It was just over a year ago that Arlene “Tuny” Page rode Wild One in his first Grand Prix test. It’s hard to believe that he could come so far as to win the U.S. Equestrian Federation Freestyle Championships, and finish first in the U.S. League Final for the FEI Dressage World Cup.

But that’s exactly what Page and “Double V” did tonight, beating out Leslie Morse and Tip Top 962 by a narrow margin for victory in the Grand Prix freestyle.

Page debuted her new freestyle, a medley of ’60s era songs including “Wooly Bully” and “My Girl.” Though Page had listened to her music many times, she’d never actually practiced the test with her 10-year-old Hanoverian.

She started the test off with a double canter pirouette. “I wanted to open with hard things right away,” said Page.

Aside from a spook in the extended walk and a slight break in piaffe at the end, the test was clean, forward and fun. “It basically went the way I planned,” said Page.

And it was good enough for the USEF officials to name them as one of the two combinations who will represent the United States in Amsterdam at the World Cup final in April.

A meeting on Tuesday will confirm that Page and Morse will be the two representatives.

Tip Top 962, Morse’s Swedish Warmblood stallion, started out strong to his new swing freestyle, but got a bit tense and nervous as the test progressed. He had a hard time with the judge’s end of the arena, had some mistakes in his two-tempi changes and fell out of canter in one of the pirouettes.

But O-level judge Axel Steiner said the trot half-pass was one of the best he’s ever seen. “Her test was technically more dynamic [than Page’s], but harmony was the low point,” he said.

Morse couldn’t have been happier though. “A year and a half ago, I wouldn’t have been able to get him on that side of the arena,” she said. “This was a fabulous experience for young Grand Prix horses.”

This was the first time that the freestyle championships have been held in Wellington, Fla. The lights and the stadium-style seating added to the atmosphere, making the surroundings a real challenge for the young field of Grand Prix horses. Many riders are saving their most experienced mounts in the hopes of being chosen for the World Equestrian Games.

“You have the lights, the people in the grand stand seating–It feels like a big indoor environment,” said Page.

Jessica Jo Tate and Cambay grabbed third place (70.37%) with their Muppets-themed freestyle and Melissa Taylor Yee and Succes took fourth (69.90%) which was a huge improvement over the night before when Succes tried to leave the arena.

The Intermediaire I ran during the day for the CDI, and Canada’s Ashley Holzer was once again unstoppable with the Dutch Warmblood Pop Art (72.33%). This was their eighth CDI victory in a row this winter.

Diane Creech, also of Canada, placed second aboard Wiona (68.75%) and Lars Petersen took home third with Dacardo (68.25%). Petersen was having a spectacular test with the fiery gray, but a golf cart on the hill spooked him and lead to a prolonged disobedience in the middle of the test, before they could continue.