FORT WORTH, Texas--Christian Simonson Indian Rock scored a personal best of 83.810% to place second in the Dressage World Cup Final Grand Prix Freestyle on Saturday evening, April 11.
Christian Simonson on Indian Rock (Photo by Sarah Miller for MacMillan Photography)This was his second silver medal finish after also placing second in the Grand Prix Thursday evening.
Becky Moody of Great Britain on Jagerbomb scored 88.330% to win for the second time, and Sandra Sysojeva of Poland on Maxima Bella was third on 80.770%.
Kevin Kohmann on Duenensee finished ninth on 76.730, and Benjamin Ebeling on Bellena was 10th on 74.965%.
“We accomplished another goal we set for this year, which was to have our riders finish in the top 10,” said Chef d'Equipe Christine Traurig. “Ben and Kevin both have World Cup Finals experience, and they rode great tonight with good results in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Christian’s finish on the podium in second place is a fantastic result for USA Dressage and continues to build momentum towards this summer’s World Championships and beyond. I am so proud of our riders, their horses, the grooms, their personal trainers, and our owners. It was truly a great week to celebrate dressage here at home in the United States.”
On Indian Rock, a 13-year-old KWPN stallion, Simonson, in his first World Cup Final freestyle, rode to a Rocky franchise-themed choreography that showcased Indian Rock’s tremendous elasticity and power.
“We wanted to show the hero’s journey in the choreography,” Simonson said. “And we just really wanted to show how powerful ‘Rocky’ is, of course. It’s based on the music from the Rocky movies and the story as well.”
“At the end of my test, looking up and seeing this wall of people applauding Rocky and I, it was super special and something I will never forget,” said Simonson. “He’s such a special horse and deserves every amount of praise. This whole week has been a childhood dream come true and unbelievably surreal.”
SIMONSON used the experience to prepare for the summer campaign ahead, which will include the USEF Grand Prix National Championships in May.
Becky Moody on Jagerbomb (Photo by Sarah Miller for MacMillan Photography)“After this show Rocky will have some downtime and then we have the U.S. Championships next month in Ocala," said Simonson. "After that, we’ll see what the summer holds. It’s felt kind of surreal to be on this journey already, so we’ll see how the rest of the summer goes, but it felt like we took a huge step together this week.”
After winning the Grand Prix Thursday, Moody on her homebred Jagerbomb scored a personal best 88.330% to convincingly win the World Cup title.
“I’ve never ridden in an arena like that,” Moody said. “It’s just insane to be part of such a cool competition. The crowd here was absolutely something else. To be sat here with these riders is just fantastic. I think all of our horses are complete and utter diamonds.”
To describe the crowd as exuberant would have been an understatement.
In true Texas fashion, the fans ‘hooted and hollered’ with every bold line of extended trot and recognizable piece of music.
At the end of the tests, those in their seats were repeatedly brought to their feet, as they gave deserving pairs standing ovations.
Kevin Kohmann on Duenensee (Photo by Sarah Miller for MacMillan Photography)Several horses reacted to the noise, but the riders encouraged the enthusiasm, motioning to the crowd and pointing down to give credit to their horses.
Moody rode to a Beatles-inspired Freestyle that featured tracks like All You Need is Love, With a Little Help From My Friends, Here Comes the Sun, Love Me Do, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Twist and Shout and Come Together.
“Today, right from the get-go, Jagerbomb was just so focused and so with me,” Moody said. “The beauty of the Freestyle is that you are able to showcase your horse’s strengths, and he finds the changes on the curved lines very easy, and because he is good in the balance, he can go from one [movement] to another without a struggle.”
“I will be going to find a drink later, definitely,” she said. “I think maybe a Jägerbomb!”
