Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, April 26, 2025–Christian Simonson performed a fault-free debut of Indian Rock in a national Grand Prix under cover at the Global Dressage Festival showgrounds Saturday, just four months since the Dutch Olympic team horse was acquired for the 22-year-old American rider.

Christian, based in Wellington, and the 12-year-old KWPN stallion were awarded 76.794% from the two judges of Christian’s first national qualifier that as a national competition the rider could carry a whip. Both judges awarded marks of nine with the final center line of passage and piaffe receiving three nines from one judge and 8.5 for piaffe from the other member of the panel.

“I think probably that last center line I was like, holy cow, it felt like I was stampeding into battle or something,” he told dressage-news.com after the ride with his coach, three-time Olympian Adrienne Lyle, smiling after riding every movement with Christian.

“It was unbelievable. I mean I felt like this is really freaking cool, this is about as much fun as you can have and coming to that last piaffe he just felt so rhythmical and so with me and I was just sitting there I was like, ‘you know what, this is just a really fun time; I’m having a great time’.

“I don’t think I’ve ever cried in a dressage test before because I’m too focused, but at the end of that I was just like, holy cow, like how I just feel so fortunate and so blessed to be this young and have this much support and have such an amazing trainer. And I think all those emotions kind of came at once and then come on that center line. I was just like, all right, let’s just have a good time. And he was amazing.”

Heidi Humphries, a successful Florida entrepreneur acquired Indian Rock at the beginning of this year, and several other U.S. team horses over the past two years, including Helix ridden by Adrienne Lyle for the U.S. at Paris and Bohemian with Endel Ots aboard that was reserve for the Olympic team.

She was at Global for the debut of Indian Rock.

Zen Elite, Christian said, “truly made a childhood dream come true today.”

Indian Rock was sired by Apache out of a Vivaldi dam, and competed internationally by the talented Emmelie Scholtens from the 2018 world young horse championships through the European Championships in 2023 and the Paris Olympics last summer.

Christian said that since Indian Rock became his ride, he has watched a video of every competition in which Emmelie has ridden the horse and spends hours every day with the stallion.

The purpose of Saturday’s ride, he said, was to get a baseline of the horse’s current level, harmony and balance, but also “have a really fun time,” though expecting some normal mistakes for a green partnership.

“But I think he and I, we just really know each other and I’ve spent every day with him for months, just hanging out with him and getting to know him,” he said, “and last night we grazed all evening.

“I know it’s really only been four months. But it feels like I’ve had him for a much longer time already.

“It’s just really special having Adrienne as your coach. She is the ultimate horse lady to me. She thinks about the horse all the time and and not only just how we train, but how we feed, how we ride, how we take care of them, their therapies. What their feeding schedules are, grazing schedules. I try to get a bit of that wealth from her every day and really try my best to try to improve just a little bit not just as a rider but as a horseman because for me that that’s way more important.”

Christian is scheduled to compete Indian Rock in the national Grand Prix Special Sunday.

Tentative plans are for the pair to compete in their first CDI at the World Equestrian Center 3* in Ocala May 22-25.