It was a super Saturday on August 24, during the 2024 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions at HITS Chicago’s Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois. With two rings showcasing the nation’s premier dressage talent, the day certainly was not lacking in excitement. In the highlight FEI Grand Prix Freestyle for the Brentina Cup, it was Christian Simonson and his incredible partner Son of a Lady that sealed the deal for the championship title. In the USEF Four Year Old test, Michele Bondy packed a 1-2 punch with future superstars Sonnenberg’s Paris and Sonnenberg’s PrimaRosa.
Simonson has led the Under 25 division all week, topping both Wednesday’s FEI Intermediare II test and Thursday’s FEI Grand Prix test, with scores of 68.030% and 68.103% respectively. On Saturday in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, however, the pair achieved their best score of the week, earning a 73.675% from judges Kristi Wysocki at E, Sarah Geiki at H, Kari McClain at C, Michael Osinski and M, and William Warren at B for the overall championship honors. Last to go in the starting order of nine combinations, Simonson’s modern and youthful test featured a lively mashup, including songs “It Aint Me” by Kygo and Selena Gomez and “Sun Goes Down” by Robin Schulz with Jasmine Thompson.
“I think my favorite part today was probably the last centerline,” detailed Simonson of his freestyle. “He just gave me such a nice feeling. The things we’ve been working on over the past few days here, he was just like, ‘Alright, I’m going to try harder. I’m going to go,” and he really did deliver. That is just the best feeling you can have when your horse really trusts you and really tries.”
The prestigious Brentina Cup is just the latest in a long and growing list of accolades for Simonson and “Sonny,” who have been partnered together for three years. Simonson was awarded the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation’s 2023 Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy, which is presented to a junior or young rider in an Olympic discipline who exemplifies the Team’s ideals of sportsmanship and horsemanship. Soon after that, he and Sonny were the Neue Schule/USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Champions at the 2023 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions and were part of the gold medal winning U.S. team at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games as the only small tour combination. Just a couple weeks ago at the beginning of August, the duo earned gold in the FEI U25 Grand Prix Freestyle at the 2024 FEI North American Youth Championships.
“He’s such an incredible horse,” said Simonson of the 13-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding (Soreldo x Welt Hit II) owned by Christina Morgan and Clifton Simonson. “He tries so, so hard; he really tries his heart out. He’s an absolute energizer bunny too. He always tries to go and always tries to give. That’s the best feeling about him.”
Josh Albrecht finished second in Saturday’s Freestyle with Goldenboy Vinckenburgh on a score of 71.710% with music that featured several Imagine Dragons hits. That gave Albrecht and the 13-year-old KWPN gelding (Apache x Olivi) owned by Coalcyn Equestrian LLC the reserve championship title.
Out of 14 rising stars in the USEF Four Year Old test, young horse expert Michele Bondy claimed the top two spots with Sonnenberg’s Paris and Sonnenberg’s PrimaRosa respectively. Her winning mount, “Paris,” the four-year-old KWPN gelding (Vivino x Fürstenball OLD) owned and bred by Sonnenberg Farm, LLC, scored a monument 91.200%.
“Horse-wise, everything was perfect,” enthused Bondy. “The canter felt nice and loose. The trot had lots of power and umph to go. The best part for me, though, was just how rideable he was. He was just a good boy, and he was with me every step of the way, which at four can be challenging. He was just so good.
“Paris is like a silly, little party boy,” she continued. He has the best character. He’s super fun and very playful. As a foal, he was very cheeky. We called him Baby Shark — in a very endearing way, of course. That personality has stayed through until now, and I’m guessing he’ll always be like that. This week, and especially today, he just came out and was a champion. He was really super today.”
Earlier in the day in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, Amy Bradley doubled up on her wins for the week as she piloted her homebred Quileute CCW, a 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Quaterback x Glueckspilz) to the high score of 72.010%. Her upbeat test featured songs “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds and “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel with extremely consistent marks throughout.
The 2024 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions comes to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday, August 25, crowning the final champions of the week in classes for junior riders and developing horses. For complete results, visit https://equestrian-hub.com/show/192059.
