Alice Tarjan and Serenade MF Make Winning CDI Debut

CDI Debut

There were no fewer than three grand prix classes on Thursday, March 3, the opening day of week eight of the 2022 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL. AGDF, which hosts seven weeks of CDI competition, runs through March 27.

Photo - Alice Tarjan (USA) rode the nine-year-old Serenade MF to top spot in the Grand Prix CDI4* for special, notching up 71.261% at the mare’s first CDI. (©susanjstickle.com)

Riding Serenade MF, the youngest horse in the class of 14 starters, Alice Tarjan (USA) topped the Grand Prix CDI4* (for Special), presented by Mission Control. Benjamin Ebeling (USA) captured second with 69.87% on Indeed and Canadian Naïma Moreira Laliberte rounded out the podium with 69.587% for third on Statesman.

Serenade MF was making her CDI debut, and Tarjan has owned the nine-year-old Sir Donnerhall I daughter since she was a foal.

“I bought her - black with white socks - and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s pretty. If I don’t like her, I can sell.’ It turns out the horse moves really well and was super easy to train, so I kept it,” said Tarjan, who won the USEF Developing Horse Grand Prix Dressage National Championship in 2021 with the mare. “But she’s little and downhill. She’s very pretty and super sweet and easy, just not the most impressive thing. However, when you put her together and clock around, that horse lights up.

“I’m thrilled with the win, but everything’s a work in progress. She’s a good girl, and she did her job,” she continued. “The horse is pretty reliable and easy, and she’s not at all influenced by the environment. She’s pretty easy to train all the tricks, but it’s really been the self-carriage and the uphill balance that have been the challenge to maintain throughout the test. We lose it, for sure, but it’s much more consistent than it was last year.”

Lowkey Attitude

Tarjan, who is aiming for the Grand Prix Championships at Lamplight, gave credit to the mare’s lowkey attitude: “It’s nice to have a horse where there’s not much drama and who stands for the awards ceremonies and stuff, because the other ones can be a little hot. You wish that maybe the horse was a little hotter sometimes, but she’s learning.”

Dressage resumes on Friday, March 4, with a jam-packed day and evening of competition. “Friday Night Stars” in the evening under the lights features the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI4* to music, presented by IDA Development, as well as the ever-popular Adequan® Palm Beach Derby final, in which riders perform a Prix St. Georges test on an unfamiliar horse, competing head-to-head. Daytime action includes the World Cup™ Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle, supported by Sapphire Stables, as well as contests at small tour, junior, young riders, and amateurs. 

Results: FEI Grand Prix CDI4* (for Special), presented by Mission Control
E, Katrina Wüst (GER); H, Kari McClain (USA); C, Cesar Torrente (COL); M, Michael Osinski (USA); B, Elisabeth Max-Theurer (AUT)

1. Alice Tarjan (USA) on Serenade MF, her own 9yo AHS mare by Sir Donnerhall I: 69.457, 72.609, 72.609, 72.065, 69.565, 71.261

2. Benjamin Ebeling (USA) on Indeed, Vantage Equestrian Group II’s 14yo Danish Warmblood mare by Hofrat: 72.283, 69.674, 69.783, 70.217, 67.391, 69.87

3. Naïma Moreira Laliberté (CAN) on Statesman, KML Inc’s 15yo Hanoverian gelding by Sandro Hit: 67.283, 70.87, 69.565, 69.674, 70.543, 69.587

4. Sarah Tubman (USA) on First Apple, Summit Farm’s 12yo KWPN stallion by Vivaldi: 69.565, 69.13, 70.761, 69.674, 68.478, 69.522

5. Michael Klimke (GER) on Harmony’s Sanrino RHP, Harmony Amateur Sports Foundation’s 13yo Oldenburg stallion by San Remo OLD: 69.13, 69.565, 68.37, 70.87, 68.37, 69.261

6. Katie Duerrhammer (USA) on Paxton, Kylee Lourie’s 11yo Westfalian gelding by Dante Weltino OLD: 65.435, 69.239, 71.087, 70.652, 66.739, 68.63

7. Laurence Vanommeslaghe (BEL) on Havalon, her own 15yo Hanoverian gelding by Blue Hors Hotline: 69.348, 70, 71.087, 65.761, 66.304, 68.5

8. Kiichi Harada (JPN) on Sir Galanto, Chiemi Katayama’s 17yo Hanoverian gelding by Stedinger: 68.261, 65.652, 67.283, 67.609, 67.935, 67.348

9. Aaron Janicki (USA) on Heron, his own 10yo KWPN gelding by Glock’s Johnson TN: 67.609, 68.804, 67.935, 67.065, 65.217, 67.326

10eq. Mikala Münter (USA) on Skyfall, her own 14yo Oldenburg gelding by Zardin Firfod: 65.761, 67.717, 67.609, 65.543, 64.674, 66.261

10eq. Bridget Hay (USA) on Faolan, her own 13yo ISR-OLD NA stallion by Freestyle: 65.652, 68.261, 65.652, 66.522, 65.217, 66.261

12. Katherine Bateson Chandler (USA) on Haute Couture, her own & Jennifer Huber’s 10yo KWPN mare by Connoisseur: 65.217, 64.565, 64.022, 67.5, 62.935, 64.848

For more information and results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.