Alexis Troutman Wins Overall Title in 2026 Florida Youth Dressage Championships

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2026 CDI Ocala

-- WEC press release, edited by Eurodressage

The Florida Youth Dressage Championships (FYDC) held their awards presentations on Sunday, April 26, 2026, following three days of competition at the 2026 Ocala on 23 - 26 April 2026.

The FYDC is not an official USEF regional championship but a competition event held for youth riders and sponsored by Kim van Kampen's Discover Dressage to stimulate dressage sports amongst youth riders. Alexis Troutman (17) of Gainesville, GA, and her horse Mondo ‘L’ were named the Overall Champions of the championships.

From Wellington to Ocala

FYDC was first held in Wellington, Florida, in 2013 and moved to WEC – Ocala in 2022 but that edition got cancelled. It was re-introduced in 2023 as a national-level event, but the championships returned to Fédération Equestre International (FEI) competition in 2026.

Over the years, FYDC has played a key role in guiding riders through the FEI youth pathway, helping develop athletes who now represent their countries at major championships such as the European Championships, Pan American Games, and Olympic Games.

In addition to competition, the event also included the FEI horse inspection; media conference; and a Meet & Greet with U.S. Olympic team silver medalist Adrienne Lyle, 2026 World Cup™ Final reserve champion Christian Simonson, and FEI 4* Judge Cesar Torrente; along with a pizza social for the youth riders to get to know each other.

A total of nine riders competed in the FYDC: one children rider, three juniors, four young riders, and one Under 25 rider.

Troutman Overall Champion

Troutman and Mondo ‘L’, her own nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Don Tango x Obelisk, scored a personal best of 68.515% to win the Junior Team class on Friday, a 66.676% to win the Junior Individual on Saturday, and then sealed the division and overall championship with a personal best score of 72.045% in the Junior Freestyle on Sunday.

Troutman said that the canter half-passes were a highlight and continued about her tests, “I think the whole test, I was just jaw-dropped with how he was feeling and how he was willing and working with me.”

It was a great birthday present for the now-17-year-old Troutman, who had a birthday on April 21. A senior in high school, she is graduating a year early to take a gap year and focus specifically on riding her horse and being at the barn.

Troutman has owned “Mondo” for just over a year and they have moved up to the FEI Junior division. Mondo was trained to a green Third Level, and she has been training to the Young Rider and Prix St. Georges level at home.

This was Troutman’s third time competing at FYDC, but it was her first time in the Junior division and her first big win.

“Mondo is new to this level of competition, so I was super happy and proud of him and how he handled this atmosphere the whole week,” she expressed. “He has taken such a step forward in his mentality, and he's wowed me every single moment of this week with how mature he's gotten. The partnership has really come together, and I'm so impressed with how he's handled himself. It was like watching him go from middle school to high school. I watched him graduate.”

Troutman and FYDC sponsor Kim van Kampen

Troutman was excited to return to FYDC to see her friends that she made in previous years. She added, “I really love it because I'm able to go see my friends and also meet new people. I think it's an amazing event, because it's how I was introduced to most of my friends that I have now. The activities are really fun. We had a pizza social event earlier this week, and I got to sit down with the few of the Junior and the Young Riders that I've not met yet. We bonded and talked all about our horses and the level we're doing.”

Of her win, she remarked, “I was actually really surprised, because I didn't keep track of the scores in my head. To be able to accomplish that with Mondo was amazing. It’s tough competition there, and everyone is pulling such great scores, and they're having such great tests, so to be the champion was fantastic.”

More Experience

Bailey Armbrecht, Lark Heckman, Alexis Troutman,
Camila Tossas, and Austin Hermann

The Young Rider division championship went to Bailey Armbrecht (USA) and Night’N Dale, her eight-year-old KWPN mare by Everdale x Kevekko, a horse bred in the United States by Sharyl Hilliard. They scored a personal best of 66.500% for second place in the Team class, 61.706% for third place in the Individual class, and the win in the Young Rider Freestyle with a score of 67.750% pushed them to the head of the division.

Austin Hermann won the Children’s division with Genevieve HF, a 15-year-old KWPN mare by Pernod P x Oscar, owned by Hermann. They scored 68.393% in the Preliminary Competition B class and 66.250% in the Team class.

In the CDIU25 division, Natalia Bacariza Danguillecourt (ESP) and Valerius Ymas, an 11-year-old Westphalian stallion by Vitalis x Dancier owned by Yeguada De Ymas S.L. and Cristina Danguillecourt, scored 63.949% in the Grand Prix CDIU25 as well as 68.353% in the Intermediate II CDIU25 in their first international competition together.