Adrienne Lyle Explains Helix Affected by World Cup Freestyle Electric Atmosphere to Place American Partnership Near Bottom of Results
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By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
BASEL, Switzerland, April 6, 2025–Adrienne Lyle explained that her Paris Olympic mount Helix “got quite affected by the electric atmosphere” of the World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle Saturday night that put the top ranked American partnership near the bottom of the Final results.
Adrienne based in Wellington, Florida and the 13-year-old KWPN gelding scored 71.255% to place 16th in the starting lineup of 17 combinations in the annual championship. The score was the lowest in five musical performances since the duo began competing internationally a year ago.
Some spectators in the knowledgeable crowd loudly booed the results by the five judges that gave scores ranging from a low of 69.200% to a high of 74.175%. Spectators, through the public scoring platform, gave the performance a mark of 65.108% and ranked the duo last.
Adrienne on Salvino was a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympic and 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon.
Adrienne and Helix scored more than 80% in the last two freestyles at Wellington’s Global Dressage Festival, winning the top rated CDI5* in mid-March and the third qualifier in early February to earn the pair a start at the Final here in Basel.
The horse is by Apache a “hot” stallion out of Jazz that tends to produce offspring with short necks, as is the case with Helix.
Helix was among several horses bought by Zen Equestrian Center of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 2023 including Bohemian ridden by Endel Ots to become reserve for the U.S. team at Paris. Helix had been ridden by Sweden’s Marina Mattson before the sale to Heidi Humphries’ Zen Elite for Adrienne to compete as a successor to the retired Salvino after a successful six years at Big Tour, including Adrienne’s only previous World Cup Final experience, at Gothenburg, Sweden in 2019.
Heidi’s substantial commitment came at a time of the retirement of Salvino and Sanceo ridden by Sabine Schut-Kery and the shortly to be retired Suppenkasper ridden by Steffen Peters.
A statement made by Adrienne after Saturday night’s performance said:
“Well tonight didn’t go as we hoped!
“After a very nice and relaxed warmup, Helix got quite affected by the electric atmosphere when he walked into the stadium tonight. I tried my best to convince him he could relax but he got tense and we lost all of the length of neck and relaxation we have been working on so hard.
“While we did have some movements, it really wasn’t until towards the end of the test that he finally started settling and relaxing into the routine.
“I am sorry we were not able to show off the relaxation and harmony we have been able to achieve at the recent shows, but I am still so proud of Helix for all his efforts that he put in this week as well as during our World Cup qualifying season.
“He is a hot and sensitive horse, which is what I love about him, but it can also mean that sometimes the energy boils over and he cannot contain it. Such is life with horses and we will continue to learn from each experience, try to improve our riding and our relationship, and hopefully come out as better horse people on the other side of every situation that doesn’t go as planned!
“A huge thank you to Heidi and everyone in our Zen Elite team for your amazing support and unwavering commitment to our special horses.
“It was an honor to be here among the finest horses and riders in the world!”
