WELLINGTON, Fla.--Frederic Wandres of Germany on Bluetooth OLD scored 76.196% to win the CDI5* FEI Grand Prix on Wednesday, March 13.
Frederic Wandres on Bluetooth OLD (Photo by Susan Stickle)Germany placed first and second, with the 23-year-old Felicitas Hendricks on Drombusch OLD placing second with 71.283%, while Kevin Kohmann was third with 70.826% on 15-year-old Dünense.
It was close at the top as less than one percentage point covered the third to seventh place finishers.
It was the opening day of the five-star week of the Global Dressage Festival.
The CDI5* FEI Grand Prix, a qualifier for the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle classes, both Friday evening, was held under lights at the Wellington International venue, in the enormous main stadium International Arena.
Wandres, 36, was trending close to the 80% mark in the first half of the test, but a mistake in the one-time changes, which carry a double marking coefficient and were awarded fours and fives from all the judges, dragged the final score below his and Bluetooth’s career high of 77.888%, set at the European Championships in September 2023.
“I HAD A super expensive mistake, the one-tempi mistake, but the rest of the test felt pretty flawless and super nice,” said Wandres, who trains with his partner Lars Ligus, and also with the German team coach Monica Theodorescu, who was in Wellington to watch the pair ahead of the selection process for the Paris Olympic Games this summer. “Bluetooth had a winter break, and came back into the arena fresh and allowed me to ride him in a super harmonious way. I’m a little bit angry with myself for the mistake, it was my mistake, not his, but it’s okay, we are in the beginning of the season for him."
“He had a hard summer last year showing very consistently, so he earned himself a break from the show scene,” he said. “He’s really enjoyed the sun here, and we took time to invest into the small details, and I think that worked tonight. The mistake is something I can fix, and I’m looking personally more for other things; like presenting to the judges in a super harmonious way, in a good frame, with a happy horse and always light in the contact.”
In December 2013, Bluetooth was sold at the PSI Auction in Germany for €1 million (approximately $1.3 million USD at the time), and Wandres noticed the leggy bay gelding, but never expected that he would become his trusted grand prix partner.
However, years later he was offered the ride, and the pair made their international grand prix debut in April 2021, and have been a hot commodity ever since, posting wins on both sides of the planet.
“He’s a very sensitive horse, but in a positive way," said Wandres. "Two years ago, he would go kind of shy, but now he gets the feeling of presenting himself and becoming bigger. That’s what I like, that over the years they get more self-confidence to shine, and shine bright in the right moments. He takes that and becomes more expressive.”
The pair will contest the CDI5* Grand Prix Special on Friday, as in Paris that is the test that will determine the team medals, so a high-scoring performance is crucial for their Olympic campaign.
