--WEC press release, edited by Eurodressage
Grand Prix rider Karen Lipp, Jan Ebeling, and Jennifer Williams rode themselves into the winner's circle for the blue ribbon at the 2024 CDI Ocala on 15 - 17 November 2024.
Lipp Wins the Grand Prix for Kur
Karen Lipp (USA) and her own 11-year old KWPN bred Infinity (by Dream Boy x Freestyle) were the day’s big winners with a new career high score in the Grand Prix CDI3* for Kur on Thursday, November 14, the opening day of competition.
The pair has been competing at the level for less than a year, and this was their third international grand prix show and their first win in this particular test. Lipp has owned Infinity since importing him from The Netherlands as a four-year-old and brought him up from Training Level.
“We made a few mistakes, but the scores are creeping up and that’s exciting,” said Lipp, who scored 67.478%. “Infinity is only 11 so sometimes things can be a little hit or miss, but he gives you what you ask for. I’m finding out the right amount to ask of him in the ring. Getting to grand prix is really the start of a new journey, not the end; now we will fine-tune.
“He’s been a fun horse to train as I’ve never really had one of his caliber before,” added the 57-year-old from Ball Ground, GA. “He has all the elements: the attitude, the will, the heart and the gaits. He’s the sweetest ham of a horse and if I had to go to war, he’d be my war horse because he’d walk through fire for me. I’ve sold every other horse I’ve ever owned, but I’ll keep this one until I die. It’s not about the money any more at my age; I’d like to give him a happy ending.”
Lipp credited much of her success to training with Olympian Charlotte Bredahl. She hopes to go to Europe in the summer of 2025 with Infinity, which would be her first time since spending the summer there with Klaus Balkenhol in 2005.
In an all-American podium line-up, Jan Ebeling and Jubi’s Tenacity (by Temptation x Don Schufro) took second place with 66.935%, and Allison Carmichael finished third with a 66.217% test on Figaro (by Apache x Zichem).
Ebeling Top the Kur with New Music
The experienced Jan Ebeling (USA) sat atop the leaderboard in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI3* on Friday 15 November.
Karen Lipp was runner-up with a second personal best in as many days. She rode Infinity to 73.195%. Allison Carmichael rounded out the all-American podium, repeating her grand prix finish with a third place on Flying Otter Farm’s Figaro with 71.595%.
Ebeling, who grew up in Germany and immigrated to the USA in 1984, said, “We had practiced the new freestyle at home, but at a show it’s always different, and he was really on tonight. He had a really good season in Europe last summer and then had some time off, so I was concerned that he might be rusty yesterday in the grand prix — and he wasn’t as on as normal, but tonight he really felt the music and danced with it; it was very fun to ride.”
Their floorplan featured a line of one-time changes into a circle of two-time changes, and when those came off without a hitch, Ebeling decided to use his joker line to ride one-times directly into two-times and was very happy with how the risk/reward ratio panned out.
“Jubi is fantastic, a real worker bee. An amateur can ride him, but he’s good for a professional because you can jazz him up or calm him down,” continued Ebeling, who permanently relocated from California to Florida and appreciates the facilities on offer. “WEC is amazing for us riders. The footing, which is the most important, is incredible, and to have the air conditioning in Florida is wonderful. The stalls are great, too, and we love coming here.”
Ebeling, who has trained with Christoph Koschel for many years, has his sights set on the World Cup tour this season after a successful summer in Europe.
Williams Wins Special Tour
The Grand Prix Special tour featured only two riders and both classes were won by Jennifer Williams (USA) on the Joppe Partners LLC’s 10-year-old KWPN gelding Joppe K (by Rousseau x Santano). She scored 70.218% for the Grand Prix win in the horse’s second season at the level.
Joppe K was found as a four-year-old in Holland and has an impressive resume, including winning the Lövsta Future Challenge as an eight-year-old and being shortlisted for the 2023 Pan American Games the following year. Williams only trains him four days, leaving the rest of the week for hacking. She spends nine months of the year in Wellington, FL, and the rest in Washington state.
Just 0.1 percentage points separated Williams and Charlotte Jorst in the Grand Prix Special on Saturday 16 November. Williams presided in the tussle to top the leaderboard on Joppe K with 68.064%.
Williams also won the Intermediaire A on her own nine-year-old Bordeaux gelding, Babylon Berlin, with 68.206%.
“I was hoping for another clean test with Joppe today, and I just had one bobble, but it was a fairly consistent, uphill, and correct test,” said Williams, who was up at 4:30 a.m. and had secured two wins by breakfast time. “The second piaffe caught me by surprise, and maybe I asked a bit too much, but I was really happy with the changes, which were a highlight today. His energy was a bit lower today than in the grand prix, so on the days we aren’t in the arena, we will incorporate longer hacks and some cavaletti cross-training work.”
Williams, who trains with Oded Shimoni and Christophe Theallet, said of Babylon Berlin, “He came to me for training two-and-a-half years ago to put a clean change on him. I was helping the owner for six months and then she decided to sell him, and it worked out that I was able to purchase him. He’s a special horse, and I don’t think people saw his talent, but I have strong belief in him.
“He’s only nine and was quite behind as a seven-year-old, but we get along really well, and he’s excelling,” added Williams, who is putting together the pieces for grand prix at home. “It’s all come naturally and organically, and he’s progressed quite effortlessly. He’s got a little spice in him, but he’s confident, which feels nice in the ring. Both my horses have great work ethics.”
Haddad Wins the PSG, A First for Lebanon
“It made my heart very full today, and I’m thrilled for all the people who supported me through this change,” said Haddad, who is based in Wellington for winters and spends summers in New Jersey. “Sola Diva is extraordinarily talented. She’s very rhythmical, and the flow is superior. She’s almost always in a perfect frame with a quiet tail and can present a picture of harmony and beauty that we all want to see. That’s important to me because this is much more than a sport: it’s a way of life and a form of art.”
Haddad’s company NorCordia has owned the Sarotti Mocca-Sahne x De Niro mare since she was six, and this was her second CDI show. It will also be her last at small tour before she steps up to Intermediate II.
Marek Tops Intermediaire I
“Tonight was really special as Holiday is a horse I’ve owned since he was four,” she said. “I’ve shown him in national grands prix for a couple of years, but when I started getting busy with Fayvel and Fire Fly, he got put on the back burner, so I talked to my trainer Anne Gribbons about selling him and decided to give him a CDI small tour record.
“I trusted that he was going to be really good,” she added. “I’ve been with him so long, and he’s very solid; he’s such a good boy with a great mind. I’ve sold a handful of horses I’ve trained up from the bottom, and this one was the saddest. But it’s part of what I do, and I can’t afford to keep them all. Luckily, I can be careful about where they go.”
Haddad and Sola Diva finished second to Marek with 66.5%.
Jorst and S-Express Win Inter I Kur: “Not for the Faint of Heart”
Jorst has found her match in the 19-hand nine-year-old gelding GPF’s S-Express (by Sezuan x Sir Donnerhall) and as sole rider in the Inter I kur to music she won the trophy with 69.94%.
Jorst told Eurodressage that she acquired S-Express in January 2024.
“I’ve only had him seven months, and I’ve been away for five of them, and Lars has been helping, so I only just started riding him. He’s not for the faint of heart, but he’s fun and sweet. Because he’s 19 hands and so hot, you don’t push, just manage. In the test, I could ride rather than just sit and pray, which was nice. I think he’ll get to grand prix relatively quickly, and that’s where he’ll shine.
Young Riders: Easy Win for Emilia Berglund Bergåkra
Only one pair competed in the Young Riders division: Swedish Emilia Berglund Bergåkra on the eight-year-old KWPN gelding Level Up D (by Skovens Rafael x Contango ). She posted 67.206% in the team test and 64.382% in the individual test.
Berglund Bergåkra began competing internationally on ponies in 2018 but has been out of the CDI arena since contesting the Junior European Championships on Primavera in 2021. This was her first show in the Young Rider division.
Haddad commented, “Level Up is a showstopper at this level of competition, but he also shows great promise as a grand prix prospect. We purchased him last spring and hope to find a competitive rider for him soon.”
Photos © Andrew Ryback Photography
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