2023 AGDF Set For Another World-Class Winter Season
By Elaine Shuster
Just as Wellington residents are preparing for their holiday shopping and thinking about New Year’s resolutions, equestrians are putting together their 2023 goals ahead of the start of the upcoming Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF), the annual home to the world’s largest and longest-running international dressage circuit.
Located in Wellington, the event is known for attracting many of the globe’s best dressage horse-and-rider pairs. It will return to Equestrian Village on South Shore Blvd. from Jan. 11 through March 31, 2023.
The 2023 edition of the AGDF will feature eight weeks of international dressage competition and two weeks of international para dressage competition, offering locals plenty of chances to get up close and personal with many of the sport’s world and Olympic medalists.
“The next exciting season of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival is ahead of us. Seven international dressage shows and two para dressage shows will take place in Wellington,” said Thomas Baur, show director of the AGDF. “With the upcoming World Cup Final in Omaha, Nebraska, in the beginning of April 2023, as well as the Pan American Games next year and the start of the Olympic qualification for Paris 2024, we will welcome riders from all over the world, who will use our competitions as a way to prepare for the global stage.”
Dressage fans know that Friday Night Stars is the highlight of the weekly dressage competition at AGDF, offering the ideal chance to experience the impressive skills of the world’s top dressage partnerships. Featuring the Grand Prix Freestyle, the event showcases the highest degree of difficulty in the sport, with talented riders and their horses performing technical movements in sync with songs of their choice under the lights. The crowd will hear a wide variety of music, from classical melodies to remixes of today’s top hits. In 2023, there will be eight Friday Night Stars events held during AGDF.
For the second year in a row, CDI5* dressage competition will be held for one week down the street at the main show grounds, Wellington International. Dressage was welcomed into the famous International Arena during the 2022 AGDF and will return to the facility due to popular demand. The dressage exhibition will take place during Week Ten, which will be held March 15-19. Spectators will have a chance to experience Friday Night Lights in an all-new venue, making for a novel opportunity.
“We look forward to welcoming international dressage back to the Wellington International show grounds for another year,” Equestrian Sport Productions President Michael Stone said. “Last year, the CDI5* classes were a big hit, and we are pleased to once again be able to provide a unique opportunity for our dressage fans and jumping fans to come together and celebrate equestrian sport.”
Additional weekly highlights include the CDIO3* Nations Cup competition during Week Seven of the AGDF, held Feb. 22-26. The Nations Cup event pits teams of riders, each representing their respective countries, against each other for a shot at the top prize. During Week Eight, which will take place March 1-5, the Palm Beach Derby will showcase a unique format in which riders perform a Prix St. Georges test on an unfamiliar horse with just five minutes to warm up.
Both the Lövsta Future Challenge Young Horse Grand Prix Series and the Summit Farm Future Challenge Young Horse Prix St. Georges Series will conclude at the end of Week Eleven. These classes aim to identify and nurture talented, up-and-coming young FEI horses, giving them exposure to benefit their development with the biggest of world stages in mind. Week Three, held Jan. 25-29, and Week Nine, held March 9-12, will host CPEDI3* competition for para dressage riders.
Though plenty of excitement is in store for the 2023 edition of the AGDF, the bar was set high by the events of 2022, which showcased dressage talent both in Wellington and around the world. At home in South Florida, world-class names such as Adrienne Lyle of the U.S., Christoph Koschel of Germany, Juan Matute Guimon of Spain, Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén of Sweden and Frederic Wandres of Germany were frequently found at the top of the leaderboards during the winter season. Lyle, in particular, had reason to celebrate by the end of the circuit.
In the final Friday Night Stars of the 2022 AGDF season in Wellington, Lyle and her longtime partner Salvino exhibited a sensational performance under the lights to post an 85.58 percent win in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI4*, presented by Douglas Elliman Real Estate. It was a new career high for the pair, who were on the silver-medal-winning U.S. team at the recent Tokyo Olympics, and the highest score ever recorded in the history of the AGDF. The previous high of 84.975 percent was set by Laura Graves and Verdades in March 2018.
Outside the country, the Adequan U.S. Para Dressage Team had a successful showing at the ECCO FEI World Championships Herning 2022 in August, taking two individual medals and team bronze in the Orifarm Health FEI Para Dressage World Championship. The team finished with a final score of 225.335, less than five points shy of first place, which was earned by the Dutch team. The four American riders included Beatrice de Lavalette, Rebecca Hart, Kate Shoemaker and Roxanne Trunnell, each of whom competed at AGDF during the 2022 season.
With so much momentum coming into 2023 due to the events of the past year, the upcoming winter AGDF season promises to be another thrilling edition of the popular dressage show series.
For more information regarding AGDF access, schedules and more, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.
