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Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Felicitas Hendricks on Drumbusch OLD won the Grand Prix Freestyle

WELLINGTON, Fla.--Germany’s Felicitas Hendricks on Drombusch OLD won the FEI World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle on the first ‘Friday Night Stars’ evening of freestyle competition at the Global Dressage Festival.

Felicitas Hendricks on Drombusch OLD freetyleSusan StickleFelicitas Hendricks on Drombusch OLD (Photo by Susan Stickle)On an unusually cold evening, Hendricks scored 78.2% to win as the last rider to go.

The class was also a qualifier for the new US Equestrian Open of Dressage, which features 23 qualifiers. seven of which are at the Festival, before the final in California in November.

US Olympic team silver medalist Adrienne Lyle on Helix finished second with a 77.28%, reversing the placings from Thursday’s qualifying Grand Prix.

Sweden’s seven-time Olympian Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén on Devanto scored 75.515% to place third.

Hendricks, who at 24 years old is still eligible to ride in under-25 classes, is competing at the Festival as a senior for the second year running after finishing as the top rider at the Festival last year.

Her test showed harmonious self-carriage coupled with power and balance and featured 20 one-time changes down the centerline.

“He exceeded my expectations, like he does every time,” said Hendricks. “He leaves his heart in the ring. I can tell that he’s very happy to be back, and he was loving the crowd. He was a little spicy, but in a good way."

 

"THE MAIN work we’ve been doing at home is still the same and won’t change," said Hendricks, who is planning to ride three further CDIs with Drombusch at the Festival, including the Nations Cup in week seven and week 10’s CDI5*. "It’s very basic work of improving self-carriage and gaining more strength behind. I think that is a process that won’t ever stop, but I can tell that it’s really benefiting both of us. We take all that basic work into the exercises like the pirouettes and changes,”

Lyle had a glitch with her music, but once it was restarted, she pulled off a test full of power and energy on her Paris Olympics mount Helix.

“We’ve been getting him out at night and I’ve been riding him in the outdoor arena in the dark,” said Lyle, who rode to 70s and 80s music put together by Terry Gallo. “My girls are really good sports, and they come and put speakers around the arena. We’ve been playing applause music and doing all sorts of things to try to desensitize Helix, because he’s a very hot and sensitive horse. We’ve been trying to put in our due diligence to make sure that he was not overwhelmed in this environment."

“Considering the unconventional start to the test, I was really happy with him," said Lyle. "He got a little excited at the beginning, so it wasn’t our most polished ride but I’m very proud of him as this is a new experience for us.”

Vilhelmson Silfvén on Devanto, a 16-year-old jumping-bred gelding, rode to her familiar ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’ fin the Freestyle.

“I was very pleasantly surprised yesterday that he was so excited to be here and showing again,” she said. “Although he was hot, he still let me ride him and that’s kind of new because he would sometimes get excited and forget about me. He was so ‘on’ and spicy yesterday, so I was wondering how I should handle him today, but I liked the feeling he gave. He’s a really fun horse.”

In Friday’s daytime CDI1* FEI Intermediate I, Spanish riders won two of the top three spots.

Pablo Gómez Molina on the internationally inexperienced Farinel Di Fonteabeti placed first with 72.383%, and Juan Francisco Fernandez Muñoz on Doppelkorn was third with 67.412%,

Kevin Kohmann on Scala, who won Thursday’s Prix St. Georges class, placed second with 70.353%.

The Horse of Delaware Valley-The Team

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