Zen Elite’s Bohemian Makes Debut with America’s Endel Ots in Successful Wellington National Grand Prix Drawing Congratulations from Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour
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By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
WELLINGTON, Florida, Mar. 1, 2024–Bohemian, with the new prefix of Zen Elite’s, made his debut Friday with America’s Endel Ots in a successful national Grand Prix at the Global Dressage Festival that drew immediate congratulations from Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour who rode the horse to Olympic and European Championship success.
Endel based in Wellington was given a winning score of 72.555% by the two national judges in the competition just two months since Bohemian was bought by Florida entrepreneur Heidi Humphries for Endel to compete.
Endel, with two World Young Horse Championships and selection at Small Tour for the U.S. team at the 2019 Pan American Games stymied when the horse was injured in transit, had no previous international Grand Prix experience.
However, he received overwhelming support from at least 100 spectators who turned out to watch and cheer the early morning performance.
“I was a little bit nervous with all the people and everything,” Endel told dressage-news.com. “I was just trying to think of it as, ‘hey, the first national Grand Prix’ and just feel him out and feel how he is in the ring. And I was very happy with him.
“And the warm-up, I mean, so much power. And he relaxed in the ring.“
Immediately on their return to the stables, Endel FaceTimed Catherine Dufour in Denmark and, he said, Bohemian, a Westfalen gelding now 14 years old, “was so cute… his ears perked up.”
“She was very complimentary,” Endel said, “but the coolest thing was when she answered and his his ears perked up and looked right at the phone.
Cathrine told him, he said, “you know the great thing is you can push him in the ring. In the warm-up he gets pretty hot but you can push and ride in the ring.”
“It just threw me off when I went in the ring how actually relaxed he was in there and in the warm-up he was so on fire–a fire-breathing dragon–then in the ring he relaxed so much I didn’t ride enough and stay with him enough so he just kind of chilled.”
“I was just trying to get that glove to fit. I am not experienced in the Grand Prix ring.
“With a new partnership just to put it all together I’m really happy.
“I do the Special on Sunday. I’ve never run through the special. But I think that test fits him really, really well.”
