WELLINGTON, Fla.--Adrienne Lyle, on her Paris Olympic mount Helix, scored a huge new personal best of 80.325% in the World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle on Friday, Feb. 7 during the third ‘Friday Night Stars’ at the Global Dressage Festival.
Adrienne Lyle on Helix (Photo by Susan Stickle)With the win, she qualified for the World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland, April 2-6.
Lyle on Helix scored more than 2.7% higher than their previous best score, set last December, and led an all-American sweep of the top four places.
Anna Marek on Fayvel placed second with 78.785%, and the last to go in the class, P.J. Rizvi on Vanilla Ice, finished third with 76.585%.
The class was also a qualifier for the new U.S. Equestrian Open of Dressage, which features 23 qualifiers, seven of which are at the Festival, before the final in California in November.
Lyle took over the ride on Helix just over a year ago and made her CDI debut with the 13-year-old gelding at the Festival last year..
Lyle had competed Helix under lights for the first time two weeks earlier, and he had been a little overawed.
This time, she walked him around the arena giving him pats before the bell.
“THAT IS, hands down, the best feeling he’s ever given me,” said Lyle, who rode to a Terry Gallo music compilation. “He was able to replicate the work that I’ve been getting at home, the lightness, harmony, and self-carriage. Tonight, he was able to take that into an electric environment and stay relaxed and in his own balance. It felt effortless and I didn’t have to push for anything. To feel that kind of confidence from him is really exciting."
Anna Maerk on Fayvel (Photo by Susan Stickle)“When I saw the score, I was so excited. It’s not many times in your life you’re going to see an 80%; it’s a huge thrill,” said Lyle. “We added a high degree of difficulty to the floorplan by adding combinations, like pirouettes into the changes and the piaffe full pirouettes.”
Helix will have a short break before picking up training again ahead of the World Cup Final and, hopefully, the summer competing in Europe with the U.S. squad.
Lyle’s longer-term goal is the 2026 FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany.
Marek rode a complex floorplan on Fayvel, including a half circle of two-time changes straight into one-times.
A bobble in the final extended trot, where the horse’s abundant power brimmed over, was costly for Marek.
“Fayvel is a really fun horse to ride,” sid Marek, who is based near Ocala, FL, and trains with Ann Gribbons. “I can take risks, and we made this freestyle with so many combinations in a row. As difficult as it is, he’s still so easy to ride. I ride the brake a little bit and say, ‘Not so much, buddy!’”
Marek hopes to return to the World Cup Final and also compete in Europe this summer.
PJ Rizvi on Vanilla Ice (Photo by Susan Stickle)Rizvi’s was an extraordinary comeback story after major injury.
She has been out of the CDI ring for six years since having a major accident and being told she would never ride, walk or drive again.
Vanilla Ice, who was found by Rizvi’s trainer Ashley Holzer and Robert Dover, was the horse who gave her the confidence to return to the saddle after numerous surgeries.
Rizvi grinned throughout her test.
“My goal was to prove to myself that I could get back on a horse, and he’s a complete confidence builder,” said Rizvi, who rode to a Tom Hunt freestyle which had the crowd on their feet. “I really pushed hard for this, and I honestly did it for pure fun. It was our first CDI and it was my personal best score. I’m in shock. I heard a lot of clapping and screaming; this was so much fun."
“The horse has charisma like Vanilla Ice. He’s a Lusitano, he’s so different than a warmblood, and I have to do the best I can with him and not try to be something that he isn’t, because he’s enough, and he’s the best for me,” she said.
In the second qualifying round of five of the Future Challenge FEI Intermediate II, a class for developing grand prix horses aged 8 to 11 years old, two more horse-and-rider combinations qualified for the week 12 grand final in which riders will tackle the FEI Grand Prix for Young Horses, competing for a slice of the $15,000 in prize money.
Qualifying with the only plus-70%, Hannah Bressler Jaques on Jim won the class of nine starters, scoring 70.353%, the highest score in the series so far this season.
James Irwin of Canada on Flirtfaktor S placed second, scoring 67.059% to also qualify for the finals.
Hope Cooper on Destar finished third with a 65.912%.
