Faces of Dressage

Each winter, the majestic sport of dressage is on display here in Wellington, home of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, which is celebrating its 10th season this year. Often compared to “dancing with horses,” the Olympic sport of dressage showcases the grace, beauty and elegance of horse and rider pairs working together as one. While the top dressage shows will be harder to see in person this season due to COVID-19 restrictions, top riders from around the world have returned to participate in AGDF, North America’s most prestigious dressage series. AGDF opened in January and continues at Equestrian Village through April 4 featuring 10 weeks of competition, with seven of those weeks offering international, FEI-level classes. You can catch all the action streaming live at www.globaldressagefestival.com. Meanwhile, check out just a few of the amazing dressage riders competing at AGDF in our annual Faces of Dressage pictorial section.

Faces of Dressage – Steffen Peters

German-born Olympian Steffen Peters, who competes for the U.S., began riding at age 7, and by age 15 was competing at the international level. After receiving his first horse, Udon, at age 16, Peters began seriously training in dressage. It was aboard Udon that Peters won a team bronze medal when he represented the U.S. at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Peters has represented the U.S. at numerous other international competitions, including the World Equestrian Games in 2006 and 2010, when he secured bronze medals, and 2018, when he took silver. He returned to the Olympics in 2016 and helped the U.S. to the bronze medal in team dressage. Peters has been named the USEF Equestrian of the Year a record three times. Last year at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, he led the U.S. dressage team to a Nations Cup victory in Week 10. He was back to his winning ways this season, earning his 16th win in a row with mount Suppenkasper to open AGDF 3 by winning the FEI Grand Prix CDI4*, presented by Havensafe Farm.

Faces of Dressage – Adrienne Lyle

Adrienne Lyle was raised on a small cattle farm in Whidbey Island, Washington and has always spent time around horses. She originally rode western, then switched to English at age seven. She tried eventing before dressage became her calling. Lyle began competing at age 13. She was a member of the silver medal team at the 2002 Cosequin Junior Dressage Championships and the bronze medal Region 6 team at the 2004 North American Young Rider Championships. Career highlights include competing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London and contributing to a fourth-place team finish at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in France. Lyle and her mount Salvino had a string of wins at the 2018 AGDF. The pair qualified for the World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018, where they helped the U.S. team win the silver medal. After several big wins at the 2020 AGDF, she started this season off with a bang, notching back-to-back wins at AGDF 1 with Harmony’s Duval, including the FEI Grand Prix CDI3* and the FEI Grand Prix Special CDI3*.

Faces of Dressage – Olivia LaGoy-Weltz

Olivia LaGoy-Weltz grew up in San Francisco, where she began riding at age 5. In 2002, she moved to Europe and spent five years in Holland and Germany at several top barns. She then returned to the U.S. and started her own dressage training business. Currently, LaGoy-Weltz runs a selective training program dedicated to top-quality horse and rider development at Mountain Crest Farm and is based seasonally in northern Virginia and Wellington. LaGoy-Weltz began competing on the Florida circuit in 2009. In 2012 and 2013, she had strong performances with Rifallino. A USDF gold, silver and bronze medalist, LaGoy-Weltz was Traveling Small Tour Alternate for the 2015 Pan American Games. LaGoy-Weltz had a number of victories at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in 2020. This year, she got off to her winning ways early, dominating the second day of the AGDF when LaGoy-Weltz and Rassing’s Lonoir bested an impressive lineup in the day’s FEI Grand Prix CDI-W, presented by Lövsta.

Faces of Dressage – Katherine Bateson-Chandler

Katherine Bateson-Chandler, born in Great Britain, moved to New Jersey when she was 13. Starting at age 16, she worked for American dressage star Robert Dover for 16 years until his retirement, traveling with the horses to international competitions. In 2010, Bateson-Chandler represented the U.S. at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, riding Jane Clark’s KWPN gelding Nartan. Based in Wellington, Bateson-Chandler and her current mount Alcazar, also owned by Clark, regularly compete at the Grand Prix level in Wellington and overseas. They’ve been first-place Grand Prix winners every year since their partnership began in 2015. In 2018, Bateson-Chandler and Alcazar won the Grand Prix Special during AGDF Week 5 and placed third in the Grand Prix CDI4* during Week 10. In 2020, she won the FEI Grand Prix CDI5* and the CDI5* Freestyle with Alcazar at Week 7 of the AGDF. This dynamic duo is back in action this year in Wellington with several strong showings early in the season.

Faces of Dressage – Christoph Koschel

Christoph Koschel comes from a leading equestrian family in Germany, as his father ran one of the top training facilities in the world. After graduating as a lawyer, Koschel joined his father at their training stables. Koschel competed at the 2010 World Equestrian Games winning team bronze, and the 2011 European Championships, winning team silver. He had great success during this time period with the gelding Donnperignon. Koschel is known as a great coach. He has coached a lengthy roster of international riders, including his niece, Felicitas Hendricks, and all of the Japanese dressage team riders, including Kiichi Harada here in Wellington. He coached Harada at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Koschel is a master of focus in the international arena, and many of the riders associated with him achieve great results. Koschel is off to a great start this season at AGDF in Wellington, winning the FEI Grand Prix CDI4* for freestyle during Week 3.

Faces of Dressage – Yvonne Losos de Muñiz

Born to Canadian parents in Nigeria, Yvonne Losos de Muñiz rides for the Dominican Republic, which has been her home since 1990. She became the first Dominican rider to participate in the Olympics when competing in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games. Her career began early with support from her parents before formal training in Germany. Listed among the best riders in all of Latin America, Losos de Muñiz has many awards under her belt. She won a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan-American Games in Rio, repeating the feat of the 2003 Pan-American Games in Santo Domingo. Prior to that, Losos de Muñiz won individual gold and bronze as a team in the Central American Games 2002 in El Salvador, and she has won several medals since at the Central American Games. In Wellington, she has secured several big wins, most recently taking the Grand Prix CDIW and Grand Prix Freestyle CDIW with her longtime partner Aquamarijn in December at the final competition before the start of the 2021 AGDF.

Faces of Dressage – Ashley Holzer

One of the all-time great top coaches, trainers and riders, four-time Olympian Ashley Holzer changed her citizenship from Canadian to American in 2016 after being based out of New York since 1994. Holzer began riding as a teen, first entering the Grand Prix ring in the 1980s. She was a member of Canada’s bronze medal dressage team at the 1988 Olympics and represented Canada at the World Equestrian Games in 1990, 2002 and 2006, and the World Cup Finals in 1989 and 2009. She won team gold and silver at the Pan American Games in 1991 and 2003, respectively. Holzer has been a regular in Wellington for decades and enjoys sharing her talents while teaching and competing. Holzer had success last season with mount Mango Eastwood, owned by Diane Fellows, winning the FEI Grand Prix Special CDI3* on the last weekend of the shortened season. She is back in action this season, finding success with her own mare Valentine, taking second place in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W during AGDF Week 5.

Faces of Dressage – Ben Ebeling

Ben Ebeling is the next generation of the well-known Ebeling dressage family, which includes his parents Amy and Jan, as well as farms in Wellington and California. His father Jan was on the 2012 U.S. Olympic team in London and also on the 2003 Pan American Games gold medal team and in four World Cup Finals. Ben, 21, has competed in Grand Prix classes in both dressage and show jumping, a rare accomplishment. Even more impressive is that he did so while attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He rode Behlinger at the Adequan/FEI North American Youth Championships in 2017 and 2018, winning team gold in 2017. With Behlinger, he was also part of the first-place team at the CDIY Young Riders Competition at Del Mar in 2018. He is competing this season at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, taking second place in the FEI Grand Prix Special CDI3* during Week 3, riding Illuster Van De Kampert. Last season, he rode for Team USA in the Nations Cup CDIO-U25.

More Than $1 Million Given Away  At 2021 Great Charity Challenge

What is usually the biggest night of the 12-week Winter Equestrian Festival, the Great Charity Challenge, presented by Fidelity Investments, pivoted to a blend of in-person competition for riders and virtual celebrations for charities and supporters on Saturday, Feb. 6. Those supporters cheered as equestrians and their mounts, representing local nonprofit organizations, competed for a share of more than $1 million in prize money.

The GCC is an exciting show jumping event that combines equestrian sports and philanthropy. Three riders made up each of the 23 pro-am combinations, which are paired with Palm Beach County charities. Each team was made up of junior and amateur riders competing side-by-side with top professionals.

In addition to the 23 charities that were part of the competition, an additional 24 nonprofits received funding through grants that were awarded leading up to the event. “Seeing the level of need in our community and knowing how difficult the past year has been, we realized that we couldn’t turn our backs on our most vulnerable neighbors,” GCC co-founder Mark Bellissimo said.

A moment of silence at the beginning of the event paid recognition to all of those lost to the pandemic over the past year. The event featured riders dressed up in costumes and horses adorned to match them, paying recognition to the many heroes who stepped up during the pandemic, as well as those who have inspired people to push beyond their own limits and “dream bigger.”

The winning team of riders — Lindsey Tomeu riding Bonapart, Ashley Vogel on Lucy in the Sky and Shane Sweetnam aboard Heart on Fire — sponsored by team sponsor Spy Coast and Preston, and corporate sponsor Diamante Dressage, came in the ring representing the United States Army as their heroes and finished with a time of 91.664 seconds. Their strategy and teamwork paid off for the YWCA of Palm Beach County, earning them the top prize of $100,000.

Shay Spencer, executive director of YWCA, was elated by the result.

“We have been live streaming all night, and we are so thankful to the sponsors, the supporters, the riders, everyone who livestreamed, and especially to the GCC for putting this all together. We have been supporters, and it is amazing to now be award recipients,” Spencer said. “We do have some very specific plans for the $100,000. We have an amazing new initiative called the Women’s Health Institute, which helps to target the disparities that women face in the health industry, being both women and women of color.”

Coming in second place was the team for Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches, sponsored by Lothlorien Farm and corporate sponsor La Victoria Farm. The team consisted of Edie Wetzel riding Annabelle, Charlotte McLaughlin aboard Elmo and Daniel Coyle on Essedon, who were just a single second shy of the win in 92.869 seconds, earning $90,000 for their charity.

The Center for Family Services of Palm Beach County finished third and won $80,000. The team was made up of Keira Foster on Ash Ville Rock, Olivia Markman riding Zanta Fee Van T Hofterrijckel and Zayna Rizvi aboard Chaplin W, sponsored by Peacock Ridge and corporate sponsor Rosner’s Appliances.

Visit www.greatcharitychallenge.com to learn more about the competition.