Wellington, Fla. – April 2, 2021 – A competitive group of riders took to the International Ring Friday Evening during Week 12 of competition at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) for the CDI4* Grand Prix to qualify for the Grand Prix Freestyle. A diverse field of riders represented their respective flags on Friday evening, including competitors from the Dominican Republic, Spain, Israel and Australia. The unusually cool and windy weather stirred several of the horses up but proved not to be an issue for Yvonne Losos De Muniz and Aquamarijn who emerged victorious with a personal best score of 74.196%
Fourth in the ring, Dominican rider Yvonne Losos De Muniz aboard her 16-year-old KWPN mare, Aquamarijn, channeled the energy that most other horse-and-rider combinations found challenging to earn the top score of 74.196%. The long-time pair has had tremendous success this AGDF season that has included top three placings in several CDI4* and a second-place finish in the CDI5* Grand Prix under the lights just a few short weeks ago. Despite the colder weather, Losos De Muniz was thrilled with her mare’s performance, and noted that she feels Aquamarijn has peaked at just the right time this season. While she was looking forward to competing in the FEI Dressage World Cup Finals at the start of the season, she was still pleased to be ending the season on such a high note and plans to train in Europe at the start of the summer.
Decorated Australian rider Kelly Layne aboard her mount, Samhitas, a 12-year-old Oldenberg gelding, rode a beautiful test and secured a 71.326%, pushing them into second place. Layne recently bought Samhitas in 2019, and the pair have worked on establishing their partnership this winter season while gaining valuable CDI experience with other world-class competitors.
Christoph Koschel finished off the top three with his new mount, Unitechno Inc.’s 12-year-old KWPN gelding Eaton Unitechno, scoring a 65.913%. A new partnership, Koschel and Eaton Unitechno have seen their fair share of success this winter season, taking first place in their Week 3 CDI4* debut and helping Team Germany take home the CDIO3* Wellington Nations Cup gold medal in Week 10. First in the ring, the pair laid down a solid test to score 65.913% despite some technical mistakes and tension due to the windy environment, but Muniz took the lead shortly after.
The top four finishers have qualified for the CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle on Saturday afternoon. Competition during Week 12 will continue Saturday morning with the FEI Preliminary Test for 7-Year-Olds at 8 a.m.
Results: CDI4* Grand Prix for the Grand Prix Freestyle
Place / Rider / Country / Horse / Total Score
1. Yvonne Losos De Muniz / DOM / Aquamarijn / 74.196%
2. Kelly Layne / AUS / Samhitas / 71.326%
3. Christoph Koschel / GER / Eaton Unitechno / 65.913%
4. Sahar Daniel Hirosh / ISR / Whitman / 62.717%
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Yvonne Losos De Muniz – CDI4* Grand Prix for the Freestyle First Place
On her win:
“I am through the roof. I think it is one of the first times in my riding career that I have gone in and have had the control, the relaxation, the activity, all of those beautiful words we look for in dressage. I went in and was wowed that I actually got it and I sort of did not know what to do with it! It was a real nice setup for her. It is such a satisfaction for me to see my training and my planning that was supposed to peak now for the World Cup Final. I never imagined that I would get a 74 with her because she is quite a difficult character but it all just fell into place with her this time.”
On her warm-up:
“Our warm-up was smack on and it is just years and years of practice and trial and error. Making mistakes and knowing what to do when things go wrong really helped prepare us. I know everyone came out a bit nervous about the wind but I knew we would be okay because we have been in windy situations before. It is just an accumulating experience and it all just lines up. She was so willing in the ring and it was an amazing feeling.”
On her upcoming plans:
“The plan right now is that in the beginning of May we head to Europe. Fingers crossed that everything opens up and we are able to go over there and train. We want to go over there and keep training so that we can keep everything in line and keep us in the system. We will try and do two shows in Europe with her and put a [Grand Prix] Special in. This will be my last 4* probably and we will get used to doing the Special. Just keeping her fit and getting us in shape. She does not need ring time, we just need to keep her feeling good in her body.”
On her partnership with Aquamarijn:
“In the beginning when I bought her, I was looking at her for a client. She gave me that little power in her and I knew that if I could get her on my side this could be amazing. My husband and I decided to try. I never looked at her as my top horse, I always looked at her as my backup because we always need a backup. I thought that she would be a cool one to bring up and she has just gone from being my backup to now being my absolute number one. She has a lot of opinions and when she says no, it is no and then some. Now, she is a bit less opinionated. At the beginning, it was more of a battle of who was going to win, but I got over that quickly. She is so strong and so powerful. We kind of got in line and she was fair, and we decided that we can do this together. It is the coolest thing when you have such a powerhouse with such a strong opinion on your side. She knows her job and wants to do it right.”
