Feb. 7—Wellington, Fla.

You could say Mariett is like a fine wine. Now 17, the Danish Warmblood mare just keeps getting better and she and Lars Petersen are nearly unstoppable this season.

In front of a sold-out crowd at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, they took home their third freestyle win in a month in the CDI***** and their second win of the weekend after topping the CDI***** Grand Prix on Thursday.

The pair scored a 79.17%, an amazing score, but incredibly, the second best of their career after earning a 79.95% last season.

“It was a good feeling,” said Petersen of entering the ring under the lights in front of the largest crowd ever recorded at the AGDF. “I actually think Mariett likes that kind of up close atmosphere. I thought that was one of my best freestyles and I keep saying this, but she’s getting better.”

Petersen’s music is new this season and it was his third time riding the video game-themed test.

“I like fun music and I like to find some music I haven’t heard other people ride to,” he said.

For Steffen Peters, his second placed test (76.20%) aboard Legolas 92 was somewhat of a redemption after an uncharacteristic test in the CDI***** Grand Prix on Thursday where they placed seventh.

“On both days, it was a very electric atmosphere,” he said. “I’d like to think that the arena in France [at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games] intimidated him more because that stadium was very intense with 40,000 people. He’s still a bit of a teenager and once in awhile his energy goes a little wild. Tonight the energy was a bit more controlled and it was certainly a much better go than yesterday. This is a good experience for him. Hopefully if we qualify for the World Cup, that arena will be more difficult.”

The judge at C, Lilo Fore, was thrilled with the outcome of the class, in which 13 of the 15 rides finished above 70 percent.

“We had a lot of good horses in front of us tonight,” she said. “It’s always fun when one can give 8s more than anything else. That’s a wonderful number to give because we say, ‘Good, good, good.’ I think the top horses in this class were absolutely top quality, but I also think some of the music was very exciting. When we’re sitting in the judges stand and enjoying the music ourselves, you can imagine what the audience feels. That’s always a very good sign.”

Another Day, Another Blue

In the hotly contested CDI* Intermediaire I, Great Britain’s Laura Tomlinson took home her second win of the weekend on Unique, an 11-year-old Holsteiner mare, scoring a 74.63%.

After winning the Prix St. Georges on Thursday, Tomlinson wasn’t worried at all about riding “Minnie” in the huge international ring and the mare, who can be hot, put in a workmanlike test with her characteristic flopping ears.

With so much success this weekend, Tomlinson is eyeing Minnie’s Grand Prix debut before the end of the Florida season.

“I think she’s going to have very good piaffe/passage work like Alf [Tomlinson’s former Olympic partner Mistral Hojris], but I think it will take a few shows until she’s confident enough to produce it in a test,” she said. “I really don’t know if she will either come out with it right off the bat or it will take her a few shows to really feel confident in it. Horses with that amount of power that have to be shortened that much, you have to really have their confidence.

“I think she’s luckily a horse that doesn’t really have any weaknesses,” she added. “She’s got a great walk and she seems pretty relaxed as far as far as the atmosphere and things like that. If she gets difficult to ride it’s usually something to do with the work and nothing really to do with what’s around her which is a bonus.”

Canadian rider Diane Creech was thrilled with Robbie W, who came in second in the class with a 73.36 percent, a personal best.

“Robbie is really a great guy,” she said. “He’s so talented and has such a big heart. He goes in the ring and really wants to do it. He’s very trainable. He’s not one I have to train for a while in order to get something. He gets things and he wants to do it. He has the good looks and the good movement—we call him Perfect Robbie. He combines everything together in one.”

Creech has ridden the 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Rubin Royal—Rolling Home, Inschallah) for owners Douglas and Louise Leatherdale for about five years. She’s hoping to earn a spot on Canada’s Pan American Games (Toronto) team this year, especially since it will be so close to her base in Ontario.

“Right now, I really just want a good team horse and one of the biggest things is to have a consistent test,” she said. “I don’t want to go for 9s. I want to go for 7s and 8s and build on that. If I can get an 8.5 or a 9, that’s great, but I really want the consistency. As a team horse, that’s one of the biggest things you need.”

For full results, visit FoxVillage.com.

Catch up on all the action from the weekend at our hub page.