Lyle is the star of a special night for dressage in Wellington

Dressage returned to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in a big way last night, with a sold-out VIP section that was treated to a brilliant performance by U.S. Olympic team silver medalist Adrienne Lyle and the stunning stallion Salvino.

Their mark of 76.500 percent in the qualifier for Friday night’s Grand Prix Special at the 5-star-rated show was the highest score of the evening, which also featured a qualifier for the Grand Prix Freestyle.

Adrienne had ridden previously in the International Arena (which usually hosts the Winter Equestrian Festival’s jumpers) when the Olympic selection observation trial was held there last spring. But there were few fans on hand for that competition because Covid restrictions were in place then.

“It’s so wonderful to be in this venue. It’s really fun to be back, with more spectators this time. We’re really thankful for this opportunity,” said Adrienne.

Her enthusiasm was matched by that of Germany’s Frederic Wandres, who topped a field of 13 in the qualifier for the freestyle with Bluetooth Old on a score of 74.631 percent.

“The stadium is fantastic. It was almost a full crowd and the Americans are always creating a super atmosphere. We love to be here,” he said.

The dressage ring was set on the VIP side of the arena, behind an incongruous backdrop of jumps. What was this, some newfangled combined training test?

Then I learned the dressage ring couldn’t be located in the middle of the arena because it would have meant moving the gazebo that is a permanent fixture. And the jumps remained because a jumper class was starting at 8 this morning, and the jump crew would have had to get up really early to set the course if the arena had been cleared entirely.

Dressage shows used to be held at PBIEC before the Equestrian Village, home of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, opened down the street. But Thomas Baur, AGDF director, said his requests to stage dressage again at PBIEC were turned down when Mark Bellissimo was running the property. It was sold last year to a group led by Andreas Helgstrand, a dressage horse dealer, and the new owner understandably was eager to host some dressage.

There obviously is an appetite for dressage at PBIEC, judging by the enthusiasm of the audience, who eagerly took part in a spectator scoring opportunity through an app or their phones.They enjoyed a lot of emotion. It was heartwarming to see the joy expressed by 24-year-old Juan Matute Guimon after his fifth-place finish on Quantico. Juan hovered between life and death in 2020 after suffering a stroke, but came back stronger than ever and delighted in his participation.

The crowd gave Adrienne a lot of love, well-deserved by the rider and her horse, a son of Sandro Hit out of a Donnerhall mare.

“I thought it was one of the best tests she’s ever had,” said Debbie McDonald, Adrienne’s trainer and mentor.

Adrienne withdrew Salvino from the freestyle after the team won its medal in Tokyo, feeling the horse was tired and not wanting to press him.

“That was Adrienne looking out for her horse. It was exciting to see the horse come out fresh and excited to be back in the ring,” Debbie said.

“I think the same as Adrienne–When you’ve got a happy horse who loves his job, I think you’re doing something right,” she observed.

Debbie noted Adrienne, like most riders who went to the Olympics, gave her horse a lot of time off afterward. He spent much of it enjoying the pasture in Colorado.

“He loves it. They did a ton of trail riding,” Debbie reported.

“She’s been back riding him not even that long. But I have so much faith in her and the fact she has so much faith in the horse, she can go in and she feels she can ride a test right out of the pasture.”

As Adrienne remarked, “He’s certainly fit. He’s ready to do it all again.”

There were five in the GPS qualifier. Ashley Holzer was a distant second with a good effort on Valentine, marked at 70.696 percent.

Adrienne decided to aim toward the Special, rather than the freestyle, since “We focused so much on the Special last year because that was what counted for the team event (at the Olympics). I just feel like I’m more fresh on that one. We haven’t done the freestyle since World Cup, I believe. We’ll get that one in, but it was easier to step into the Special the first time.”

Speaking of the World Cup, the finals are in Omaha next year, and Adrienne has that as a goal after this summer’s world championships in Denmark, but she won’t predict whether Salvino will be her candidate for the 2024 Paris Olympics. She does have an ever-increasing string of horses, a testament to her talent and affinity for the animals.

Last night’s class was sponsored by Havensafe LLC and Betsy Juliano, who just happens to be Salvino’s owner.

Frederic was delighted with his test, a mistake-free personal best on his son of Bordeaux, and at a 5-star, yet.

“He gave me a super feeling. that is really what I’m looking for. We have been building him up at the season here. Now delivering that score is what I’m looking for daily. That makes our whole team completely happy.”

Second to Frederic was 22-year-old Ben Ebeling, on Illuster van de Kampert with a score of 72.478 percent.

Ben was overjoyed with his ride, alternating between jubilation and not being able to believe how well he and his horse had done.

I wondered how it felt to be riding dressage with the jumps all around, and asked Frederic about it.

He replied, “The jumps didn’t really bother me. When we are at home in Germany, we are on a big farm and there is also jumping going on. I think Bluetooth is used to these things. Maybe for some horses it can be difficult, but maybe I was lucky and Bluetooth was not getting irritated of these things.”

Friday night Special will be the last class in Florida for Bluetooth, as Frederic prepares to head home and get ready for selection of the team that will compete in the world championships.