April 6, 2024, Myakka City, Florida. Two-time Olympian and Olympic silver-medalist, Adrienne Lyle, made her first trip to TerraNova a memorable one. On day one of competition at TerraNova Dressage I, a CDI4* at TerraNova Equestrian Center, Lyle competed with Helix (Apache × Jazz), owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center & Heidi Humphries. The pair achieved their highest grand prix score to date with a 72.021% in Friday’s CDI4* FEI Grand Prix presented by Laughlin Tanner Group at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty.
“I was really happy with Helix today in the Grand Prix. We are a very new partnership, so we had a few little missed transitions and communication errors, only because he’s a horse that tries so hard and maybe a little too hard in the moment, but it’s our highest score so far in the grand prix,” Lyle said.
Yesterday, Lyle announced the retirement of her beloved Tokyo 2020 mount, Salvino. “He’s far surpassed anything we ever hoped he’d achieve. I’m glad he gets to now enjoy an easy life, and he’s still the king, he’s still spoiled,” Lyle said.
She is looking to the future as she grows her partnership with Helix, who she believes will be “unstoppable,” describing him as eager, talented, and happy. As a new combination, Lyle and Helix are still getting to know one another, but they have a promising future ahead with a possible trip to Paris in the cards. Together, they are sitting in 6th on the ranking list for Team USA.
“I’m in the very fortunate position to have two grand prix horses owned by Zen Elite,” Lyle said, referring to both Helix and Lars van de Hoenderheide (Negro × Layout). “Our goals, as we are getting to know each other, would be to try to complete enough shows to be named to the Olympic selection short list. Just to have this opportunity, I feel extremely grateful.”
Though this marks her first visit to TerraNova, Lyle is already making plans to return to the venue. “TerraNova is an amazing facility. This is my first time here and I’m blown away by it. It is absolutely beautiful,” she said. “It is so relaxing and horse friendly. The horses are all loving it here. I feel very fortunate to have such a great facility in a place we can just haul to.”
Jennifer Williams and Joppe K Top the Leaderboard in Friday’s Leibold Irrigation Inc. CDI3* FEI Grand Prix
A field of 16 competitors went down centerline in Friday’s Leibold Irrigation Inc. CDI3* FEI Grand Prix in TerraNova’s Lakeside Arena. Jennifer Williams, fresh off her morning win in the Michael Saunders & Company CDI1* Prix St. Georges with her own Babylon Berlin (Bordeaux 28 x United), came back for another podium finish with Joppe K (Harmony’s Rousseau × Santano) owned by Joppe Partners on a score of 70.044%. Williams triumphed just .001% ahead of Marcus Orlob and Jane (Desperado x Metall), owned by Alice Tarjan, in a nail-biting finish.
Williams and Joppe K, a 10-year-old KWPN gelding from the Netherlands, have been partners for about 5 years. “He’s a smart horse with a huge heart and a lot of try,” she said. “He’s a horse that comes out very happy to do his work everyday and is just delightful to be around.” Williams took the gelding to the Markel/USEF Young Horse 6-Year-Old Dressage National Championship at the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions (Illinois) in 2020. The pair completed their first CDI3* in September 2023.
When asked about her goals for today’s test, Williams said: “I was really wanting to go in and do a clean test today, so I’m very happy that we achieved that. My horse felt very fresh and fit, and happy to be in the ring today, and that’s really important to me. I first want to have those clean tests, then start building more and more quality. He’s a little young and it’s a bit early to push for those bigger marks until I know him inside and out in the grand prix arena.”
Williams attended TerraNova Dressage I with her husband and two children, LJ and Lexi. “It’s really amazing to watch how [my mom] chases her dreams and how amazing she is and how much work she puts into it,” Lexi said. “It’s amazing to experience.”
Jennifer Williams and Joppe K will return to TerraNova’s Lakeside Arena on Sunday for The Estates at TerraNova CDI3* FEI Grand Prix Special. Competition continues Saturday with the B&D Builders CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle featuring a VIP Luncheon from 10:30am to 2:30pm. The class starts at 11:00am after the singing of the National Anthem.