A rare appearance by German dressage luminary Isabell Werth at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival ended the way anyone in the know could have predicted — with a victory in the the Zen Elite Equestrian FEI Dressage World Cup™ Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 82.66 percent on Special Blend 3.
Isabell Werth and Special Blend. (Centre Line Media Photo)
Canad’s Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu, third in the Grand Prix on Thursday, finished second with a personal best aboard Jaccardo. The Desperado x Jazz gelding scored 79.25 percent. Third went to Ecuadorian rider Julio Mendoza Loor on finished third on his 2024 Paris Olympic mount, Jewel’s Goldstrike with 78.16 percent. The riders were cheered by a capacity crowd of 2,000 at the Wellington, Fla., showgrounds.
Special Blend 3, an Oldenburg recently sold to Werth’s student, Natalie Stickling-Morzynski, did not reveal his inexperience in the freestyle, dancing to a classical compilation designed for Isabell’s Olympic team gold medal-winning horse, Emilio. Special Blend, at age 11 the youngest horse in the class, was recruited for the competition only only a few days before the show after DSP Quantaz came up with a small swelling on one leg.
“This freestyle is really, really difficult and I was not sure what Special would do, because he’s not experienced in these kinds of atmospheres, but he was very focused,” said Isabell, who had fans clapping along as she went up the final centerline.
“This crowd was so supportive and started to clap, which is something special. That end to a test is a feeling I really enjoy, and it’s how you know why you’re still in the saddle in a competition,” said Isabell.
Her test offered a full piaffe pirouette after the entry halt and 22 one-time changes on a curving line between canter pirouettes. It was a masterclass in her signature fusion of extreme technical difficulty and ease of execution. Hundreds of people were filming her performance on their phones, and then showed their appreciation with a standing ovation.
“I’d like to thank the show team because it was pretty impressive here,” said the seven-time Olympian, who last competed in Wellington 15 years ago.
“I didn’t expect that it would be like this. There’s a huge improvement in the whole environment here—the horses, the riding—which is great to see. We have to make dressage more global and for sure here there is a lot of energy and enthusiasm, which I love to see and be a part of. I’m pretty sure that I’ll come back next year.”
Click here for results