Christian Simonson rode Indian Rock to Victory in Ocala’s CDI3* Grand Prix, 1st International Event for 22YO Rider and Former Dutch Olympic Team Horse
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By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
OCALA, Florida, May 23, 2025–Christian Simonson rode Indian Rock to victory in the World Equestrian Center’s CDI3* Grand Prix Friday night in the first international event for the 22-year-old rider and the former Dutch Olympic team horse.
Christian, based in Wellington and coached by three-time Olympian Adrienne Lyle scored 70.543% on 12-year-old KWPN stallion that had been ridden by Emmelie Scholtens of the Netherlands before being bought by Zen Elite Equestrian Center.
Earlier, in the separate Grand Prix for the Freestyle he also debuted at CDI Fleau de Baian for third place on a score of 67.500%. The stallion, now 15 years old, had been competed by Adelinde Cornelissen also for the Netherlands and was bought Zen Elite, owned by successful Florida entrepreneur Heidi Humphries.
The class was won by Benjamin Ebeling of Wellington on the 15-year-old Bellena with 70.435%
“It feels a little surreal, especially at my age.” Christian told dressage-news.com after the competitions. “I feel like very, very grateful to have two amazing horses with such an amazing owner of Zen and such an amazing trainer of Adrienne. I feel really lucky and I’m learning so much from both of them. Being here in a Grand Prix setting is so different than anything I’ve experienced before.”
Indian Rock was a little excited when he entered the WEC arena under floodlights.
“But I think that’s just kind of part of the process and he and I are still learning a lot from each other. But as we went around the ring, I was like, you know, buddy, you’re okay, you’re okay. And he and I really spend so much time together that he just kind of took a deep breath with me and was like, ‘okay, dad, I trust you.’ That was kind of the best feeling I could ask for. I mean, that feels like I’m winning already there.
“And then in the test itself, just my biggest thought was like, I just want to give him a really good ride that he can feel like he can trust me. And so I kept it a little bit conservative for him. Just not, didn’t want to go full power everywhere, I really wanted to have a good experience for the both of us. And so that was kind of my main thought for today. I feel like each step we’re still learning so much about each other and myself, I’m so green at this level.”
He said he talks to Emmelie about “Rocky” that she competed as a five-year-old in the World Championships and then at the 2022 World Championships and the Paris Olympics.
“I really try to keep her in the loop because I feel like if you’re a part of a horse’s journey, you’re a part of it forever,” he said.
Although Christian has been successful in youth and Under-25 divisions including competitions in Europe, competing at CDI Grand Prix “feels a whole new stage of my life. And I think the biggest step is, I just feel really grateful. I mean, to be backed by Zen is an incredible thing. I’m just so, so grateful for it and to have also our team at home.”
Results:
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Christian Simonson (USA) Indian Rock | 70.543% | 69.565 | 71.196 | 69.130 | 71.522 | 71.304 |
| 2. | Anna Marek (USA) Fire Fly | 70.109% | 70.870 | 70.000 | 70.652 | 69.348 | 69.674 |
| 3. | Katie Duerrhammer (USA) Vividus QRE | 68.304% | 66.522 | 67.717 | 69.783 | 69.457 | 68.043 |
| 4. | Charlotte Jorst (USA) Atterupgaards Botticelli | 67.869% | 67.391 | 67.935 | 68.804 | 67.717 | 67.500 |
| 5. | Alexandra Duncan (CAN) Hitmaker | 67.152% | 65.326 | 67.609 | 67.174 | 69.457 | 66.196 |
| 6. | Megan Shea (CAN) Sir Schiwago | 66.543% | 66.630 | 67.826 | 67.065 | 65.326 | 65.870 |
| 7. | Karen Lipp (USA) Infinity | 66.087% | 66.304 | 67.065 | 63.587 | 66.196 | 67.283 |
| 8. | Ellesse Gundersen (USA) Quintessential 4 | 65.239% | 66.848 | 65.109 | 64.457 | 65.109 | 64.674 |
| 9. | Charlotte Osborne (GBR) Fruhlingszauber | 64.522% | 65.109 | 65.109 | 64.130 | 63.152 | 65.109 |
| 10. | Austin Webster (USA) Guildenstern SOL | 62.326% | 61.848 | 63.152 | 60.652 | 62.609 | 63.370 |
| 11. | Ivo Jührend (NED) Black Diamond | 61.804% | 63.587 | 62.717 | 62.283 | 61.413 | 59.022 |
| 12. | Shelly Francis (USA) Dante | 61.326% | 61.848 | 59.130 | 64.674 | 59.130 | 61.848 |
 Find details on Equestrian Hub |
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Benjamin Ebeling (USA) Bellena | 70.435% | 70.217 | 68.478 | 71.304 | 71.196 | 70.978 |
| 2. | Anna Marek (USA) Fayvel | 69.717% | 69.783 | 68.478 | 68.696 | 70.978 | 70.652 |
| 3. | Christian Simonson (USA) Fleau de Baian | 67.500% | 69.130 | 67.500 | 66.196 | 67.283 | 67.391 |
| 4. | James Koford (USA) Hatsjie B | 66.370% | 65.435 | 68.370 | 65.326 | 66.196 | 66.522 |
| 5. | Eline Eckroth (USA) Daphne | 64.957% | 64.674 | 66.413 | 65.435 | 64.348 | 63.913 |
| 6. | Tiago Ernesto (POR) Hobbit Interagro | 64.848% | 65.326 | 63.696 | 65.435 | 65.870 | 63.913 |
| 7. | Chloe Gasiorowski (CAN) Sam Donnerhall | 64.609% | 66.304 | 63.043 | 66.196 | 63.370 | 64.130 |
| 8. | Monica Burssens (MEX) Elfentanz | 64.565% | 62.935 | 65.435 | 66.957 | 62.283 | 65.217 |
| 9. | Charlotte Jorst (USA) GPF’s S-Express | 61.478% | 58.152 | 64.674 | 63.804 | 57.826 | 62.935 |
| 10. | Ava MacCoubrey (CAN) Don Camillo-S | 61.283% | 62.065 | 60.870 | 62.174 | 59.674 | 61.630 |
| 11. | Anna Merritt (USA) Fox Creek’s Censational | 58.044% | 57.283 | 60.109 | 58.696 | 54.674 | 59.457 |
| EL | Christian Garweg (CAN) Excalibur RS | eliminated | |||||
| Find details on Equestrian Hub |
