-- GDF press release by Alice Collins
Grade II para athlete Fiona Howard (USA) and Diamond Dunes stormed to a new world record score of 83.276% in the Grade II Kur to Music at the CPEDI Wellington on Sunday 9 March 2025 the closing day of action in week nine of the 2025 Global Dressage Festival.
It marked the high point of a stellar show for the duo, who also logged a new personal best score of 77.299% in the Grand Prix A test en route to claiming the champion accolade for the week.
Fellow U.S. rider Marie Vonderheyden was reserve champion for her Grade I wins on her international debut with Fan Tastico H.
First Show Since Paris
Howard has been riding Diamond Dunes, a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding by De L’Or who is owned by Hof Kasselmann, for less than a year. In that time, they have won 13 of their 15 international starts, with the crowning jewel coming in the form of triple gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. This was the first time they had competed at GDF, even though Howard is based between Wellington and Boston, Mass.
“It was our first competition after the Paralympics, so I just wanted to get back out there and back in the groove,” said Howard, who has dystonia, a neuromuscular disease that causes her muscles to contract and twist involuntarily. “Dunes gives so much every single time I come in the ring. He’s never shown here, so it was a new ring, but he tried so hard for me. He’s pretty special.”
Howard rode to music from the movie Avatar, put together by Equidance. The performance garnered a 10 from the judge at E, Portugal’s Carlos Lopes. She was bolstered by a big support crew, including her Paris teammates, her swimming coach and her doctor, who were all in attendance to see the record-setting ride. She has also had coaching from Kasselmann’s trainer Nicole Wego-Engelmeyer in the two weeks running up to the CPEDI in GDF 9.
“It was a special show for me to have so many people there,” continued Howard, who was born and raised in England and immigrated to the U.S. in 2016. “A lot of my family lives in England, so they’re super far away but I have an incredible team here. It gave me an extra boost because I wanted to make them proud. It’s special to be able to share these moments with them all.”
Forming a Bond
The bond formed between Howard and Diamond Dunes in a relatively short time has been astounding. It was just a year ago when François Kasselmann got in touch to say he had a horse that he felt would excel in the para dressage arena.
“We were looking, but not actively,” recalled Howard. “I had another horse in Germany that we were qualifying for Paris, but we went to take a look. His brain was so good, and he wanted to do what was right—I fell in love with Dunes from that day. François was really generous to let me try to qualify him for Paris and he got better and better and better. It’s pretty awesome to have a PB in Paris and then come out here in March and have a world record. He’s amazing.”
Howard has her sights set on the FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany, in August 2025, and then perhaps the 2028 Paralympics, which will be on home soil in California.
An Instant Love Affair
“It’s a new horse for me,” said Vonderheyden. “It was a big surprise when the U.S. federation chose me; they were looking for another Grade I rider so here I am and he’s a great horse. We have a connection, which is really important, so I spend time with him and we are close.”
Vonderheyden is a former FEI level event rider for France, but a hacking accident in 2015 left her with a traumatic brain injury and in a coma. Following multiple brain surgeries and extensive therapies, she returned to the international ring in 2019 under the U.S. flag in the para ranks.
“It was an instant love affair between Marie and Fan Tastico,” said his owner Karin Flint. “I knew Marie from when she was competing here before and asked if she might be interested in riding him. It’s been going very well. They have a connection and it’s growing. That’s what para does; it starts out and then it grows. This was their first show and they were reserve champions, so I’m thrilled.”
Four in Action
Cynthia Screnci and Hannah Kingsley were the other two members of the U.S. Para Dressage Team in GDF 9. Grade V athlete Screnci rode her own eight-year-old For Dance gelding For Memory to a trio of wins. She also logged a new combination high score of 75.683% in the Freestyle.
Kingsley partnered Screnci’s horse Sir Chipoli, an 18-year-old by Sir Donnerhall, on the CPEDI team, and also contested the Grade III tests with her own Eragon VF. She rode Eragon, a 16-year-old Don Romantic gelding, to a new personal best of 68.667% in the Grand Prix A test, then topped the Grand Prix B test on Sir Chipoli.