Living and training in Wellington, Florida, has proved to be ideal for Caroline Hordum and her six-year-old chestnut gelding, Lion King. The pair continued their winning streak this past weekend at the final Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) dressage competition in Wellington.

The dynamic pair went into the competition with winning scores in both of their previous Third Level performances.

Photo – Caroline Hordum and Lion King (SusanJStickle.com)

At AGDF Week 5, they debuted and knocked on the door of 70% before finally hitting it out of the park during AGDF Week 7 with a 75.135% win and 74.324% from some of the most discerning dressage judges in the world. But the best was yet to come, and at last weekend’s AGDF 12, Hordum and Lion King remained undefeated in their Third Level qualifiers, earning remarkable scores of 75 and 77.375% for their winning rides.

Caroline Hordum and Lion King (Susan J Stickle.com)

“I’m so proud of Lion King,” says Hordum about the horse she calls her best friend. “Winning both Third Level tests and earning a score over 77% tells me our training is going in the right direction.”

Lion King’s brilliant gaits, elasticity, and charismatic work ethic captured Hordum’s attention and that of Endel Ots, her coach, two years ago while they were shopping in Holland (where Caroline had worked at Stal Witte B.V. stud farm in Schijndel) in hopes of finding fresh talent.

Special Thank You

“A very special ‘thank you,’” she continued, “to my coach, Endel Ots, for all your guidance and support. You saw Lion King’s talent early on and encouraged me to make him my competition horse.”

Ots, a nine-time national champion, has also taken two horses to the World Breeding championships and has twice been selected to represent the United States on Pan American Games dressage squads.

Hordum, who hailed from Denmark and came to Florida on a competition visa, reflected on her decision to compete in Florida. “We have the opportunity to compete against the best of the best from all over the world almost every weekend here at Global Dressage and at the nearby World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Ocala and the new Terra Nova Show grounds in Myakka City.”

Next, Team Lion King is looking to sink its teeth into CDI3* and USEF competition at WEC, hoping to gather qualifying scores for the Seven-Year-Old division at the Markel/USEF Young Horse National Championships to be held in August.