By Alice Collins for Wellington International

Kevin Kohmann (USA) pulled off the performance of a lifetime in the FEI World Cup™ Grand Prix Freestyle, sponsored by 3 Graces Dressage, on Friday, February 28, during “Friday Night Stars” at the 2025 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL. Riding Dünensee to a new personal best of 79.24%, Kohmann sealed his place in the 2025 FEI World Cup™ Final—which will be his second final.

From last draw, Anna Marek (USA) gave it her best shot, riding Fire Fly to 77.64% and second place, leaving her in fourth on the FEI Dressage World Cup™ North American League standings with just three spots up for grabs. Kohmann will join Adrienne Lyle and Geñay Vaughn in Basel, Switzerland (April 2-6). 

Canada’s Camille Carier Bergeron rode her parents’ 15-year-old Fidertanz x Donnerhall Oldenburg mare Finnländerin to 75.325% and third place. 

The class also doubled as a qualifier for the new US Equestrian Open of Dressage, which features 23 qualifiers—seven of which are at AGDF—before the final in California in November. Germany’s Evelyn Eger and Karen Lipp (USA) are currently tied at the top of the standings with 60 points.  

Kohmann rode a complex floorplan to upbeat music by Avicii—his favorite DJ—which includes ‘Wake Me Up’ by Hinterland. There was a high degree of difficulty right from the outset: halt to canter and straight into a double pirouette to start. The test also included changes on curving lines and a full piaffe pirouette in the middle of the walk section. Kohmann punched the air as he nailed the final halt right on cue. Judge at B, Portugal’s Miguel Gonçalves, rewarded their uphill, well-balanced test with the high score of 80.175%. 

“That’s twice now that we’ve ridden a personal best,” said the 36-year-old Kohmann, referring to the pair’s 77.575% in Friday Night Stars during AGDF 3—their previous high score. “It’s coming together more and he’s helping me every time in the ring. I cannot thank the horse enough. I trust him and he trusts me. This arena is not so easy, but we know our freestyle, we like the music, and it flows nicely.” 

Kohmann credits Dünensee with the upward trajectory of his career in recent years.

“He really brought me into the international grand prix ring; I’ve shown it before, but never like this,” said Kohmann, whose groom German Rodriguez was awarded the $500 groom’s prize, sponsored by Lövsta Future Challenge. “This horse keeps getting better and we’re peaking at the right time. Although this is very bittersweet because me and Anna are good friends and that was not an easy competition today.” 

Kohmann has a long history with Dünensee, Diamante Farms’ 16-year-old Dancier x Davignon gelding, having first ridden him as a five-year-old. He was then sold, but Kohmann’s coach Cristoph Koschel later persuaded him to take the horse back, despite some difficulties with the tempi changes. Now, he has a home for life. 

Kohmann’s success was manifold on Friday as he also won the CDI1* FEI Intermediate I on another Diamante Farms horse, scoring 70.617% on the 10-year-old mare Scala (by St Schufro x Belissimo M). 

Marek, who is based near Ocala, FL, and trains with Ann Gribbons, decided to ride a full power test on Janet Simile’s 15-year-old Briar Junior gelding, Fire Fly. 

“Following Kevin I had nothing to lose, so I decided to go for it and take some risks I might not normally on Firefly,” said Marek, who has ridden the horse for almost four years. “But today it all worked out. He was really good and I was proud of him. 

“He already showed grand prix before I got him, but he was scared in the piaffe and he couldn’t always do the ones—I still can’t always get them—but overall he’s the horse that has taught me probably more than any other in terms of learning patience and building a relationship. He has the biggest heart,” added Marek, who is hoping to qualify for the US Open Final with Fire Fly. 

Carier Bergeron is another who has had a tricky time riding the one-time changes clean in the ring on her horse Finnländerin, but she pulled off two clean lines of them under the lights. 

“Tonight was really great because I got my one-times,” said Carier Bergeron of her Paris 2024 Olympic partner. “I almost got PTSD with those one-times, but tonight I killed them, so that was cool. After Paris this year is all about doing freestyles and having fun. Tonight it felt like all the pieces came together.”

Judge at C, Germany’s Henning Lehrmann, praised the rides, saying, “The quality was really good, especially from the top three. And they all had clever choreography; we could see the highlights yet the things that were not 100% good we couldn’t see so well.” 

Click for full results from AGDF 8.

Eger Wins on Derby Debut

The popular Palm Beach Derby returned for its 42nd anniversary edition on Friday. The exciting knock-out contest pits riders head-to-head to ride a Prix St. Georges on an unfamiliar horse with just five minutes to warm up before tackling the test in the main arena. 

This year, the ever-popular class—sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings—culminated in a tussle between Spain’s Paula Matute Guimón and Evelyn Eger (GER). Both athletes emerged victorious from the semi-final knock-out rounds earlier in the evening. 

Matute Guimón rode a sympathetic test on Karen Pavicic and Thomas Baur’s 13-year-old Hanoverian Totilas x Donnerhall gelding Totem for 71.654%. The test is marked by three CDI judges, and the spectator judging score makes up 25% of the final mark.  

Stepping into the stirrups second and making her Derby debut, the 27-year-old Eger coaxed a 74.89% test from Totem. It was bolstered by high marks for the walk and canter pirouettes, as well as a final spectator judging score of 77.353%. 

“I’m super honored to do my first Derby experience here in Wellington at my first season here; it’s super special,” said Eger, who works for Hof Kasselmann. “To prepare myself, actually I just did my job because I’m used to riding so many different horses in a day. Of course it was a big challenge to go directly into the test, but we had such nice horses today—thanks to the owners—that it was a pleasure to ride them.”

Eger went straight into the difficult exercises in her warm-up to gauge Totem’s reactions. “I wanted to get a feel for them without making him tired or putting unnecessary kilometers on the horse,” she said. “Totem was nervous, so I just tried to relax him and give him a good feeling.”

Of her first Derby experience she added, “It was so much fun! Even when you know your horse it’s a challenge to ride a test, but this is something else. I enjoyed seeing how the other riders handled the horses; I’d love to do another Derby.”  

Dressage classes resume on Saturday, March 1, with the day’s marquee class, the CDI3* FEI Grand Prix Special, sponsored by Mission Control, starting at 12.30pm ET. AGDF8, Palm Beach Derby week, wraps up on Sunday. AGDF, which hosts seven weeks of CDI competition and weekly national shows over three months, runs through March 30. For more information and results, and to watch all the classes hosted by Wellington International in the main arena on live stream, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.