{"id":539741,"date":"2026-03-23T03:33:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T03:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/539741\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T03:33:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T03:33:10","slug":"a-golden-weekend-for-the-dutta-corp-u-s-dressage-team-and-the-u-s-cdiou25-team-at-the-2026-fei-dressage-nations-cup-usa-cdio3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/539741\/","title":{"rendered":"A Golden Weekend for The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team and the U.S. CDIOU25 Team at the 2026 FEI Dressage Nations Cup\u2122 USA CDIO3*"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wellington, Fla.\u00a0\u2013 From the opening notes of Friday night’s FEI Grand Prix Freestyle to the final salute of the Grand Prix Special on Saturday, the 2026 FEI Dressage Nations Cup\u2122\u00a0USA CDIO3*\u00a0and CDIOU25\u00a0at the Adequan\u00ae\u00a0Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Fla., belonged to the United States \u2014 with The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team and the U.S. CDIOU25\u00a0Team\u00a0earning a haul of team gold medals and individual podium finishes.<\/p>\n

FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO3*\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\nAshley Holzer and Hawtins San Floriana in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO3* (\u00a9Emma Claire Collective) <\/p>\n

Friday evening brought the glamour and spectacle of the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO3*, with Germany’s Frederic\u00a0Wandres\u00a0and\u00a0Verrenberg\u00a0topping the class with a 77.000% to claim the win and secure their second US Equestrian Open<\/a>\u00a0Dressage Series\u00a0qualifying result.<\/p>\n

For the U.S., Ashley Holzer\u00a0(Wellington, Fla.)\u00a0delivered\u00a0a\u00a0strong performance\u00a0aboard\u00a0Hawtins\u00a0San Floriana, a 2012 Hanoverian mare (San Amour x Floriana Elite), co-owned by Holzer and Diane Fellows,\u00a0claiming silver and the Leading Lady Rider title in a night that capped an extraordinary 24 hours for the veteran rider. Holzer and\u00a0Hawtins\u00a0San Floriana, also known as \u201cFlo,\u201d\u00a0were the highest placed American combination in the class and the only mare in the Freestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mare sometimes struggles in the beginning, but I love how she settles into the pattern.\u00a0She\u2019s\u00a0great,\u201d Holzer said.\u00a0\u201cI think the freestyle\u00a0really highlights [Hawtins\u00a0San Floriana].\u00a0A lot of people come up to me and say they love music. It framed\u00a0her movements beautifully.\u201d\u00a0Holzer and \u201cFlo\u201d performed a freestyle to Neil Diamond\u2019s \u201cComing to America\u201d which Holzer explained she chose as an homage to her path to\u00a0representing\u00a0the United States after much of her early career was spent\u00a0wearing the flag of her home country\u00a0Canada.<\/p>\n

Also competing in the\u00a0earlier FEI Grand Prix\u00a0Freestyle CDI3*, Sweden’s Tinne Vilhelmson\u00a0Silfv\u00e9n\u00a0and Hyatt claimed their second US Equestrian Open qualifying win with a sparkling 76.640%, cementing their status as ones to watch\u00a0in the US Equestrian Open Dressage Series<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FEI Grand Prix Special CDIO3*<\/p>\n

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\nJordan LaPlaca aboard Gold Play in the FEI Grand Prix Special CDIO3*\u00a0(\u00a9Emma Claire Collective) <\/p>\n

Saturday belonged to Jordan LaPlaca and Gold Play.\u00a0It was a performance that few could have\u00a0anticipated\u00a0at the start of the season, when LaPlaca\u00a0(Ledyard, Conn.)\u00a0and Gold Play, known as \u201cGP\u201d in the barn,\u00a0were still making their international Grand Prix debut. After\u00a0securing\u00a0team gold in the\u00a0FEI Dressage\u00a0Nations Cup\u2122, LaPlaca returned to the ring aboard his own and Nancy Hutson’s Gold Play, a 2015 Oldenburg gelding (Grey\u00a0Flannell\u00a0x\u00a0Shangra\u00a0La),\u00a0and delivered a personal best\u00a0score of\u00a071.000% in the FEI CDIO3* Grand Prix Special to claim individual gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cRiding for the U.S. team is not only a privilege,\u00a0but also\u00a0something I\u2019ve dreamed about since I was a kid.\u201d said LaPlaca. \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0what kept me inspired to learn, to teach, and to keep going.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0incredibly humbling and an\u00a0honor,\u00a0and I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0take it\u00a0lightly. I just wanted to give my horse a good season and a good go at the CDI3* level, and it ended up in a gold medal.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0what dreams are made of.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Dressage teammates Anna Marek\u00a0(Dunnellon, Fla.) and\u00a0Fayvel, a 2010 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Zizi Top x Ofra), owned by Cynthia Davila,\u00a0also earned a place on the podium, finishing\u00a0in third place to earn individual\u00a0bronze.\u00a0The combination completed the\u00a0FEI\u00a0Grand Prix Special with a score of 68.021%.

\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\nThe gold medal winning U.S. CDIOU25 Team \u2013 Sophia Schults, Alicia Berger, and Allison Nemeth \u2013 alongside Chef d’Equipe, George Williams. (\u00a9Emma Claire Collective) <\/p>\n

FEI Dressage Nations Cup\u2122\u00a0USA\u00a0CDIOU25<\/p>\n

The U.S. CDIOU25 Team opened their 2026 season in style on Thursday in the FEI Intermediate II CDIOU25, going head-to-head with Team Canada, who fielded the minimum of two riders to make a team. Alicia Berger (Wellington, Fla.) headed up the class aboard\u00a0Aqua Marin, a 2011 Oldenburg gelding (Ampere x\u00a0Stedinger\u00a0Heide), co-owned by Alicia and Marianne Berger, taking the individual win with a 65.500%. Allison Nemeth (Flemington, N.J.) followed in second place on Leviathan, her own\u00a02016\u00a0KWPN gelding (Desperado x Hester), with a 65.353%, sealing team gold for the U.S. with a combined score of 130.853 points to Canada’s 119.559. Sophia Schults (Ocala, Fla.) and\u00a0Conocido\u00a0HGF, her own 2012 PRE gelding (Cosaco\u00a0XI x Luz de Luna HGF), rounded out the\u00a0team\u00a0under the guidance of Chef\u00a0d’Equipe\u00a0George Williams.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the team\u00a0added\u00a0to\u00a0their\u00a0successful\u00a0weekend with a clean podium sweep in the FEI Grand Prix 16-25\u00a0for individual medals.\u00a0Berger and Aqua Marin claimed individual gold with a 65.051%, Nemeth and Leviathan took silver with 63.103%, while Schults (Ocala, Fla.) and\u00a0Conocido\u00a0HGF\u00a0rounded out the all-American podium with bronze and a score of 61.000%.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely love being part of the U.S. team, so I was really excited when Aqua [Marin]\u00a0gave me a fantastic feeling in the Intermediate II and we were able to help the US secure top honors,\u201d said Berger, who also topped the podium in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDIOU25 on Sunday, \u201cToday in the freestyle we just got to have fun and really enjoy the moment; there were movements\u00a0in that ride that felt like floating on a cloud, there\u2019s nothing quite like the feeling he gives me in the passage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Results<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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