Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Jan. 12, 2024–Felicitas Hendricks rode an “on fire” Drombusch OLD to victory in the Global Dressage Festival World Cup Freestyle in the 2024 circuit’s first Friday Night Stars under the lights to complete a double Big Tour win.

The 23-year-old German rider who with Drombusch was the 2023 European Under-25 Championship team and individual gold medalist was awarded 78.490% for the win a day after capturing the Grand Prix.

Felicitas first competed as a junior at the Global winter circuit a decade ago.

She returned this year with the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding that she competed here in their first Big Tour in 2023, including on Germany’s gold medal Nations Cup team.

Anna Marek of the Ocala area community of Dunnellon, Florida on the 14-year-old KWPN gelding Fayvel  was runner-up on 77.715%.

Kevin Kohmann of Wellington on Dünensee, a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding, was third on 76.305%.

The latest results put Kevin on a total of 52 points so far, second ranked behind Ben Ebeling also of Wellington who has already accumulated the maximum of 60 points in the North American League that gets to send three riders to the Final.

Anna’s win boosts her total to 35 points and enhances her prospects of earning a start in the Final.

Both American riders said that if they qualify they would like to go to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the Final in three months.

Felicitas, who acquired Drombusch from her uncle and coach, Christoph Koschel, when the horse was a youngster, “felt awesome” in the musical performance. But she is in the Western European League with very limited prospects for earning more points to be a contender for the Final.

“He was on fire but 100% with me and 100% focused,” she said of the ride.

“Very good fire. Easiness and piaffe, passage unreal. I just had to think about it and he would do it.”

Felicitas pointed out the result was “huge for me because I did my first senior classes here last year and being in this position today, I never thought that one year ago. I was just happy if we got through the Grand Prix season and now we’re sitting here, I mean unfortunately not Drombusch but me, and won this class and that’s unreal. I’m glad that he gets to experience this atmosphere.”

Anna Marek, who ride Fire Fly on the U.S. gold medal team at the Pan American Games last Fall, said that the owner of Fayvel asked her to compete the horse this year.

“I went and watched some of the European freestyles and I was like, ‘this horse can do some really cool stuff like what do you want me to try’. So we just put together this really complicated freestyle and it’s like like a walk in the park… he’s like a little bouncy ball he’s just doesn’t even think it’s hard.”

She wondered in advance about how Fayvel would handle the electric atmosphere in the Wellington arena compared with previous rides in a much bigger arena at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala.

“It was so much fun,” she said, “like even when people started clapping and oohing and aahing at it, he just, he loved it. He was great.”

has gone full circle for Kevin Kohmann.

The horse, owned by Terri Kane, the mother of Devon Kane whom Kevin wed recently, was ridden in Wellington when five years old by Kevin.

“He was always very talented and everything. Then he went to Europe to Hubertus Schmidt, then he went to Christoph Koschel’s place before ending ending back up here in Wellington, full circle. I think he has just improved over the last shows, and we really got to be a team. And I cannot thank this guy enough to make me sit here with these girls.”

Results:

World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle

Rank	Competitor	Score	E	H	C	M	B
1.	Felicitas Hendricks (GER) Drombusch OLD	78.490%	78.825	79.275	77.725	79.800	76.825
2.	Anna Marek (USA) Fayvel	77.715%	76.800	78.375	77.625	79.625	76.150
3.	Kevin Kohmann (USA) Dünensee	76.305%	76.250	77.000	77.125	74.050	77.100
4.	Susan Pape (GBR) Harmony’s Eclectisch	75.745%	75.525	73.475	77.025	78.800	73.900
5.	Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén (SWE) Devanto	75.605%	73.750	74.975	76.200	77.100	76.000
6.	Caroline Darcourt (SWE) Lord Django	74.870%	72.925	74.425	78.100	74.000	74.900
7.	Michael Klimke (GER) Domino 957	72.565%	68.575	72.175	73.875	74.025	74.175
8.	Susan Dutta (USA) Don Design DC	72.410%	71.225	71.400	75.250	70.575	73.600
9.	Tanya Strasser-Shostak (CAN) Fidelis Tyme	69.965%	70.925	70.225	70.950	69.800	67.925
10.	Mikala Münter (USA) Skyfall	67.745%	65.550	70.075	70.375	66.700	66.025
WD	Patricia Ferrando (VEN) Honnaisseur SJ	scratched
Find details on Equestrian Hub