December 7, 2023 – Ocala, FL – It was a full day of competition on Friday, December 8, at the World Equestrian Center (WEC) December Dressage CDI-W sponsored by Hampton Green Farm and Discover Dressage. Capturing victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W along with coveted FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final qualifying points was Kevin Kohmann (USA) riding Dünensee, owned by Diamante Farms. Jan Ebeling (USA) and Jubi’s Tenacity, owned by Ann Romney, rode to the win in the Grand Prix for Special CDI3*, while Siena Harris-Gissler (USA) and Electra DDJ won the Intermediate I CDI1*. WEC December Dressage continues through Sunday, December 10, with Fédération Equestre International (FEI) and USEF/USDF-rated classes.
Marking his first-ever freestyle victory, Kevin Kohmann rode Dünensee, a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Dancier x Davignon 3, to a personal best score of 77.720% in front of a judging panel including Carlos Lopes (POR), Cesar Torrente (COL), Michael Osinski (USA), William Warren (USA) and Clive Halsell (GBR). His high score of 79.250% came from the judge at H.
“Wow, I am still shocked,” said Kohmann. “I have never gotten a score like this, never won a freestyle. So, a lot of firsts. What an amazing week. It doesn’t matter what happens tomorrow, I am winning.”
Kohmann’s win was even more impressive considering he only got his final music on Wednesday before the sound check. The freestyle music came from Nicole Pendzich in Germany and featured the music of the late DJ Avicii.
“It was mostly Avicii, which is my favorite DJ,” he remarked. “I always wanted an Avicii freestyle, and now I have the right horse to ride to it. It worked out much better than I thought. The music sounded so crisp and good in there. It was an awesome feeling.”
While Kohmann felt nerves on Thursday, an afternoon nap before the Friday night freestyle had him ready to compete. “I woke up and had never been so relaxed before a show in my life,” he related. “The atmosphere was amazing, but we were both very relaxed. He only got nervous when we put the winner’s blanket on him. Otherwise, the horse was 1000% on my side.”
Nerves played a part for second-place finishers Jennifer Williams (USA) and Joppe K as well, due to the nine-year-old’s inexperience. However, the KWPN gelding by Harmony’s Rousseau x Santano and owned by Joppe Partners LLC was able to work with his rider as the freestyle continued and they finished with a score of 75.680%.
“I was incredibly proud of him, for as overwhelmed as he was when he went in, he really did his absolute best to stay with me and listen to me,” said Williams. “I know there was quite a bit of tension that I tried to ease him through and tell him that he was okay. Sure, there’s lots more that I would like to make relaxed and softer, but where we’re at right now, I was really proud of him for keeping himself with me.”
Williams noted that the grand prix movements “come quite naturally” to Joppe K. “The goal is always to keep it positive and fun,” she said. “Now it’s really about fitness. That’s been my big goal, making him stronger, keeping him happy, and keeping it all going in the same direction that it has been. Keep doing what we’re doing and enjoying the ride.”
Both Williams and third-place finisher Anna Marek (USA) competed to freestyles designed by Karen Robinson of Applause Dressage. Marek and Fayvel, owned by Cynthia Davila, scored 75.253%.
Marek has only shown the 13-year-old KWPN gelding by Zizi Top x Houston once before at a CDI show as Davila has been his regular rider in CDI amateur competition for three years. In their first CDI together at the WEC September Dressage CDI3* show, they won the Grand Prix Freestyle. Coming into this show, however, they decided to change the plan.
“I did the same thing as Kevin, where we made a freestyle in two weeks. Cynthia wanted the trot music from the last one, but wanted different canter music, a different pattern, and it needed to be harder,” she explained. “He’s very handy, so I said we can do some weird stuff in the freestyle. I’ve never had a horse that I could do that on before. Any of the hard stuff you can think of and link combinations, he could really do or eventually get pretty good at. I was happy that I was pretty sure most of the combinations worked. He was great.”
Ebeling and Jubi’s Tenacity Continue Large Tour Winning Streak
Olympian Jan Ebeling and Jubi’s Tenacity, a 13-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding by Tailormade Temptation x Blue Hors Don Schufro, recorded their fourth straight FEI Large Tour victory on Friday in the Grand Prix for Special CDI3*. They were the only pair to break the 70% mark, receiving a 70.739% from judges Clive Halsell, Michael Osinski, Cesar Torrente, Carlos Lopes, and William Warren.
“It’s been a good month,” said Ebeling with a smile. “The training has been going really well. I think the horse has become more and more confident. There is still more room for improvement, but I’m really happy with him. He performed great.”
With his longtime friend Christoph Koschel, Ebeling has been working to get “Jubi” to be more in front of his leg, and they accomplished that in the grand prix while knowing that the horse can do more.
“Partially I think it was better and partially I wish he would have been a little more in front of me, like in the one-tempis he was not as forward as I wanted him to be,” he explained. “It’s just one of these things. You have to get it all together in the test. He really didn’t have any mistakes. We are always striving to get better.”
With 17 horses in each grand prix class at this week’s show, the veteran rider remarked on how nice it is to compete with such a strong field. Ebeling, who grew up in Germany cleaning stalls and grooming horses before working his way up to ride as an apprentice for the late Herbert Rehbein, feels that the sport has made strides to bring riders up from the lower to upper levels of dressage, especially in the U.S.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I hope it means that the sport is growing. It’s great to see that many riders, and that many good riders, in a grand prix. Growing the sport at any level is important. Grassroots is super important too. That’s how I started. Our federation has a really good system, getting a hold of junior and young riders, making it interesting and challenging, and having programs for those kids. That’s how my son came to grand prix, through that pathway. That’s really important. I think that has improved our dressage sport a lot.”
2023 Pan American team gold medalist Anna Marek, who also took individual Pan Am bronze with Fire Fly, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Briar Junior x OO Seven owned by Janet Simile, finished second in the Grand Prix for Special CDI3* with a score of 69.804%. Third place went to Pablo Gómez Molina (ESP) riding Servus Ymas, a 10-year-old Hanoverian stallion by San Amour x Depardieu 11 owned by Cristina Danguillecourt, Javier Bacariza and Yeguada de Ymas S.L. They received a score of 69.196%.
An International Win for Harris-Gissler
With a personal best score of 68.726%, Siena Harris-Gissler of New York, NY, and Electra DDJ topped the Intermediate I CDI1* in front of judges Clive Halsell, Michael Osinski and Carlos Lopes. It marked their second FEI victory together in a seven-year partnership.
“She was my junior and young rider horse,” explained Harris-Gissler, who graduated this past May from Emory University. “I was in college and took a break from riding. I graduated school and was really lucky to spend the summer training in Europe with my coach Jan Ebeling. Being in Europe and surrounded by so many top riders, I was able to watch and learn and see so much.
“It was really amazing being able to do that, come back and do a couple of competitions with her, and ultimately come here,” she continued. “It’s been really fun to have this long span of a relationship with my horse and be able to go from the juniors to this. We’ve really been working on our pirouettes. That has really improved over the past year. She also has a lot of talent in extensions, trot and canter. It’s really rewarding to feel how much she has progressed over the years.”
Of their victory together, Harris-Gissler remarked, “It’s so amazing. I’m still in shock. I’ve had this horse for so long, so it’s really a big deal for me and her and our relationship together.”
Second place in the Intermediate I CDI1* went to Jennifer Williams (USA) and Babylon Berlin, her own eight-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Bordeaux 28 x United, who scored 67.726%. Erin Walker (USA) and Belniro, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Belissimo NRW x De Niro 6 owned by Craig McCallum, placed third with 63.774%.
Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W Results
Grand Prix for Special CDI3* Results
Full Show Results and Ride Times
The World Equestrian Center December Dressage CDI-W continues on Saturday, December 9, with classes for Amateur, Junior, and U25 riders. The Grand Prix Special CDI3* starts at 10:20 a.m. For more information, visit www.wec.net.