The FEI Nations Cup for Under 25 riders, presented by Diamante Farms, was the feature competition on Thursday during opening day of week 7 at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL. The under-25 division was a clean sweep for team “stars and stripes” who pocketed the gold with a point total of 139.736. The home nation also secured the silver medal with a finishing score of 135.500. Rivals to the north, Canada landed in the bronze position with a final tally of 133.118.

Benjamin Ebeling (USA) boasted the only score to break 70% in the CDIOU25 Intermediate II, presented by Diamante Farms, which left him both with the team gold and individual first place aboard Ann Romney’s 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding Status Royal OLD (Statesman OLD x Rubin Royal OLD). Ebeling’s performance was a repeat of his victory during the same event last year in which he and the mount scored only a slight fraction below their most recent test on a percentage of 70.647%.

In an impressive performance during her debut as a team rider for the United States, Callie O’Connell clinched the class’s overall second-place position by earning 69.089% for her performance aboard the Ruling Cortes LLC Owned 14-year-old KWPN gelding Eaton H (Wynton x San Remo).

“This has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to be on a team, and a year ago I never would’ve thought I would be in this situation,” expressed O’Connell, 24. “I partnered with this horse at the end of March last year and we went straight into the under-25 division because it is the last year that I’m eligible. My main goal coming to Florida this year was to make the team.”

O’Connell’s partner, Ebeling, 23, may be more versed in being on a team, but he admitted that the event in Wellington is a unique experience no matter what the level.

“I have competed on an under-25 team several times now, and I have competed abroad, but this experience is always so much fun,” he stated. “It’s a fantastic way to get experience riding on a team at the Grand Prix level. It’s a good time, a great team environment, and just overall it is fun to compete for team USA.”

Regarding the day’s win, Ebeling credits much of his test’s success on the execution of the first three movements.

“One of my mentors, Robert Dover, always says that the first three movements are your ‘business card’ and you need to nail those specifically,” Ebeling explained. “My horse’s extensions are always pretty good, but today I was really focused on the trot half pass.”

O’Connell was equally as pleased with the ride executed by her and her mount in their blossoming partnership. “I only just competed in my first CDI two events ago, so there have been a lot of firsts for me recently,” she detailed. “This was our best test so far. His rideability overall through the whole test was unbelievable. He can sometimes be a little ahead of me and today he was just ready and waiting. My coach told me just to ‘ride every moment’ so I patted my horse, told him I believed in him, and did just that.

Both Ebeling and O’Connell train with Germany’s FEI World Championship team bronze medalist Christoph Koschel.

Pablo Gomez Molina Scores First Grand Prix Victory Aboard Ulises de Ymas

The opening day of an exciting week at the Adequan Global® Dressage Festival (AGDF) saw top talent rise with a new personal best for Spain’s Pablo Gomez Molina in the Iron Spring Farm CDI3* FEI Grand Prix on Thursday morning. Thirty athlete combinations rode down centerline to kick off Week 7 of competition at the venue.

As one of the final entries, Molina piloted the 13-year-old P.R.E. gelding Ulises de Ymas (Seni Indio x Superior II) to his top-finishing score of 71.087% in the class for the highest honors. Breaking the 70% mark, but still falling short of Molina’s total, Susan Pape (GBR) and Harmony’s Eclectisch rode into second place with a score of 70.587%. The victory lap was rounded out by the USA’s Anna Marek on Fire Fly, who finished with a score of 69.500%.

“I’m really happy with the test,” stated Molina. “It was warm today, so I was a little bit worried with the warm-up because we didn’t do much; we just worked on a tiny bit of everything. We had a little more power in certain movements but overall he was really with me and I’m happy with the way he behaved and let me ride him.”

The win is Molina’s first grand prix victory on the Wellington circuit where he has been competing since 2014. While the journey has been long, he described having a good feeling about his equine partner from the beginning and feeling that the victory was worth the wait.

“To win here is like a dream come true,” Molina admitted. “I started riding [Ulises de Ymas] when he was five years old, and we always thought he was going to be good enough for Grand Prix, so we took our time. He loves to work, which I think is the most important thing. We still have a lot of things to improve on but at the end of the day you work every day for this.”

Thursday’s Nation Cup action also included the CDIO3* Prix St. Georges and Grand Prix, both sponsored by Stillpoint Farm. Small tour riders will progress to the Intermediate I test on Friday, and the big tour riders will tackle the Grand Prix Special, after which the team medals will be awarded.

At the half-way point of the two days of team competition in the Stillpoint Farm FEI Nations Cup CDIO3*, team Germany leads the way. The format at this show allows teams to combine small tour and grand prix combinations, with the latter garnering a 1.5% bonus for the more difficult test.

With all teams having posted four results, Germany is leading (with one day to go) the U.S. with 217.940 points to 214.617. Sweden is in third with 206.707 points.

In the CDIO3* Prix St. Georges, sponsored by Stillpoint Farm, Frederic Wandres (GER) led the way with an impressive 74.853% on Harrods 3. Alexander Yde Helgstrand (DEN) secured second place aboard Belantis (DK), while Charlotte Jorst took a rosette for the USA by landing third place with Zhaplin Langholt.

The day concluded with a one-two punch for Sweden as Tinne Vilhelmson Silfven scored the top-placing percentage of 70.783% in the CDIO3* FEI Grand Prix, sponsored by Stillpoint Farm, aboard Devanto. Fellow Swedish rider Caroline Darcourt made it a back-to-back success for the country as she and Lord Django finished with a score of 70.630% to earn second. Michael Klimke (GER) rounded out the top three by scoring 70.239% with Harmony’s Sanrino RHP.

Dressage action at AGDF resumes on Friday with a jam-packed day and evening of individual and senior team competition. “Friday Night Stars” in the evening under the lights features the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI3*, sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings, to music. Daytime action features the conclusion of the Stillpoint Farm FEI Nations Cup CDIO3*, as well as small tour, juniors, young riders, and a Grand Prix CDIO-U25 for individual medals. For more information and results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.