Germany’s Frederic Wandres & Bluetooth OLD Win Wellington CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle to Maintain Dominance of Global Dressage Festival Top Sport

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Jan. 27, 2023–Germany’s Frederic Wandres on Bluetooth OLD won the CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle on a personal best score Friday night to maintain his dominance of the Global Dressage Festival Big Tour circuit with European combinations filling the top four places on the leaderboard.

With music borrowed from his German team horse Duke of Britain, Frederic and the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding scored 81.805% for the win a day after claiming victory in the Grand Prix. The partnership won five of six starts at the 2022 Global festival, including the premier CDI5*.

Morgan Barbançon of France on Bolero in her first Florida circuit and first performance under the lights posted a personal best 77.895% for runner-up.

Sweden’s Caroline Darcourt competing Lord Django in the first showing of a new Freestyle was awarded 77.830% for third place.

After his first performance under the lights this season, Frederic who rides for Hof Kasselmann at Hagen, Germany said: “I am always looking forward to coming back here and riding under the lights, it’s always a special atmosphere, and the spectators are super. I was a little nervous about how it would go because with this atmosphere you never know how they will handle it. But Bluetooth took it in a positive way, and I had a much better feeling than in the Grand Prix, he was way fresher and forward, and it felt like one of the best tests and feelings that he has offered me.”

Morgan, who rode in the 2012 London Olympics and at Tokyo, said she was “a little bit stressed” about how Bolero, a 17-year-old KWPN gelding, would react to his first competition under lights.

“But he coped pretty well with it,” she said, “so I was very happy with him.

“I love it here,” she added, saying that she plans to show as much as possible during the three-month circuit with seven international shows.

“I really hope I can come back in the coming years. I love the atmosphere, it’s great to ride here. The organization is super, it’s close to the barns, not many kilometers for the horses so they don’t get tired traveling. So it’s a great experience.”

Caroline Darcourt said the ride on the 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding Lord Django “beat the overall expectation I had for him; he has really shown that he wants to do it.

“The first time I thought it was beginners’ luck, and to redo it, I got a little nervous about doing it again, but he really worked with me in the ring.”

Results:

CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle