The undisputed global queen of dressage, Germany’s 12-time Olympic medalist Isabell Werth, burst onto the Florida dressage scene on opening day of Week 7 at the 2026 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in the Zen Elite Equestrian FEI Dressage World Cup™ Grand Prix. Her much-anticipated ride on Helgstrand Dressage’s 11-year-old Special Blend 3 was rewarded with 73.13% and the winner’s blanket despite the Sezuan x Hotline gelding losing a front shoe in the first extended trot.

Photo – Isabell Werth & Special Blend 3. (©Centre Line Media)

Julio Mendoza Loor and Jewel’s Goldstrike. (Photo: ©Centre Line Media)

In a truly international class, riders from six different nations filled the top six spots, with Ecuador’s Julio Mendoza Loor coming closest to Werth at the top of the leaderboard. He rode his own and his wife Jessica Mendoza’s 15-year-old Bretton Woods gelding Jewel’s Goldstrike—whom he partnered at the Paris 2024 Olympics—to 71.196%, which would have been higher but for a costly mistake in the two-time changes. Canadian Olympian Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu scooped third on Jaccardo, Jill Irving’s 12-year-old (Desperado x Jazz), with 70.761%.

“I lost my rein and then the shoe, which was funny, but anyway, Special Blend did really, really good,” enthused Werth, who last rode in Wellington 15 years ago on her Olympic team gold medallist horse, Satchmo. The stands filled once again for her return on Thursday. “It’s nice to get this warm welcome, with so many friendly people. I didn’t expect such a positive response, so that’s been great to feel and really exciting.”

On choosing to bring Special Blend, the youngest horse in the class of 11 starters, she added, “He’s really honest, he travels well, and he’s uncomplicated. Nothing around the show affects him. Yesterday, I trained a bit under the floodlight in the evening, and he was a bit tense, but he settled down and I was very happy this morning. The warm-up was super, and I felt that he was so much more relaxed in the arena. He has real highlights in the piaffe/passage, and all the canter work was nice. I could celebrate on the last centerline and bring the test to the end in a very lightweight way, which is good to see and to feel.”

Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu & Jaccardo. (Photo: ©Centre Line Media)

The class was a qualifier for the Zen Elite Equestrian CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle to be held during “Friday Night Stars”. The special gala event will host a stallion demonstration, including appearances from My Vitality, One Million, Zaunkönig, Fortunato H2O OLD, Rosebank VH, Fleau De Baian, and pony stallion Branley Ash Nautilus. There will also be live music from a Grammy Award-winning artist, whose identity is being kept under wraps.

It will be Werth and Special Blend’s first CDI freestyle, and they will perform to a classical soundtrack originally made for Emilio—another of Werth’s Olympic team gold medal winning horses. She will also make sure that Special Blend’s shoe is firmly on, she added.

Click for full results from the Zen Elite Equestrian FEI Dressage World Cup™ Grand Prix.

Dressage competition during AGDF 7 resumes on Friday, February 20, with daytime classes including the Lövsta Future Challenge, a series for developing grand prix horses, as well as the special “Friday Night Stars” evening featuring the Zen Elite Equestrian FEI Dressage World Cup™ Grand Prix Freestyle, which is a sold out ticketed event with a surprise musical performance from Grammy Award-winning artists and a stallion showcase.

AGDF 7 runs through Sunday, February 22. AGDF hosts seven weeks of international competition and weekly national shows over three months, finishing March 29.

For more information, visit https://www.wellingtoninternational.com or watch all the action in the main arena on the live stream, which can be found here.