It has been two years since Zen Elite’s Bohemian, the reserve mount for the 2024 U.S. Olympic dressage team, has gone down center line in an FEI competition.
There were times when his rider, Endel Ots, worried that sinus issues might keep the horse away from the big classes permanently.
But on Thursday at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Fla., Bohemian showed he was ready to roll again, putting in a competent test that won the 3-Star Grand Prix with a mark of 69.261. Three of the five judges marked the 16-year-old son of Bordeaux 28 at over 70 percent.
“After two years of not being in there, I was really happy with him,” said Endel, after riding the canter one-handed in his victory pass.
“He was almost a little bit spooky and looky in there,” noted the rider. That behavior probably could be attributed to an increase in grain of the high-energy variety.
“I had a lot of power I had a little hard time kind of directing it and kind of positioning him on the places I’d want to,” Endel said.
Even so, he emphasized “He really tried.”
Endel felt the piaffe/passage was a highlight of his test — “I didn’t have to push it at all.”
Controlling the horse’s frame and keeping the poll as the highest point “has always been a struggle,” but Endel knows how to handle that issue.
There were distractions during his test, flapping noises, and something that was dropped in the VIP tent.
“His eyes were very much looking around on different places, which was different. I like him with that much energy; I just have to control it a little bit better.”
Endel is hoping to ride in the U.S. National Grand Prix Championships during May at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala. And he would like to compete in the World Championships this summer.
Endel Ots and Bohemian on their one-handed victory pass.
While he felt a lot of pressure in 2024, now “I ‘m really trying to have fun and enjoy it and enjoy the time with him,” Endel commented.
As is so often the case, it was a big day for Zen Elite, Heidi Humphries’ stable based near Fort Lauderdale, with a new facility being constructed in Wellington.
Christian Simonson, the USA’s top-ranked dressage rider at number nine in the standings, finished second to Endel on another Zen horse, Fleau de Baian. His score was just a bit behind Bohemian’s, at 69.065.
Christian Simonson and Fleau de Baian.
“I have so much fun working with him,” said Adrienne Lyle, Christian’s coach, when asked what kind of a student he is.
She compared him to a sponge; but in a good way.
“I can just tell him something and you can see it go in and process it and apply it,” she said.
“Watching him on a bunch of different horses has been great. I’m always harping on this with the horses and the people, too. We build them up slowly, we build them up methodically. There have been a few times where people were like, ‘Send him in now,’ and we said “un-uh he needs more time, he needs more experience.'”
Now, however, “I feel very comfortable turning him loose on any horse in any venue,” said Adrienne.
Christian’s biggest splash has been with Indian Rock, who was a mount for the Dutch Olympic team in 2024 before he took over. The two have qualified for April’s FEI World Cup Finals (sponsored by Zen Elite) in Texas.
Being the top U.S. rider isn’t something for which Christian takes credit.
“I don’t think of personal accolades. This is a reflection of the team and the amazing horses we have,” he said.
As Adrienne put it, “You just kind of keep putting in the work, and then all of a sudden, you’re like, `Wow, ‘m scoring here.’ ”
She did some scoring of her own before Christian rode, winning the 1-Star FEI Prix St. Georges with Hussmans Topgun, a nine-year-old by Totilas. It was the first FEI start for the personable bay gelding, marked at 71.872 percent.
Adrienne Lyle with Georgia Morgan, Heidi Humphries, and Christian Simonson.
He handled everything really well. It’s been a slow build-up process,” said Adrienne, who is working with Katie Duerrhammer, Ali Brock and Olivia Lagoy Weltz, as well as getting tips from various visting experts, such as Isabell Werth.
“He’s a very powerful horse, He’s a very elastic horse but his challenge has been that sometiems he overpowerfront end.s himself and gets tension slipped in.
So the goal is to get rid of that tension and eventually move to the next step.
While Adrienne observed he inherited the Totilas front end, “our job is to try to make the hind end match that and tame the front end a little bit and bring along the hind end. I’m always learning more about him each day.”
She hopes to spend this year giving him exposure, then start with Grand Prix next year.
Click here for results of the 3-Star Grand Prix
Click this link for results of the 1-Star
