Triple Triumph for Jennifer Hoffmann at World Equestrian Center January Dressage National Show

American rider Jennifer Hoffmann brought two horses, both licensed stallions, to the back-to-back US Equestrian (USEF)/United States Dressage Federation (USDF)-rated shows at World Equestrian Center – Ocala and racked up three wins from four starts. The Dressage VIII show on January 18-19 and Dressage IX show on January 20-21, both sponsored by Hampton Green Farm and Discover Dressage, held classes from Training Level to Grand Prix and was an official qualifying competition for the 2024 Great American Insurance Group/USDF Regional Championships.

Hoffmann’s 13-year-old Austrian Warmblood Rondoro Noblesse by Rosengold x Latour, was in top form, landing the Grand Prix with 73.804% and following up with a victory in the Grand Prix Special (71.17%). Her small tour horse Zanzibar (Zack x Royal Hit) finished second at Prix St. Georges before stepping out at Intermediate I, topping the class with 72.059%.

“’Rudy’ [Rondoro Noblesse] is top fit, and I laid down everything I wanted to in the tests,” said Hoffmann, who spent more than two decades in Europe and is now back stateside, based in Wellington, FL. “I’ve had him since he was six and took my time training him up the levels — he’s now in his third year at grand prix. He’s soft in his mouth and supple. I’ve always believed in him to do the grand prix, but he needed strength and confidence.”

Hoffmann still spends summers in Germany at Hof Kasselmann, and she and her husband Jürgen Hoffmann began a formal collaboration with the German breeding and training powerhouse operation at the end of 2023.

“After last summer in Europe, we spent a lot of time reviewing my rides and seeing where we were at with the horses’ training,” explained Hoffmann, who trains with her husband. “We wanted to do a lot of good winter work to try to up the scores, push the envelope and show off their quality a bit more. We worked on lots of basics and thought about where we could pick up the extra points.

“Just because you make it to grand prix doesn’t automatically mean you really have a grand prix horse. It normally takes a couple of years for the horse to feel secure and confident in the movements, so we’ve been trying to consolidate all the Grand Prix stuff, and that worked out really well,” she added, referring to the two beefy scores awarded to Rondoro Noblesse, which she co-owns with her Austrian friend, Wolfgang Himsl. “Rudy has gained a lot of strength and is more comfortable in his body with this work.

“I’ve worked at stallion stations and am used to riding them. They usually have their moments, but Rudy is one of the quietest and easiest I’ve ever had. He has a super character, a really calm demeanor and he’s not bossy. It’s nice to have the stallion without the dragon side.”

The nine-year-old Zanzibar — barn name “Zacky” — is another that Hoffmann has trained up since he was six, and both horses have traveled back and forth to Europe with her.

“I bought him during the pandemic — he’s the very first horse I’ve ever bought from a video,” said Hoffmann. “I saw his hind leg was just like his sire Blue Hors Zack — super active and with a lot of articulation. He’s very tall, lean, narrow and elegant and has a really cool way of going.

“At WEC we had a couple of mistakes in the Prix St. Georges. We blew the line of three-tempis; he started doing one-times because we’ve been working on those. It was also really cold, and he was feeling fresh. In the I-1 he was more settled, and he got to show off with lots of high scores for the changes, which is really exciting,” added Hoffmann, whose horses and sales business are based out of IDA Farm.

“It took a while for Zacky to trust me, but once he trusts you, he will fight for you in the arena and he really wants to go,” she continued. “He already has amazing piaffe/passage, and he could already do the piaffe/passage for the grand prix, but the one-time changes aren’t confirmed yet. As he’s only nine I don’t want to push too hard yet. I want to show off his talent at small tour in the CDI ring and take time to polish all the grand prix work so that I put everything together only when it’s really good.”

She praised the WEC – Ocala venue, adding, “I love going up to Ocala. It’s amazing what they’ve done up there. From the stabling to the footing to the barns, everything is so self-sufficient. It’s a great venue, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to ride there.”

Local rider Kerrigan Gluch returned to WEC – Ocala after a stellar show in the fall of 2023. She also clocked three wins riding two PRE horses owned by Kim Van Kampen of Hampton Green Farm. Two of those wins came at Grand Prix, topping the straight class with 69.674% on the 13-year-old gelding Mejorano HGF by Grandioso III and elevating their winning score to 73.085% in the Special. The nine-year-old Cartujano FSR delivered a win and a second place, topping the FEI Test of Choice class with a 66.528% performing the USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges test. Gluch is a regular at WEC – Ocala, being based just 15 minutes from the venue.

U.S. Olympic eventing athlete William Coleman landed three blue ribbons from three starts all with scores north of 74% on his two rides, the CCI5* horse Chin Tonic HS and Fahrenheit Addict. His top score of 77.375% at Third Level was earned by Hyperion Stud’s 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Chin Tonic HS by Chin Champ. Coleman is currently 26th on the FEI Eventing world athlete rankings.

Florida-based Nora Batchelder took three horses to WEC – Ocala and drove home with five fresh victories to her name. Carol Glover’s nine-year-old mare Nova by Grand Galaxy Win pulled off a 75.368% Intermediate II victory and went on to top the USEF Developing Grand Prix class with a shade under 70%. Katharine Feehery’s 10-year-old KWPN Sir Donnerhall gelding Jack Sparrow picked up two further wins at Prix St. Georges, both with scores over 71%. Her own home-bred black Don Olymbrio mare Hot Chocolate RH delivered win number five, topping the FEI six-year-old final test with 73.2%.  

Hardworking adult amateur Rebecca Lord rode 10 tests on her five horses throughout the four days of competition. She won seven of them, running the full gamut of the levels. At Training Level she piloted the four-year-old KWPN mare Phlower JP by Hennessy to a pair of wins, while at the other end of the spectrum she rode nine large tour tests on her advanced horses Don Amigo, Luke Skywalker, G Force W and the 2023 US Dressage Finals AA Intermediate II champion Demetrius. Lord is back in a big way after taking a three-decade break from riding.

Dressage competition at World Equestrian Center – Ocala continues with another pair of back-to-back USEF/USDF rated competitions, presented by Hampton Green Farm and Discover Dressage, on March 14-17, 2024. For full horse show results for all World Equestrian Center dressage shows, visit www.foxvillage.com.

The WEC – Ocala 2024 dressage schedule includes:
February 15-18: CDI3*/USEF/USDF competition
March 14-17: Two USEF/USDF competitions
March 28-31: CPEDI/USEF/USDF competition
April 10-14: CDI4*/USEF/USDF competition
May 22-26: CDI3*/USEF/USDF competition
July 13-14: USEF/USDF competition
August 23-25: Two USEF/USDF competitions
September 19-22: Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 3 Dressage Championships
October 19-20: USEF/USDF competition
November 14-17: CDI-W/USEF/USDF competition
December 11-15: CDI-W/USEF/USDF competition

All prize lists, ride times and results will be posted and published on the 2024 dressage schedule page HERE. For all questions regarding upcoming dressage competition, contact Teresa.Uddo@wec.net.