May 1, 2026, Myakka City, Florida. It was a fruitful day at the office for Kevin Kohmann (USA) from Wellington, Florida. Hot off his third consecutive FEI World Cup Final with his top horse Dünensee, he underscored the strength in depth of his string by occupying the top spot as well as third place in the Zycosan CDI3* Grand Prix on Friday, May 1, 2026, at TerraNova Equestrian Center in Myakka City, Florida. He rode Diamante Farms’s Sonata MF (by Sir Donnerhall I x Don Principe) in the pair’s debut CDI appearance into the top spot with 69.761%. At 11 years, old, she was the youngest horse in the class of 11 starters. She was bred in the U.S. by Maryanna Haymon and is full-sister to another international grand prix mare, Serenade MF. Sonata MF was produced to international small tour by Amanda Perkowski.
U.S. riders occupied the top six spots, with Sarah Tubman sandwiching herself into second place between Kohmann’s results. She rode Christophe Palabe’s 17-year-old Desperados x Ehrenwort gelding Dow Jones 1 to 68.783%, a new combination high score in their third CDI. Kohmann’s second podium placing came courtesy of Equine Law Group’s 15-year-old gelding Famous, by Floriscount x Wolkentanz I. All three podium horses were Hanoverians.
“Today went excellent,” beamed Kohmann, still sporting the cowboy hat he bought at the World Cup Final in Texas. “Last week was my first Grand Prix with Sonata at our first show ever. So, to win our first CDI a week later is very exciting, even though it feels a little bit like I stole my wife’s horse.
“I had no idea how she was going to behave in the ring, and she was super reliable and gave me a very good feeling. With Famous, I knew he could do well, but me and my coach Christoph Koschel changed a few things, like how we approached the piaffe, in the last few weeks.”
Kohmann’s wife, Devon Kane of Diamante Farms, has been riding Sonata and showed her in an Intermediate II national class in February. Kane was also in the TerraNova Grand Prix, finishing fifth on Vamos. “She set it up perfectly for me,” continued Kohmann, whose high score with Sonata of 71.196% came from British judge Peter Storr at M. “And I get to show and win. It’s a bit the same with Famous, because I stole him from my friend Tarryn [Hartnett], who set that horse up nicely for me, too. Both of them were excellent. I’m stealing everyone’s horses right now, and I get to shine.
“This venue is so relaxing for the horses and it’s organised fantastically,” he commented. “We have some horses who sometimes have a hard time eating at horse shows, but here they’re all so comfortable in the stalls. The footing is good, the arena is great, and there are super judges here.”
Although it is still early days in the partnership with Sonata, Kohmann is already figuring out how he can “steal” the ride on both her and Famous long-term. After all, there is a home Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 on the not-too-distant horizon. “I have to sweet-talk my wife and friend so that they let me keep on riding the horses, but yes, I would love to follow that path with them,” concluded Kohmann. “This class was a really good set-up, and things are going exactly in the right direction. But, before I run my big mouth, I guess I should go out there and walk my walk a few more times.”
With Famous, Kohmann will contest the the B&D Builders LLC CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle on Saturday, which is a qualifying leg of the 2026 US Equestrian Open of Dressage. Kohmann currently lies in 20th place on the US Open leaderboard, with Kane in fourth. With Sonata MF, he will ride in Sunday’s Zen Elite Equestrian CDI3* FEI Grand Prix, their first time riding that test in competition.
Ben Ebeling bolstered a banner day for U.S. riders when he captured the CDI1* Prix St. Georges on King Of Dale with a new combination high score of 70.794% at their second CDI. Ebeling and Alexandria Bryan’s 11-year-old Lord Leatherdale x Negro gelding were the unanimous winners for all five judges. German athlete Christoph Koschel’s 69.412% ride on his own nine-year-old mare Valencia (by Vitalis x Floriscount) netted second place. Susie Dutta rounded out the podium in third with 66.382% on Flying D Equine Company’s nine-year-old Diamond Hit gelding, Diamond Royal DC.
International and national dressage at TerraNova continues on Saturday, May 2, with the day’s main big tour class, the B&D Builders LLC CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle. Watch the free TerraNova live stream, also sponsored by B&D Builders LLC.