WELLLINGTON, Fla--German dressage megastar Isabell Werth on Special Brand 3 won the FEI Dressage World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle, scoring 82.66% on Feb. 20 at the Global Dressage Festival.
Isabell Werth on Special Blend 3 (Photo by Centre Line Media)Werth was making her CDI freestyle debut on Special Blend 3 during the ‘Friday Night Stars’ sold-out evening's showcase class.
Flipping the second and third places from the qualifying grand prix class, Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu of Canada on Jaccardo placed second with a new personal best score of 79.25%.
Ecuador's Julio Mendoza Loor on his 2024 Paris Olympics mount Jewel’s Goldstrike finished third with 78.165%.
Riders from six different nations filled the top six places in the high-scoring class.
Special Blend 3, who is still registered to former owner Helgstrand Dressage but was recently sold to Werth’s student Natalie Stickling-Morzynski, belied his inexperience in the freestyle, as he was ridden to a classical compilation originally designed for Werth’s Olympic team gold medal-winning horse, Emilio.
Special Blend only got the call-up to fly to Florida a few days before the show after Werth’s intended horse, DSP Quantaz, got a small swelling on one leg.
“THIS FREESTYLE is really, really difficult and I was not sure what Special would do because he’s not experienced in these kinds of atmospheres, but he was very focused,” said Werth. “This crowd was so supportive and started to clap, which is something special. That end to a test is a feeling I really enjoy, and it’s how you know why you’re still in the saddle in a competition.”
Werth’s test showcased a full piaffe pirouette right after the entry halt and 22 one-time changes on a curving line between canter pirouettes.
It was a masterclass in her signature fusion of extreme technical difficulty and ease of execution.
“I’d like to thank the show team because it was pretty impressive here,” said the seven-time Olympian, who last competed in Wellington a decade and a half ago. “I didn’t expect that it would be like this. There’s a huge improvement in the whole environment here—the horses, the riding—which is great to see. We have to make dressage more global and for sure here there is a lot of energy and enthusiasm, which I love to see and be a part of. I’m pretty sure that I’ll come back next year.”
Fraser-Beaulieu on Jaccardo entered the arena on a mission to finish as the highest-placed rider in the FEI Dressage World Cup – North American League in her quest to qualify for the Final in Texas in April, and she achieved it.
“I couldn’t leave anything hanging because I had a lot on the line,” said Fraser-Beaulieu, who trains with Ashley Holzer. “This was Jac’s first Friday night, and he’d never been into an atmosphere like this, so I was a bit nervous because there were so many people, but he came into the arena and was like, ‘Let’s go!’. He was on my aids the whole time.”
“This was the first time I actually went through the newer pattern,” she said. “I just wanted to be on my music, mistake-free, and show power. I think I accomplished that today. Jill and Ashley insisted on the Britney Spears music, and I was a little shy about it at first, but everybody seems to like it, and the crowd gets involved.”
Also in Friday’s competition in the Future Challenge, a series for developing grand prix horses aged 8 to 11, two U.S. athletes qualified for the final, which takes place on March 20 during AGDF 11.
Ben Ebeling, the current US Open Dressage champion, qualified with a win in the qualifier, riding Frank Jacques to score 69.853%.
Sarah Tubman on Barton VDL placed second place with 69.176% to be the second qualifier,and Canada’s Shannon Dueck was third with 68.647% on Materos JV.
