Wellington, Fla. – March 7, 2021 – Competition on Sunday, March 7, closed out Week 8 of the Adequan Dressage Festival (AGDF) and included crowning two-division champions in this year’s ninth annual Florida International Youth Dressage Championships (FIYDC). The final day began with a chilly and windy morning, stirring up some of the horses, but proved not to be a challenge for the two champions.
The FIYDC, this year hosted alongside the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, offered the opportunity for youth riders to be exposed to the international circuit, an experience of a lifetime that helps set them up for future success. The 2021 FIYDC featured competition for riders in the FEI U25 division, FEI Young Rider division, and FEI Junior Rider division. The riders represented three different countries, the United States, Canada and Spain.
The overall winner of the FIYDC was Canadian rider Camille Carier Bergeron, aboard her two mounts Acoeur and Sound of Silence 4. Bergeron won the Young Rider division aboard 13-year-old Westphalian gelding, Sound of Silence 4, with a final score of 78.145%. After a great effort in Friday’s Young Rider Team Test with a score of 72.255%, and a second-place finish in Saturday’s Young Rider Individual Test with a 72.745%, Bergeron and Sound of Silence were pushed to the top of the leaderboard, heading into the final freestyle test on Sunday.
Spain’s Natalia Bacariza Danguillecourt and Dhannie Ymas claimed the Young Rider reserve championship, earning a score of 69.608% in their Team Test and a 73.431% in their Individual Test. They returned to the ring on Sunday to score a 76.050% in the Freestyle and secure the division’s reserve championship. Christian Simonson on Hemmingway, an 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding, finished in third place.
Despite losing a shoe during Bergeron’s first test in the FEI U25 division, Acoeur, a 14-year-old BAD-WÜ gelding, helped them secure the Grand Prix test win by scoring a 72.436%, more than two points higher than the second-place finisher, Hope Cooper. Coming into the final leg of the U25 championship, Bergeron knew that Acoeur was tired after three long days of showing, but he gave it his all and helped them finish out strong with a freestyle score of 71.060%. A combination of both scores earned them the overall championship in the FEI U25 division.
Hope Cooper took home the reserve championship on Hot Chocolate W, a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding, scoring 70.282% in their Grand Prix test and 74.150% in their Grand Prix Freestyle.
Winner of the FEI Junior Rider division was U.S. rider Maribeth Hebert aboard Dressage4Kids, Inc., 19-year-old Westphalian gelding, Florieux. Hebert was able to keep the lead in the Junior Rider division after day one’s Junior Rider Team Test with a score of 60.808% and Saturday’s Individual Test with a score of 64.902%. The pair finished their final freestyle on Sunday with a 66.34% to come out on top with the championship honors. Finishing with the Junior Rider reserve championship honors was Dalton Furkis riding Usela, a 20-year-old KWPN mare.
The FIYDC may have come to a close this week, but the AGDF is still in full swing with four more weeks of dressage competition, including the upcoming CDIO3* Grand Prix in Week 10.
Results: Florida International Youth Dressage Championships
FEI Junior Rider Championship
Place / Rider / Country / Horse / Team Test / Individual Test / Freestyle / Total Score
1. Maribeth Hebert / USA / Florieux / 60.909% / 64.902% / 66.340%
2. Dalton Furkis / USA / Usela / 53.535% / 50.333%
FEI Young Rider Championship
Place / Rider / Country / Horse / Team Test / Individual Test / Freestyle
1. Camille Carier Bergeron / CAN / Sound of Silence 4 / 72.255% / 72.745% / 78.145%
2. Natalia Bacariza Danguillecourt / ESP / Dhannie Ymas / 69.608% / 73.431% / 76.050%
3. Christian Simonson / USA / Hemmingway / 69.853% / 70.784% / 74.575%
4. Brooke Mancusi / CAN / Grand Amour / 67.941% / 65.098% / 68.000%
5. Caroline Cadorette / USA / Dustin / 64.461% / 66.177% / 70.435%
6. Suzannah Rogers / USA / Paladine of Elysium / 63.775% / 65.147% / 64.950%
7. Madeleine Perry / USA / Smile / 62.647% / 62.304% / 67.595%
FEI U25 Championship
Place / Rider / Country / Horse / Grand Prix Score / Freestyle Score / Total Score
1. Camille Carier Bergeron / CAN / Acoeur / 72.436% / 71.060%
2. Hope Cooper / USA / Hot Chocolate W / 70.282% / 74.150%
3. Codi Harrison / USA / Katholt’s Bossco / 69.436% / 74.465%
4. Vanessa Creech-Terauds / CAN / Fleur De Lis L / 68.051% / 70.210%
5. Benjamin Ebeling / USA / Urielo Du Houx / 66.308% / 69.760%
FROM THE WINNERS CIRCLE: Camille Carier Bergeron
On her partnership with Sound of Silence :
“Sound of Silence (SOS) has been my partner since 2017 and when I bought this horse he was a little shut down and I could not do anything with him. He was barely able to canter or go sideways because he was so dead to my leg. So, looking back at 2017 and seeing us today scoring a 78.145%, having our personal best makes me still want to cry. He gave it his all.”
On her partnership with Acoeur:
“I bought him in 2019 and he is such a steady horse and heart giving. In our first test Thursday, he lost a shoe and he just kept going like nothing was wrong. I tried my best to stay focused and he just did it and gave us a 71.060% with only three shoes. He is so good, like nothing had ever changed. He is such a kind horse. It is hard work with three Grand Prixs. It is exhausting for them, so the horses get tired at the end of the week. He just keeps going and giving it his all.”
On their freestyle choreography and music:
“Karen Robinson from Canada did my two freestyles. They are my freestyles from last year, but I did them once before everything got shut down and we had to go back up north. So, they are basically new.”
On riding in the Florida International Youth Dressage Championship:
“This is my seventh year [riding in the championships]. I was here my first time in 2015 on my junior horse and pony horse. I went all the way up all the levels either on the same horse or on different horses. I am 20 years old — it is my last young rider year so it feels great to have achieved our personal best at the youth championship on SOS. I am excited to have five more years on Acoeur.”
