American Christian Simonson made a winning come back on Zeaball Diawind, his 2021 North American Young Riders gold medal winning mount, after an almost one-year break from international competition.
Christian and Zeaball
The 20-year old Simonson is a student of U.S. Olympic team rider Adrienne Lyle and has team trainer Debbie McDonald and Lyle’s sponsor Betsy Juliano enthusiastically rooting for him with every ride. Christian is one of America’s most talented young riders at the moment with a strong support system behind him and his steps seem closely followed by the selectors.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation has announced the combinations selected to represent The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team and U.S. Dressage U25 Teams at the FEI Dressage Nations Cup USA to take place Feb. 23-26 in Wellington, Florida. This will be the first team outing of the 2023 competition season.
The following combinations have been selected to represent The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team and are listed in alphabetical order. The team will be supported by Debbie McDonald and George Williams, serving as technical advisor and chef d’equipe, respectively.
Susie Dutta (Wellington, Florida) and Don Design DC, a 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Susie and Tim Dutta
Charlotte Jorst (Reno, Nevada) and Zhaplin Langholt, a 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Kastel Denmark
Anna Marek (Dunnellon, Florida) and Duvel, a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Cynthia Davila
Christian Simonson (Ventura, California) and Son Of A Lady, a 12-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Christina Morgan and Clifton Simonson
USA’s under-25 star Christian Simonson, based in Wellington where he is coached by Adrienne Lyle, took gold on Son of a Lady in the CDIO3* Intermediate 1 Freestyle on a personal best 78.445%.
Christian Simonson (Ventura, Calif.) and Son of a Lady, a 2011 Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Christina Morgan and Clifton Simonson, were the top scoring U.S. combination on Friday, receiving a 72.706% from the judging panel in the FEI Intermediate I for a second place finish, marking a successful debut for the senior team in international competition.
“This was my first Nations Cup and it was really exciting,” Simonson said. “Being able to represent your nation is like nothing else I’ve really felt. It’s a real honor. It was just an amazing competition.
“It was similar to a lot of the Young Riders Nations Cups, and I’m really grateful that [US Equestrian] has invested in giving us that time and experience. I think this kind of weekend and my personal performance was a reflection of how much time and effort they’re putting into young athletes. It’s been an amazing competition and to be able to do it with such fierce competition, and also with friends, is really fun as well.”
WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb.24, 2023–Germany won the CDIO3* Nations Cup Friday for the third straight year to kick off the trans-Atlantic series. USA took silver and Sweden bronze.
Final standings of the two-day mixed Big and Small Tour combinations were: 1. Germany 437.844; 2. USA 427.285; 3. Sweden 414.498; 4. Canada 409.193; 5. Australia 397.201; 6. Argentina 319.938.
Highest score for the German team on the second day in the Grand Prix Special was their youngest rider, 22-year-old Felicitas Hendricks on Drombusch at 72.234%. An additional 1.5% was added to Big Tour horses. It was the first senior Nations Cup for Felicitas.
For USA, Christian Simonson on Son of a Lady, on his first senior Nations Cup team, was the top combination on a personal best 72.706% in Intermediate 1 the second day. Christian, successful in youth divisions, began competing the 12-year-old in Europe last June. He is based in Wellington with Adrienne Lyle.
WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 22, 2023–Canada leads off six teams from four continents in the CDIO3* Nations Cup in Wellington Thursday to kick off the 2023 trans-Atlantic series.
The six teams are Argentina, Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden and the United States that have been hosted at the Global Dressage Festival and sponsored by Stillpoint Farm for more than a decade. Individuals in the CDIO3* include combinations from Ecuador, Denmark, Korea, Singapore, Spain and Venezuela.
The team competition is the only event of mixed Big and Small Tour combinations in the lineup of Nations Cups in Europe throughout the summer.
The winning team will be decided by the scores of the Prix St. Georges and Grand Prix Thursday and Intermediate I and Grand Prix Special Friday. Big Tour combinations get a 1.5% bonus added to their scores.
Germany has won the last two Nations Cups in Wellington.
Of interest will be the Grand Prix ride of Bohemian by Korea’s Dong Seon Kim who bought the Olympic team horse ridden by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark about a month ago.
The teams: United States of America Susan DUTTA – Don Design DC Charlotte JORST – Zhaplin Langholt Anna MAREK – Duvel Christian SIMONSON – Son of a Lady
On her first trip to Europe as a groom, Stanke accompanied Lyle’s student Christian Simonson as part of the U.S. young rider dressage team last summer. At that point, Simonson had only been partnered with 12-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding Son Of A Lady for four months.
With only one horse to care for over the month-long stay, Stanke was able to bring her considerable relationship-building skills to the table.
“We taught him how to smile,” she recalled. “We spent a lot of quality time and grew attached. When we got to all the places, he was like, ‘You’re my person and you’re here, too.’”
US Equestrian announced the combinations selected to represent the U.S.A in the FEI Dressage Nations Cup in Wellington, Fla., from February 23-26, 2023.
This will be the first team outing of the 2023 competition season for U.S. Dressage Team at the first leg of the 2023 FEI Nations Cup circuit.
One senior and two Under 25 teams have been named
Seniors
Susie Dutta (Wellington, Fla.) and Don Design DC, a 2010 Hanoverian gelding owned by Susie and Tim Dutta
Charlotte Jorst (Reno, Nev.) and Zhaplin Langholt, a 2013 Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Kastel Denmark
Anna Marek (Dunnellon, Fla.) and Duvel, a 2008 Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Cynthia Davila
Christian Simonson (Ventura, Calif.) and Son of a Lady, a 2011 Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Christina Morgan and Clifton Simonson
