OCALA, Fla.--Jessica Howington on Serenade MF won the CDI3* Grand Prix Special over Anna Marek on Fayvel on Saturday, Feb. 17 at the World Equestrian Center.
Jessica Howington on Serenade MF (Photo by Andrew Ryback)It was Howington's and Serenade MF's first CDI together.
Howington scored 68.915% from the judge’s panel of Thomas Kessler of Germany, Sandra Hotz, Knut Danzberg of Germany, Jane Weatherwax and Omar Zayrik of Mexico.
Thursday’s grand prix winner, Marek on Fayvel, was second with a score of 68.277%, and Allison Carmichael on Figaro was third with 68.170%.
“When her passage is really on, it’s an amazing feeling.” said Howington.
Serenade MF, known as “Shrimp” in the barn, arrived at Howington’s farm less than two months ago.
“It’s funny because I have two other horses named Miso and Bagel, and now we have Shrimp,” said Howington. “She fit right in! Now I have a full plate.”
WHILE NEW to Howington, Shrimp competed at the international grand prix level for two years with Alice Tarjan, including Rotterdam and Aachen CDIO5* events as well as at the 2023 FEI Dressage World Cup Final.
Howington rode Shrimp at a national show two weeks ago, but this is their first CDI competition together.
As she prepared for Friday’s grand prix class in which she was second, Howington said she had been “super nervous.”
“It’s a brand-new relationship,” she said. “I don’t know what to expect, but I learn something new every time, which is cool and helpful. I’ve been so happy with her. She is staying with me and listening. I absolutely love her, I really do. I know it’s a super new partnership, but I can’t wait for the future.”
Howington said that Shrimp can be a different horse from at home, to the warm-up ring, to the show arena. “
She can get so fired up in the warm-up that she gets tired for the test, physically and mentally,” said Howington. “That’s one of the things that I learned at the national show, is that she’s ready to go. Today we did a little shorter warm-up and not even working so much on the exercises but just the throughness and rideability. Rideability was the goal for today and to have her stay with me.
“I was so proud of her,” she said. “Even though we had a bobble or two, I’m happy with the whole test. It feels like our partnership grew even since yesterday or four days ago when we arrived on the showgrounds. She’s feeling more like my ride every day.”
“If we can continue to build and get better and better scores, that’s truly icing on the cake,” she said. “I love her and want to ride her for years and years. Getting a good, solid foundation is super important for me right now with her. I want to hang onto her for a long time.”
