Over in the Markel Arena, competition kicked off early with the 5-year-olds completing their FEI 5-Year-Old Preliminary Test. Petra Warlimont (Evergreen, Colo.) and Deambulo PWD (Don Martillo x Franka), her own 2019 Hanoverian gelding, secured first place with a 81.2%, earning consistently high marks from the judges across all categories.

Photo – Petra Warlimont and Deambulo PWD. (Leslie Potter/US Equestrian)

Willy Arts (Hanford, Calif.) and Serupgaards Cézanne (Torveslettens Sylvester x Serupgards Sangria), a 2019 Danish Warmblood gelding, also earned a 81.2%. The tiebreaker came down to the higher average marks from the submission and perspective categories, where Warlimont’s gelding had a slight edge over Arts. Carell Garcia (NED) and Jennifer Vanover’s 2019 Dutch Warmblood mare, MW One More Dream, earned the third-place finish with a 78.8%

The 5-year-olds will return for their final test on Saturday, Aug. 24.

Competition Information:

The 2024 FOC takes place Aug. 19-25, at HITS Chicago Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Ill. Competition takes place in two arenas and will be broadcast on USEF Network. Bookmark the FOC event page on USEF.org for the latest coverage of this year’s show.

Ring Schedule | Orders of Go and Results

2024 Festival of Champions Livestream

The U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions will be streamed live on USEF Network. US Equestrian members, subscribers, and fans can watch all classes live. Not a member? Sign up for a free fan account now!