April 7, 2024, Myakka City, Florida. Adrienne Lyle and Helix (Apache × Jazz), owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center & Heidi Humphries, took their second victory lap at TerraNova Equestrian Center after securing the win in Saturday’s Galati Yacht Sales CDI4* FEI Grand Prix Special with a score of 73.979%. Yesterday, the pair topped the leaderboard with a 72.021% in the CDI4* FEI Grand Prix presented by Laughlin Tanner Group at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty.
“I am thrilled with Helix today in the Grand Prix Special. That was our first special together, and he is just super fun to ride in that test,” Lyle said. “He has really powerful extensions and a great ability to come back and collect. He was very focused and tried really hard today.”
Without a day between to make adjustments, Lyle reflected upon yesterday’s ride to prepare for this afternoon’s test. “Having the two days back-to-back, there wasn’t a lot of time to do anything in between; so this morning, he just went out for an easy stretch in the arena,” Lyle said. “We practiced a few of the transitions from the special since we haven’t had a chance to run through this yet. We just relied on the fact that we can trust him, and he’s a good boy.”
Lyle’s longtime coach, Debbie McDonald, stood by the arena and seemingly rode every stride with Lyle throughout the test. “[Helix] is super elastic,” McDonald said. “The range of motion he has, the ability to do the piaffe and passage in such a way that there’s never a mistake in the rhythm at all from one to the other. The extensions are big and powerful. I don’t think the horse has a hole. He’s 100% good in everything, it’s just a very new partnership. For what she’s done already in just two months blows my mind.”
With Lyle on the heels of a potential third appearance at the Olympic Games, McDonald feels emotional to see her student continue to succeed. “I cry a lot. At this point, she’s like a child to me, I know I can’t be her mother,” McDonald laughed, “but I take so much pleasure in watching her in every single aspect of her career, being a professional. It’s amazing to me what she’s been able to accomplish.”
Karen Lipp and Infinity Dance to the Top in Saturday’s B&D Builders CDI3* FEI Grand Prix Freestyle
In their CDI3* debut, Karen Lipp and her own Infinity (Glock’s Dream Boy x Freestyle) danced to the top on a score of 72.890% in Saturday’s B&D Builders CDI3* FEI Grand Prix Freestyle at TerraNova. Venezuela’s Patricia Ferrando and Honnaisseur SJ finished second. Lipp has developed the 11-year-old KWPN gelding through the young horse program, and chose TerraNova Dressage I for their first CDI3* appearance. The pair finished 4th among a field of 16 in yesterday’s Leibold Irrigation Inc. CDI3* FEI Grand Prix with a score of 66.478%.
Lipp’s freestyle, choreographed with her coach, Charlotte Bredahl, features music from the hit Netflix series, Wednesday, including “Paint it Black,” a moody, instrumental remix of the classic by The Rolling Stones. “Karen Robinson is the one who put the music together. Charlotte was really great at getting me to pick contemporary music, but the Wednesday music I had to have,” she said. “When I saw the program, I said I have to have the ‘Paint it Black’ music. I kept it for two years.”
Highlighting Infinity’s pirouettes, extensions, and tempi changes in the choreography, Lipp earned a 68.700% technical score with an artistic score of 77.080%. “It’s pretty cool to have your own horse that you’ve trained all the way up. The connection is really, really special. He tries really hard for me and never says no,” said Lipp.
Lipp, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is visiting TerraNova Equestrian Center for the first time this weekend after spending the winter in Wellington. “[TerraNova] is the prettiest place I’ve ever been,” she said. “What I really love about it is that it feels peaceful, and wildlife and the horses like it, instead of feeling like you’re encased in a stadium. We live in Atlanta and we’re still going to drive 10 hours to come here.”
The competition finishes tomorrow with The Estates at TerraNova CDI3* FEI Grand Prix Special.