WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 24, 2024–Kevin Kohmann wasn’t sure he could do the best by Dünensee when the Hanoverian gelding returned to the USA after eight years in Europe. The American rider on Saturday won the Nations Cup CDIO3* Grand Prix Special after leading the U.S. team to the silver medal.
Kevin admits he had to be convinced by Devon Kane, now his wife, and coach Christoph Koschel of Germany to give the Hanoverian gelding a chance after leaving the barn in Wellington as a five-year-old then returning eight years later.
“You’re totally crazy, absolutely crazy,” he said when asked whether he could imagine being on the top of the podium with a gold medal after the Special where he rode Dünensee to a winning score of 69.467%.
“I didn’t believe that I could show the horse a year ago and they said, ‘yes you can, just do it because they said it’s good enough’. I didn’t think it was good enough and we went out there and it was good enough like they were right I was wrong, very wrong. They were both like, ‘no you’re going to show this horse now,’ and I’m like, ‘I cannot ride one clean line of changes at home’. The first time I ever got them clean really was out here and from that moment on I think we just started trusting each other.
“I trusted him, he trusted me, and our relationship just grew at this point. I walk into the barn, and the horse is just ears forward, every day it’s nice.”
The pair competed on the U.S. team at the Nations Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands last June as well as other shows.
“I don’t know what the limit is right now,” he said of Dünensee. “The horse just keeps getting better and better and better.”
“This horse is going to stay forever in the family,” he said and confirmed by Terri Kane ,who owns the horse and his home at her Diamante Farm in Wellington. “I think now he earned his spot. He will never be sold now.”
Results:
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Kevin Kohmann (USA)
Dünensee
|
69.468% | 69.894 | 69.468 | 70.213 | 67.979 | 69.787 |
| 2. |
Michael Klimke (GER)
Domino 957
|
67.766% | 66.809 | 68.191 | 69.149 | 68.936 | 65.745 |
| 3. |
Erin Nichols (USA)
Elian Royale
|
67.128% | 66.277 | 67.872 | 69.681 | 68.085 | 63.723 |
| 4. |
Jennifer Williams (USA)
Joppe K
|
66.915% | 68.936 | 67.660 | 66.915 | 66.809 | 64.255 |
| 5. |
Denielle Gallagher (CAN)
Come Back de Massa
|
66.362% | 64.894 | 65.638 | 67.766 | 66.064 | 67.447 |
| 6. |
Rakeya Moussa (CAN)
Davidoff V.H. Trichelhof
|
66.043% | 66.277 | 67.979 | 63.298 | 67.766 | 64.894 |
 Find details on Equestrian Hub |
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Susan Pape (GBR)
Harmony’s V-Plus
|
72.936% | 72.872 | 72.234 | 72.872 | 73.617 | 73.085 |
| 2. |
Ariana Chia (CAN)
Guateque IV
|
70.298% | 70.106 | 68.936 | 70.851 | 70.000 | 71.596 |
| 3. |
Jill Irving (CAN)
Delacroix 11
|
69.809% | 70.426 | 70.000 | 68.723 | 70.532 | 69.362 |
| 4. |
Bianca Berktold (USA)
Imperial
|
68.425% | 69.255 | 68.617 | 71.383 | 68.298 | 64.574 |
| 5. |
Tina Konyot (USA)
J Everdale
|
68.361% | 69.574 | 68.404 | 67.553 | 69.255 | 67.021 |
| 6. |
Pablo Gómez Molina (ESP)
Servus Ymas
|
68.149% | 69.787 | 68.830 | 66.383 | 68.723 | 67.021 |
| 7. |
Eliane Cordia Van Reesema (USA)
Codiak
|
66.596% | 69.362 | 65.213 | 64.255 | 67.340 | 66.809 |
| 8. |
Tom Dvorak (CAN)
Cyrus
|
65.617% | 66.170 | 65.957 | 64.894 | 66.383 | 64.681 |
| 9. |
Ellen McCarthy (GBR)
Brave Heart
|
65.319% | 65.851 | 66.596 | 63.617 | 66.064 | 64.468 |
| 10. |
Barbara Bertschinger (SUI)
Sonnenbergs Solisco CH
|
62.298% | 63.404 | 60.106 | 62.340 | 63.723 | 61.915 |
| WD |
Paula Matute Guimón (ESP)
Galactico
|
withdrawn
|
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| WD |
Tina Irwin (CAN)
Guernsey Elvis
|
withdrawn
|
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| Find details on Equestrian Hub |
