percent too,” she said. “This music really suits him. Coming up that centerline in the end, you can feel him just lifting up and being so happy about it. For the first time I’ve actually nailed the music and choreography, after many tries and many failures.”

At 19, Nintendo was the oldest horse in the class, but thanks to his routine of ample trail riding and daily turnout, he is still fit and fresh in the ring.

“He just wants to give and give,” said the 55-year-old Danish-born American. “I trust him 100 percent, and I think he trusts me 100 percent. We don’t have to warm up a lot anymore. Now it’s like 20 minutes and then ‘boom’ in the ring, so he’s out of here in 25 minutes, and that really works for him.”

In the day’s third grand prix class, Katie Duerrhammer on Quartett won the Grand Prix CDI4*, scoring a personal best of 71.000 percent.

Alice Tarjan was second on Donatella M on 70.739 percent, and Benjamin Ebeling was third with 70.087 percent on Indeed.

“Today was the first time we broke 70 percent in the regular Grand Prix, and that’s kind of been my goal all season,” said the 33-year-old Duerrhammer, who works with Adrienne Lyle. “Quartett tries so hard and if you ride it right, he is going to be there for you and that’s a very special feeling.

“He can be quite sound sensitive, so this is a hotter environment for him here," said Duerrhammer.       'I’m really proud of how much he’s starting to use that excitement for good things, and not just getting tight and tense.”