Wellington, Fla. – The individual competitions of the FEI Dressage Nations Cup USA CDIO3* got underway on Friday at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival. Jan Ebeling and Jubi’s Tenacity were the sole U.S. representatives in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, with their teammates riding in Saturday’s FEI Grand Prix Special. The pair represented the U.S. well, finishing in sixth place in a talented class. The U.S. U25 combinations also had their chance to stand atop the individual podium for their FEI Grand Prix 16-25 results.

Ebeling (Wellington, Fla.) and Jubi’s Tenacity were the first combination down centerline in the CDIO3* FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, and they put forth an entertaining, solid test to score 75.720%. The pair performed extended canter to canter pirouette, passage half-pass to extended trot to another passage half-pass, and piaffe pirouette to upbeat, pop music.

“The music is actually music I used for Rafalca, the horse I had in the [London] Olympics. I hadn’t used that music in a long time because that was 2012,” said Ebeling. “The music that I had been using with [Jubi’s Tenacity] did not sit well with my wife and son. They said, ‘You need to up your game here.’ We had a very late change of music.”

Ebeling and the 2010 Danish Warmblood gelding (Tailormade Temptation x Jubi’s Cadeau) owned by Ann Romney seemed to find their groove with the music. The pair had one bobble in the one-tempi changes but recovered well to finish on a high note.

Ebeling and Jubi’s Tenacity have a relatively new partnership, beginning to compete together last winter season. Friday night was their second freestyle together, but they thrived in the atmosphere.

“He is handling the crowd really well. He is perfectly on,” said Ebeling. “He is wonderful; I just love him. He cranks it up a little bit in the test without getting too hot.”

Felicitas Hendricks and Drombusch OLD (GER) claimed gold with a score of 79.100%, followed by Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén and Devanto (SWE) with a score of 77.415% and Frederic Wandres and Total Recall (GER) with a score of 77.080%.

For the CDIOU25, Siena Harris-Gissler and Status Royal OLD scored their second win of the week by taking top honors in the FEI Grand Prix 16-25. The pair had a smooth test, earning solid marks for their trot and canter half-passes and canter pirouettes. Harris-Gissler (New York, N.Y.) and her own 2010 Oldenburg gelding (Statesman x Facette Royal) collected a personal-best score of 67.744%.

“I’m just so, so over the moon with him and with this show,” said Harris-Gissler. “I am so happy to be here. This has been a dream of mine since they started doing the Under 25 Nations Cup. It’s really amazing that not only was I able to be on the team but to win two days in a row.”

Harris-Gissler said she planned a shorter warm-up with Status Royal OLD due to warm weather in Florida. However, the breeze and the willing nature of “Status” kept the energy going throughout the test.

“He is really a show horse. He knows when it is time and when it matters,” said Harris-Gissler. “When I make little mistakes, he just keeps going, doesn’t think about it, and on to the next movement. He really gave me some of the best piaffe-passage I have had with him. That last centerline I had the biggest smile on my face; I was so happy with him. He really just gave his heart in that test.”

Kate Kyros and Chemistry (AUS) took second place with a score of 67.333% followed by U.S. combination Dennesy Rogers and Chanel in third place on a score of 65.026%. Rogers (Santa Rosa, Calif.) and the 2005 Danish Warmblood mare (Blue Horse Romance x Penelope Solyst) owned by Dorriah Rogers tallied good scores for their extended and canter half-passes for a podium finish.

Josh Albrecht and Goldenboy Vinckenburgh finished fourth with a score of 64.308%. Albrecht (Oroville, Calif.) and the 2011 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Apache x Tandafanory) owned by Coalcyn Equestrian LLC had some nice moments during their extended trot and canter movements to secure their ranking.

Competition continues Saturday, February 24, with the CDIO3* FEI Grand Prix Special at 3:45 p.m. ET.

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