Ocala, FL – The final dressage show of 2024 at World Equestrian Center – Ocala (WEC) opened on Thursday, December 12, at the December Dressage CDI-W presented by Hampton Green Farms. Three CDI classes were featured on the day’s schedule with familiar faces leading the victory gallops. U.S. Olympic team silver medalist Adrienne Lyle (USA) led the 15-entry strong Grand Prix for Freestyle CDI-W class riding Helix, owned by Zen Elite Equestrian, while Anna Marek (USA) and Fayvel, owned by Cynthia Davila, topped the Grand Prix for Special CDI3*. The Prix St. Georges CDI1* victory went to Pablo Gómez Molina (ESP) and Aurelius Ymas, owned by Yeguada de Ymas S.L.
It has been five months since Adrienne Lyle and Helix went down centerline at a competition, and the scene was quite different the last time – they were riding for the U.S. Dressage Team at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with the stunning Palace of Versailles as the backdrop to the riding arena. Following their performance as the highest-placed American combination, Helix returned to the U.S. and enjoyed his time in Colorado with turnout and trail rides before gearing up again for the winter show season.
Their performance in the Grand Prix for Freestyle CDI-W garnered a score of 72.478% from the five-judge panel. Jennifer Williams (USA) and Joppe K, a 10-year-old KWPN gelding by Rousseau (ex Rambo) x Santano owned by Joppe Partners LLC, was second with 70.804%, while Anna Marek rounded out an all-American podium with third place on Fire Fly, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding by Briar Junior (Anton) x OO Seven owned by Janet Simile, on a score of 69.891%.
“I thought parts of the test for his balance stayed better,” described Lyle. “He got a little bit kind of sucked back in the first piaffe, which caught me off guard because usually he’s quite energetic in that, but then he relaxed as the test went, so overall I was very happy with him.
“I think he’s still a little bit looking for all the thousands of spectators to come pouring out of a corner somewhere,” she laughed, remembering the atmosphere in Paris, “so about halfway through the test, he took a big breath and relaxed into it. He’s a horse that has so much energy anyway. The venue doesn’t seem to matter; he’s always ready to go.”
Lyle hasn’t even had a year with Helix, having first sat on him stateside on January 17, 2024, and with that new partnership comes building trust and working on Helix’s balance, self-carriage and lengthening of frame.
She explained, “That’s something that we work on a lot, and it takes time in this sport for them to build the understanding and the strength. I’m really happy with the work we’ve been able to get at home. I think we’re starting to show some of that in the ring, but I still think there’s a lot more to come in there. It’s hard to really believe it’s been even less than a year that we’ve done all this.
“There aren’t many horses who I think would be up for that game, to handle so many changes,” she added. “He’s always willing to work and try something different, and he’s just a great partner to work with.”
With months off after Paris and a year of no major championships in 2025, Lyle has her eye on possibly qualifying for the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final and showing in Europe this summer with Helix, all with a long-term goal of the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany.
“I’m looking forward to having some time to really focus and train at home and go compete but not have such a lofty goal on the horizon this year,” she noted.
For Thursday’s test, Lyle praised Helix’s pirouettes and half-pass work and is excited for the freestyle, where they will perform a brand-new test that with music and choreography that was made for Helix.
Marek Makes Special a Priority
Marek and Fayvel scored 70.022% as the only pair to break the 70% mark to win the Grand Prix for Special CDI3*. Tina Konyot (USA) and Grover, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Everdale x United she owns with Earle I. Mack LLC, scored 69.478% for second place. Kevin Kohmann (USA) and Giulietta scored 66.522% for third place. The 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare by Bordeaux (NLD) x Olivi is owned by Diamante Farms.
After competing in the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final in April and a long summer of travel in Europe on the U.S. Dressage Olympic team short list, Marek has been able to take a break from CDI competitions, having only shown in two classes at the previous WEC Dressage show in November with Holiday since CHIO Aachen in July. The time has given her a chance to consider how to spend her time with her two top horses, Fayvel and Fire Fly, in the coming year with no major team championships.
“What I’ve realized in doing the big championships is how much time you actually need, how long it takes to prepare,” she remarked. “You think that you have all this time, and then by the time you have the horses where you want them and fit – but also you’ve gone to enough shows, you’ve practiced enough – that time goes by so fast.”
For 2025, Marek is riding Fire Fly in the CDI-W classes to see what happens for the upcoming World Cup Final but also looking at qualifying for the U.S. Equestrian Open Dressage Final. WEC – Ocala has four qualifying dates, which is attractive for Marek in order to stay close to home and compete.
“If I could qualify for that I would absolutely love to do that,” she said. “It’s in the United States, and I could qualify at home. With Fayvel, I could practice the Specials.”
Practicing in the Special started in Thursday’s class, where she worked on piaffe and passage. Marek has only competed with Fayvel, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding by Zizi Top x Houston, at the CDI level for a year; owner Davila competed the horse at grand prix level prior to Marek taking the reins.
“It just takes time to go in there and make it feel like it’s easy,” said Marek. “He’s so talented with the piaffe and passage, but he’s just a little bit green at it. In schooling and at home I was like, ‘Oh wow, we can do this amazingly well,’ and today I felt like I started to show that where I didn’t have to work so hard to get it. He is getting really trained and relaxed and confirmed so that I could just steer him through it and ask him quietly for things.
“Today I came out thinking, ‘Everything that I’ve been working on, it worked today in this test.’ We had a clean ride. I know that the one-tempis can be bigger and little things like that, but overall, his way of going was what I was really happy with.”
CDI Debut Results in Victory
Gómez Molina and Aurelius Ymas scored 68.824% to win the Prix St. Georges CDI1* class but were followed closely by Kevin Kohmann (USA) riding Scala, a nine-year-old Hanoverian mare by St. Schufro x Belissimo M owned by Diamante Farms and Bernhard Schaerffer, who scored 68.647%. Fellow Yeguada de Ymas rider Natalia Bacariza Danguillecourt (ESP) placed third with Dhannie Ymas, a 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Don Crusador x Weltmeyer she owns with Sandra Vince and Yeguada de Ymas. They scored 67.588%.
This was the CDI debut for Aurelius Ymas, a nine-year-old KWPN stallion by Apache x Sir Sinclair. While Yeguada de Ymas purchased the horse as a yearling, Gómez Molina did not take over the ride until a year ago.
“We know him, and he was ridden in Spain and did young horse classes in Spain,” he explained. “I was helping his rider to train the horse. Last year we took him over and started working on the Prix St. Georges. It was nice that he did a good job. He was focused on me. We have a lot of things we need to work on, especially on the canter part, but it was really good.”
Gómez Molina described Aurelius as a “really sweet horse” and a “little bit shy” but knew that the talent for dressage was there from the start with three strong gaits.
“You can trust him all the time,” he said. “He always behaves really well. He also has the ability to collect, so for the grand prix he is going to be a good horse. Now we are focusing on getting the training and solid on the basics. Next year we will try to maybe do a few CDI small tour classes and then the jump to Inter-2 and grand prix. He’s still young, so we don’t want to rush with him.”
Grand Prix for Freestyle Results
Grand Prix for Special Results
Prix St. Georges Results
Start Lists and Results
CDI competition at WEC December Dressage continues on Friday, December 13, with the Intermediate 1 in the morning and the feature class, the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W, presented by MARS Equestrian™ at 6:30pm.