The lights of the Dixon Oval illuminated the first qualifying pair for the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final Riyadh (KSA) to be hosted April 16-20, 2024 from the North American League. Dressage at Devon presented by Kingsview Partners is proud to be a part of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ – North American League offering the CDI-W Grand Prix Musical Freestyle each year at Dressage at Devon. As a long-time staple on the qualifier calendar for one of the biggest events in international dressage each year, top riders from around the country make their way to the historic show for a chance to ride in one of the best competition settings in North America. Known for it’s electric atmosphere, Benjamin Ebeling and Indeed tapped into the energy of the fully-packed grand stands in the Dixon Oval to deliver a performance worthy of contesting for the World Cup title next spring, earning more than just a blue ribbon.

Photo – Benjamin Ebeling and Indeed (Olivia Airhart, Mane Source Media for Phelps Media Group)

The field of competitors for the CDI-W Grand Prix Musical Freestyle presented by Kingsview Partners was stacked as the Dixon Oval saw the top ranked riders on the FEI Dressage World Cup™ North American League Standings including No. 8 ranked rider, Evi Strasser of Canada; No. 9 ranked rider, Michael Bragdell of the U.S., as well as top young competitors, Benjamin Ebeling and Hope Cooper, and even the return of Tokyo Olympic pair, Yvonne Losos de Muñiz of the Dominican Republic and her long-time partner, Aquamarijn. With so many talented horses and riders in attendance, only a show-stopping performance would take the cake.

Qualifying Goal

Ebeling delivered just that posting a score of 77.325% aboard the 2008 Danish Warmblood mare by Hofrat out of De Niro 6. The pair is one step closer to their goal of qualifying for the FEI World Cup Dressage Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2024. Ebeling spoke highly of his partner tonight, Indeed, and the connection they have formed saying, “She speaks for herself, we have developed a great partnership and we have spent a lot of time together, trying and failing, and failing is really part of the journey to get to successes like these. The freestyle is made up of all strong female diva roles which really suits her, it’s all for her, and she knows it. She has been in the family, owned by Vantage Equestrian Group II, LLC for five years, and I have been lucky enough to have the ride on her for two years.”

“I am really grateful and lucky to have the owners of Vantage supporting me,” Ebeling continued. “I hope the thirty minutes of grooming and massaging her before the ride was enough. I feel that really spending time with her in the stables before the ride continues to develop the partnership. I don’t want to just shake hands with her and get on, I want to really be in the know with her and have that deep conversation, sometimes I sing to her, sometimes I dance in her stall – she is a special horse and she needs that connection with someone.”

Old Guard vs New Guard

The theme of old guard versus new wave was in full effect on Saturday night during the freestyle as fellow up-and-coming rider, Tanya Strasser-Shostak, daughter of Evi Strasser, and her mom’s mount, Fidelis Tyme claimed the second-place position on a personal best score of 74.280%. It was a big evening for Strasser-Shostak and the 2010 Oldenburg gelding by Moosbachhof’s Fit for Fun out of Peron, who not only competed in her first-ever CDI-W freestyle, and made it on the podium, but the Canadian rider also qualified for a spot on her country’s team for the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile later this fall.

“It is his first Grand Prix season, our first season together, our first musical freestyle under the lights – for both of us, first World Cup qualifier,” Strasser-Shostak said, “there were a lot of firsts here tonight!” The pair only started doing CDI’s in May, and now they are qualified for the Pan American Games on the Canadian team. “We thought, in preparation for the Pan Am’s, let’s do Devon and try to see how it goes. I mean, honestly, every ride on him is literally the biggest gift. I mean, I know that’s super cheesy, but I’m so grateful to have him, he’s just so honest and has such a big heart, he’s so kind and he’s very much with me.” She continued stating, “I’m just so over the moon with it. The atmosphere tonight was just incredible. It is just amazing to have this type of venue in North America and such a positive crowd, and such a wonderful group of organizers that really make it fun and have everything running smoothly, even though it’s such a big show.”

Top Three

Rounding out the top three was the yet another talented young rider, Hope Cooper, who made her second appearance in the Dixon Oval under the lights, having participated in the NorCordia Dressage at Devon 2023 Master Class presented by Running ‘S’ Equine Veterinary Services with Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on Thursday evening aboard a different mount. Cooper and Jane Karol’s Flynn PCH, a 2006 Hanoverian stallion by Falsterbo out of Walt Lady (by Walt Disney) were the final pair to enter the Dixon Oval. Having to contest against a field of tight scores, Cooper and the experienced Grand Prix mount danced under the lights of the Dixon to contemporary hits including, Mi Gente by J Balvin and Willy William and of course some Beyonce, delivering a score of 74.115% just missing out on the second-place position and settling into the third-place podium.

“I am so proud of Flynn and it was so much fun. The atmosphere here is so electric and the people are cheering and clapping and I couldn’t ask for a better horse or a better audience and it was just all the stars aligning to have so much fun tonight,” Cooper said of her third place finish tonight. The freestyle was evolved from her U25 Freestyle with a different horse.

Speaking into how participating in the NorCordia Dressage at Devon 2023 Masterclass with Catherine Laudrup Dufour helped her tonight, Cooper said, “definitely a lot in the piaffe and passage work, just in the crispness in the beginning, and honestly I have to really thank Cathrine [Laudrup-Dufour], Dressage at Devon, and NorCordia, and all the sponsors of the Master Class because it really gave me the chance to ride in front of a huge audience which I haven’t really done in my career yet, and that gave me a lot of confidence, and I think I really carried that confidence over to Flynn which was really a great feeling.”

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