Dressage-News

AACHEN, Germany, May 20, 2025–Marcus Orlob and Jane captured the CDI3* Grand Prix Special Tuesday for a double victory to extend the American pair’s winning streak to six competitions so far this year.

Marcus, based in Loxahatchee, neighboring Wellington in Florida, and the 11-year-old KWPN were awarded 72.255% for the Special, a day after taking the Grand Prix.

The USA Olympic team partnership won their last four competitions at Wellington International’s Global Dressage Festival before coming to Europe for three months that will next see them compete along with a squad of other Americans at Hagen, Germany June 5-8 then the premier CDIO5* Nations Cup in Aachen the first week of July.

Bianca Nowag-Aulenbrock on Florine OLD, 13-year-old Oldenburg mare, World Cup Final combination for Germany last month and a Nations Cup team partnership, scored 71.894% for runner-up as the duo was in the Grand Prix.

Laura Tomlinson of Britain on Full Moon II, nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, placed third on 70.304%.

Marcus came to Europe also with the stallion JJ Glory Day that was reserve champion of Global’s developing Grand Prix Future Challenge series, that like Jane is owned by Alice Tarjan.

Marcus who competed Jane here during the Nations Cup last year said of this 3* it was “good experience for her to see Aachen again.”

The spectator stands in the Deutsche Bank stadium were mostly empty, unlike the annual CHIO when they are typically packed to see the top dressage riders in the world compete in the show grounds alongside jumping, eventing, driving and vaulting to make it the leading equestrian event outside the Olympics and the World Championships. The World Championships will be staged here in 2026.

“I just give her a really relaxed confident round and she played well,” Marcus told DRESSAGE-NEWS. “She was not afraid and spooking. So it was pretty much clean. She felt good; that was exactly what I was hoping for.”

Of the spookiness that Jane sometimes displays, he said, “I don’t think she’s over it yet” after spending time in Wellington walking the mare around the busy jumping arenas.

Since coming to Germany at the beginning of May he has been based with family’s home in Düsseldorf about an hour from Aachen has has walked her around an area busy with cyclists, runners and other activities.

“It’s more really like the crowd, the atmosphere of people, the energy.

“When she hears runners from further away and she doesn’t see it, then she’s already pumped and really looking and ready to jump out of her skin.

“I think this was great to be here, to have less atmosphere but still the same stadium and music. I think she just needs literally places, places and to do it over and over again. We just have to keep going and try our best to get her desensitized.”

He will take her to some national shows not to compete but to hang out to get used to the bustle.

Next week, he said, he will have his first training session on Glory Day with the experienced German team rider Hubertus Schmidt.

Glory Day is the opposite of Jane, he said.

“He’s not afraid, he’s going anywhere. So he doesn’t need shows just to get him desensitized, the opposite, I just need more training so that he gets stronger and more confidence. And once I have this then I think showing will be actually the easy part.”

(click here) Results https://results.equi-score.de/event/2025/29799/en/resultlist/3