Frederic Wandres of Germany Rides Bluetooth to Wellington World Cup Freestyle Victory, USA’s Ashley Holzer Runner-up With Error-Free Ride on Valentine

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 10, 2023–Frederic Wandres of Germany and Bluetooth OLD brought the Wellington World Cup Freestyle crowd to cheers and clapping in winning Friday night while the USA’s Ashley Holzer not knowing what to expect had an error-free ride on Valentine to be “back” as her partner for runner-up.

The Freestyle did not clarify which North American riders and horses–they will all be from the USA–will go to the World Cup Final in Omaha. Ashley is not in the running despite her success while Sarah Tubman on First Apple in third place did not earn enough points to overtake Alice Tarjan and Serenade MF who placed fifth.

Frederic in his third year competing at Wellington on horses owned by Hof Kasselmann of Hagen, Germany where he is the stable rider drew the biggest applause from the crowd of about 4,500 spectators enjoying a balmy tropical night for a score of 80.565%.

“It was the second Friday Night Lights this season for me and I really love the atmosphere,” he said. “It’s always so crowded and the people are cheering for everyone. I can be very happy with Bluetooth; he gets more and more consistent and the important things are getting better and better. I am really looking forward for what’s coming next.”

This was the sixth win in six starts for Frederic in this winter’s Florida circuit, four on Bluetooth and two on Hot Hit Old. The plan is to compete Bluetooth next in the $150,00/€140,000 Global CDI5* Mar. 14-19.

Ashley, based in Wellington, clearly enjoyed the result of 77.400% after the world championship last year where she admits she was heartbroken by the performance of the 13-year-old mare.

“We made a plan,” she said, “brought her back, took her down a level just to see how she would feel in the ring. She was great, felt really confident in the ring. I took her back to the national, she was totally confident and my partner again. Yesterday in the grand prix she was really willing.

“Tonight was a huge question mark. This is a lot of atmosphere and you pray to God the PTSD doesn’t come back.

“In the ring, I tried to say, ‘you’re my partner and we have to do this together.’ She slowly came more and more to me as the test went on. As her rider, owner, her everything she’s my pet since she was young, that last center line my mare was back.”

Sarah Tubman, also of Wellington, said of her ride on First Apple for a score of 77.270%, “I think there was nothing more I could ask for from him tonight. He was completely with me and for where we are at with everything we laid I all out on the table and made him work for it.

“That was our goal to put down another mistake-free test. The reason we started going down this path and doing freestyles is it brought a lot of confidence to this horse. He loves the crowd he loves the nighttime so we always see a large improvement in him at home and in the other tests after showing the freestyle. I had a ton of fun and he was 100% with me. I could not be happier with every step of the test.”

Absent from the Freestyle was Adrienne Lyle on Salvino, who suffered a colic and was withdrawn from this competition, but has a chance at the final North American qualifier in three weeks to earn an invitation to Omaha.

Steffen Peters of San Diego, California and Suppenkasper is the only combination to have clinched one of the three places assigned to North America at Omaha.

The other two places will depend on the results of that final qualifier. Adrienne and Salvino is the top ranked combination in the Americas and will be the favorite if the pair start.

Alice Tarjan goes in with a narrow lead over Sarah Tubman and First Apple in the North American standings. Sarah would have to win the final qualifier to earn a ticket to Omaha.

Among Western European riders competing in Wellington, Frederic is resigned to the fact that it is almost certain that three places that could be assigned to Germany are already limited. Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on TSF Dalera BB is the title holder entitled to starting while Isabell Werth and Ingrid Klimke appear to have a grip on the other two spots.

Although Morgan Barbançon of France placed fourth on Bolero in Wellington Friday, based on results from qualifiers in Europe, mostly on Sir Donnerhall II OLD that she did not bring to Florida, she is given a strong chance of making it to Omaha.

Results:

World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle