Ellesse Gundersen & Quintessential Win West Palm Beach CDI3* Freestyle on Personal Best
24 hours ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Ellesse Gundersen & Quintessential Win West Palm Beach CDI3* Freestyle on Personal Best
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, Jan. 17, 2026–Ellesse Gundersen rode Quintessential 4 to victory on a personal best score in the CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle Saturday.
Ellesse, based in Wellington and the 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding were awarded 74.530% in the first competition of the year for the American rider and two months since their first win in just over two years at Big Tour.
The win moved her to third place in the US Open standings with a total of 29 points from her two musical performances in the year of qualifiers leading to the final in California in November. Christian Simonson leads the standings with 40 points with Geñay Vaughn in second one point ahead of Ellesse.
She owns the horse along with Marcia Radosevich as well as her husband, the Danish jumper rider Henrik Gundersen, who has been contending with cancer in recent years. Ellesse rode for her native Philippines until two years ago when she switched to ride for the U.S.
Argentina’s Leonardo Antonio Godoy was runner up on Marques do Lis, 10-year-old Portuguese-bred stallion, on 72.810%. The rider was also second in the Grand Prix Special on Mundial O C. Both horses were being competed at Big Tour for the first time.
Frederic Wandres, German Olympic team gold medal rider, won the inaugural Grand Prix Special on the 10-year-old Verrenberg on a score of 72.298%, a day after capturing the Grand Prix for the first pair of victories for the partnership.
The duo’s first competition in the United States after four Big Tour starts in Europe comes a week before they start in the Global Dressage Festival $150,000 CDI5* at Wellington. Entries for the 5* show 13 riders and horses from five nations,
Leonardo Antonio Godoy on Mundial O C scored 66.234% for second with only three combinations in the class.
Results:
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ellesse Gundersen (USA) Quintessential 4 | 74.530% | 71.825 | 75.875 | 73.800 | 73.350 | 77.800 |
| 2. | Leonardo Antonio Godoy (ARG) Marques do Lis | 72.810% | 71.000 | 74.675 | 74.900 | 71.425 | 72.050 |
| 3. | Caleb Scroggins (USA) Villanelle | 70.975% | 70.025 | 70.775 | 71.325 | 72.025 | 70.725 |
| 4. | Sylvia Gugler (USA) Vulkano 14 | 68.155% | 66.800 | 70.250 | 69.200 | 66.425 | 68.100 |
| 5. | Barbara Bertschinger (SUI) Sonnenbergs Solisco CH | 67.290% | 67.450 | 68.550 | 66.575 | 65.400 | 68.475 |
| EL | Charlotte Jorst (USA) Zhaplin Langholt | eliminated | |||||
 Find details on Equestrian Hub |
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Frederic Wandres (GER) Verrenberg | 72.298% | 72.979 | 70.319 | 72.128 | 73.723 | 72.340 |
| 2. | Leonardo Antonio Godoy (ARG) Mundial O C | 66.234% | 66.915 | 66.383 | 67.553 | 65.319 | 65.000 |
| 3. | Sasha Newman Dubois (USA) Damaris S | 65.404% | 67.234 | 64.681 | 64.681 | 65.000 | 65.426 |
| Find details on Equestrian Hub |
