THERMAL, California, Jan. 7, 2024–Benjamin Ebeling on Indeed completed the World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle Sunday to become the first North American rider to qualify for the World Cup Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in April.
Benjamin and the 16-year-old Danish Warmblood mare were awarded 72.240% as the sole entrant in the qualifier, to give the rider 60 points from three victories, the maximum available, and to place atop the North American standings.
Benjamin, based in Wellington, Florida, returned to his long time home state of California to complete qualification for his first senior championship in which three of the 18 starting places in the World Cup Final are reserved for North America.
With four more qualifiers remaining in North America–three in Wellington and one in Del Mar, California–Kevin Kohmann, based in Wellington is ranked second on 37 points, Canada’s Tanya Strasser-Shostak is third on 24 points with Mikala Münter, a two-time World Cup finalist and championship rider for her native Denmark but now rides under the Stars ‘n’ Stripes ranks fourth on 23 points.
The CDI3* Grand Prix and Special with just two entries were won by Rebecca Rigdon of Encinitas, California. On Heide Spirit, 14-year-old Oldenburg mare, Rebecca scored 66.370% in the Grand Prix and 63.034% in the Special.
Results:
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Benjamin Ebeling (USA)
Indeed
|
72.240% | 68.175 | 72.550 | 71.925 | 73.800 | 74.750 |
 Find details on Equestrian Hub |
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Benjamin Ebeling (USA)
Indeed
|
68.652% | 69.022 | 66.630 | 70.109 | 68.913 | 68.587 |
| Find details on Equestrian Hub |
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Rebecca Rigdon (USA)
Heide Spirit
|
66.370% | 66.087 | 67.609 | 63.370 | 70.326 | 64.457 |
| 2. |
Robyn Fisher (USA)
Kingston
|
62.826% | 62.935 | 63.804 | 62.065 | 63.043 | 62.283 |
| Find details on Equestrian Hub |
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Rebecca Rigdon (USA)
Heide Spirit
|
63.043% | 60.426 | 62.553 | 62.766 | 66.596 | 62.872 |
| 2. |
Robyn Fisher (USA)
Kingston
|
60.787% | 60.851 | 60.532 | 60.106 | 61.915 | 60.532 |
| Find details on Equestrian Hub |
