Dressage-News

WELLINGTON, Florida, April 3, 2021–Adrienne Lyle and Salvino confirmed the top ranking of American Olympic hopefuls with victory Saturday in the Global Dressage Festival CDI4* Grand Prix Special after becoming only the third U.S. combination ever to score 80% in the Grand Prix.

Adrienne of Wellington and the 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion scored 80.830% for the win in the Special, the highest mark of an American partnership seeking a place on the U.S. team for the Olympics in Tokyo in July.

Olivia LaGoy-Weltz of Haymarket, Virginia on Lonoir placed second on a personal best 76.021%.

Canada’s Naïma Moreira Laliberté on Statesman was third on 73.170%, also a personal best.

“He absolutely met my expectations,” Adrienne said after the Special. “He tried super hard today, we had one little bobble after the left pirouette. I think he just sat really deep in that pirouette and he went to move up to the one tempis and he got his legs tangled for a split second, but was able to get his head back in the game and pull off the nine ones and then the right pirouette.

“For being as long as it’s been since we rode through a Special, I’m very happy with him. To get two scores over 80% this week is everything we were hoping for, but it’s a huge relief to get there and I’m very proud of him.

“I tried to just stay with trusting the fact that he knows his job after our last ride, yesterday we just stretched and walked and trotted, I didn’t school him on the off-day, and then today we kept the warm-up pretty short because it’s such a long test that I didn’t want to burn him up too much in warm-up.

“His piaffe passage is always a great strength, and even when turning down centerline after that long test, he’s just as fiery and excited as he is to start, and that to me is really important, that he’s enjoying it that much.”

The score of 80.065% in the Grand Prix earned Adrienne and Salvino membership of the 80% Club, created by dressage-news.com after the Netherlands’ Anky van Grunsven on Salinero became the first partnership to achieve that score in 2006.

Only 18 riders have achieved the mark, including Isabell Werth the most decorated equestrian in Olympic history on three different horses–Bella Rose, Weihegold OLD and Emilio–Edward Gal on Totilas and Undercover and Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro and Mount St. John Freestule.

Fifteen of the club members are Europeans, seven from Germany and three each from the Netherlands and Great Britain and one each from Denmark and Russia.

The U.S. now has three riders in the club, Adrienne and Salvino joining Steffen Peters and Ravel and Laura Graves and Verdades.

“It gave me goose bumps listening to the presentation, and all of the names on that list, everyone that I’ve idolized my entire life, everyone  that I had posters of up on my wall,” said Adrienne who competed at the 2012 Olympics on Wizard. “To have my name announced with that group is such an honor.”

The partnership began in 2015 when Salvino, then named Sandronnerhall, was imported from Spain as a future team horse.

The results that included being on the U.S. silver medal team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon with Steffen, Laura and Kasey Perry-Glass as well as in the 2019 World Cup in Sweden have fulfilled the hopes of both Adrienne and owner Betsy Juliano.

The duo plans to compete next at the CDI4* in Tryon later this month in their campaign to earn a start in the head-to-head so-called “observation” event in Wellington in June.

Combinations that have earned an invitation back to Wellington include Californians Steffen Peters of San Diego, on Suppenkasper, Sabine-Schut-Kery of Thousand Oaks on Sanceo and Nick Wagman also of San Diego on Don John as well as Adrienne on Harmomy’s Duval. Olivia and Lonoir now join the top group.

In the CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle, Yvonne Losos de Muñiz of the Dominican Republic and Aquamarijn won with a personal best score of 80.745%.

Christoph Koschel of Germany on Eaton Unitechno was second on 76.805% and Australia’s Kelly Layne on Samhitas third on 72.985%.

“Right now I think I’m still on cloud nine,” Yvonne said after posting a personal best score for the second day in a row. “The whole week has been incredible. As I mentioned yesterday, I am incredibly satisfied in knowing that the training is working, that I’m on and she’s on.

“I’m thrilled where I ended up, I’ve reached all of my personal goals, and right now I’m exactly where I wanted to be going into this next part of training while setting up for the Olympics, so I’m going to go on vacation now!”

Results:

CDI4* Grand Prix Special

CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle