The dressage riders in the Rolex FEI World Cup Final enjoyed a much-deserved break on Friday, but dressage enthusiasts still had plenty of entertainment.
Three pairs of riders performed fun pas de deux rides, and, like “Dancing With The Stars,” the audience got to rate each test on the “applause-o-meter.”
Debbie McDonald and her assistant trainer, Adrienne Lyle, started the show aboard Felix and Wizard respectively. The pair of them laughed as their mounts only mostly behaved.
Charlotte Bredahl Baker and Charlotte Nielson came into the arena next aboard Liberty Light and Midt-West Dacapo. They danced in their tack to “Staying Alive” as they passaged down centerline to finish.
But the best by far was Guenter Seidel and Beth Ball’s Phantom of the Opera adaptation. Seidel, dressed all in black and wearing the iconic mask, rode Fandango. Ball impressed the crowd by performing her part of the test in a flowing white dress aboard Orion.
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When the pas de deux tests wrapped up, the audience settled in for an educational segment on the FEI young horse tests. Linda Zang explained what the judges were looking for as Steffen Peters demonstrated aboard 5-year-old Zidane.
Edward Gal showed Pavo Cup-winner Wynton in the 6-year-old Preliminary test. Willy Arts contested the 6-year-old Finale test with Valeska DG, as did Marisa Festerling aboard Big Tyme.
