Benjamin Ebeling Wins the 2022 Palm Beach Dressage Derby Knock Out

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2022 Palm Beach Dressage Derby

After a five-year stranglehold on the Palm Beach Derby, Germany’s Christoph Koschel has finally passed the baton — to his student Benjamin Ebeling.

The Derby Prix St. Georges final took place under lights during the freestyle, with a head-to-head between Ebeling (USA) and Germany’s Frederic Wandres, who had both emerged victorious from the semi-final knock-out rounds.

In the Derby, riders perform a Prix St. Georges test on an unfamiliar horse, with just five minutes to warm up.

Ebeling vs Wandres

For the final, both Ebeling and Wandres rode Harold Denton’s eight-year-old Atterupgaards Belafonte. The Danish gelding (by Belissimo M x Donnerhall) was for sale in the 2018 Danish Warmblood Spring Auction and is now in the USA a sale horse at Helgstrand, where he is ridden by Amanda Perkowski.

Second to go, Ebeling conjured up a 71.838% out of the son of Bellissimo M, eclipsing the 70.698% laid down by Wandres, who rode with a large heart in the colors of the Ukrainian flag pinned to his back.

Ebeling, who at 23 is the youngest ever participant in the Derby, enthused: “It was really cool. Honestly, I was dreaming of doing this for years, since I first came to Wellington. I saw Christoph win it so many times, and I’ve been training with him for just as long. And it was really cool to kind of keep it in the family.”

On the appeal of riding a strange horse in front of an audience after only a few minutes of familiarization, he added: “I think it’s about showing your mastership of the skills of dressage. I was confident, but of course I had some really good competitors, not to mention Freddie, who has literally beaten me 20 times in a row. So it was nice to finally beat him.”

Ride for Ukraine

Both riders praised the horse, and the light-hearted nature of a Derby competition.

“The horse offered a nice feeling and a good contact,” said Wandres. “The Derby thing should always be fun. For sure we are all competitors, and everyone wants to win, but my message today was this flag on my back for Ukraine.

“We are having a good time here, but for other people and other horses, it’s very difficult at the moment. Especially for us in Germany, we are way closer to that whole thing, and the whole world needs to support them. For me it was important,” concluded Wandres, who is donating his prize money to support Ukraine.