USA’s Adrienne Lyle on Salvino Jumps to Highest Ever World Ranking, Laura Graves & Verdades Head to Paris World Cup as No. 5
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April 3, 2018
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
Adrienne Lyle has achieved her highest ever world ranking at No. 19 with Salvino after a sweep of Florida’s Global Dressage Festival Nations Cup while Laura Graves and Verdades head to the World Cup Final in Paris as No. 5 and the top American pair for the 20th month.
Adrienne and the 11-year-old Hanoverian stallion jumped to 19th on the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) world rankings of 741 combinations at the end of March, up from 27th the previous month.
The previous highest global standing for Adrienne, 33 years old of Ketchum, Idaho was No. 26 in July, 2014 on Wizard, her 2012 London Olympic and 2014 World Games amount.
She dropped off the rankings altogether a year later after the retirement of Wizard
Adrienne was back almost two years later, ranked 501st exactly a year ago with Salvino, a horse bought by a syndicate of Americans as a United States team prospect. By the end of 2017, the duo were at No. 194 then two months later had climbed to 27th in the world.
All three CDIO3* victories–the Grand Prix, Special and Freestyle all with personal best scores–propelled Adrienne and Salvino, now owned solely by Elizabeth Juliano, to No. 19.
On Horizon, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare also owned by Betsy Juliano, Adrienne is ranked 342nd after four Big Tour starts on the Global circuit, having made their international Big Tour debut three weeks ago.
Laura and Verdades, 16-year-old KWPN gelding that she developed from a foal and is owned by her and Curt Maes, her partner, slipped one spot to No. 5 from fourth at the end of February amidst some shuffling of the top five combinations in the world.
The U.S. Olympic, World and Pan American Games team pair head to Europe for the World Cup Final in Paris and a showdown with world No. 1 Isabell Werth on Weihegold OLD.
Laura and “Diddy,” as she calls Verdades, were reserve champions to the German superstar at the Omaha World Cup a year ago and are still the only combination to beat Isabell and Weihegold since the 2016 Rio Olympics which they did in the World Equestrian Festival Grand Prix Special at Aachen, Germany last July.
Olivia LaGoy-Weltz of Haymarket, Virginia, on Lonoir jumped 10 places to No. 28 after success at Global.
So, too, did Shelly Francis of Loxahatchee, Florida on Danilo going to No. 32 as they also head to Paris as one of the two American combinations at the annual world championship.
Sabine Schut-Kery of Thousand Oaks, California on Sanceo had the biggest jump for an American pair, standing at No. 71 at the end of March, up from 315th a month earlier.
