It was a head-to-head between two titans in the FEI Grand Prix CDI-W, presented by Helgstrand Dressage. The two USA pairings of Steffen Peters (Suppenkasper) and Olivia LaGoy-Weltz (Lonoir), who are both as-yet unbeaten at AGDF 2020, tussled for the top spot on the opening day’s action of week five of the 2020 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, Florida. AGDF 2020 runs for 12 weeks, through March 29.

Photo – Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper score nines for both their canter pirouettes en route to a plus-76% grand prix victory in the qualifier for the Friday night freestyle. (©️Susan Stickle)

It was Peters, the last to go of the 23 combinations, who stamped his authority on the class, claiming victory with a new personal best of 76.869% on Four Winds Farm’s 18.2hh gelding by Spielberg — including a high score of 79.13% from Swiss judge Hans Voser. The test was peppered with eights and nines for a wide variety of the high-quality work.

“Every show has been getting a little bit better,” said the 55-year-old California rider, who has built the giant horse’s confidence brick by brick in the early part of the AGDF 2020 season. “I was super excited because in the walk I heard the tents flapping, but ‘Mopsie’ didn’t hear it and that’s a huge step forward because that really threw him off the first week when we competed here. The Wellington arena is the plan to give him the exposure for the future.

“When a horse is this rideable, so soft in the contact, so perfect in the frame, he goes forward at any time, he comes back at any time, he goes sideways at any time so easily — so extremely rideable — it’s a feeling that you can’t give less then a 10,” he added. “I wish the judges could experience the incredible feeling that this horse can give.”

Watch Steffen Peters’ winning test here. Courtesy of Richard’s Equine Video.

Despite career-high scores, Peters feels that there is still even more to come from the 12-year-old as he continues to gain in confidence in the ring: “It’s super exciting to get a 79% from one judge. Both Debbie [McDonald] and I feel that there might be an 80% in there and it doesn’t hurt to dream about and visualize that. The goal is there.”