Pia Fortmuller Rides Herning Hopeful Frieda to 3* Victory in Wellington

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2022 CDI Wellington - Global Dressage Festival / Week 3

Two weeks ago at the CDI Wellington 2022, Canadian Pia Fortmuller recorded a Grand Prix victory with a score of 70.457% aboard Frieda, an 11-year old Hanoverian mare by Furstenball. With these marks she has thrown herself in the game of Canadian team contention for the 2022 World Championships Dressage in Herning in August.

Pia Fortmüller of Priddis, AB, won the 3* Grand Prix during the third week of competition at the Global Dressage Festival held from January 27 to 30, 2022 in Wellington, Florida.

Held on January 27, the 3* Grand Prix attracted a total of 11 competitors and saw Fortmüller claim victory with a score of 70.457% riding Frieda. The win was even more impressive as it marked Frieda’s first time competing at the Grand Prix level in FEI sanctioned competition. Returning to the arena two days later for the 3* Grand Prix Special, Fortmüller and Frieda once again broke the 70% barrier. This time, the pair earned a score of 70.255% from the five-member panel of judges for third place with a test that highlighted the mare’s strong passage work, one of the test’s most difficult movements.

Herning Hopeful

“I am absolutely over the moon, excited, and thankful,” said Fortmüller. “In the Grand Prix test, I felt her confidence grow. The trickiest part is how fast those movements come in the test. It’s one thing to do it at home, but it’s another to put it all together in the ring. I was especially happy with her confidence and to feel her breathing with me throughout the test.

With Goldfinch at the 2021 CDI Wellington

“In the Special, it felt like the beginning of something really special,” continued the 36-year-old. “Our goal this weekend was to deliver consistent tests, so for that to come together was a really great feeling.”

Fortmuller's previous Grand Prix partner that brought her closest to team glory was Orion (by Jazz x Consul). They were the reserve pair on the Canadian team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The chestnut unfortunately passed in 2014 from colic.

Pia is also campaigning the 11-year old Dutch warmblood Goldfinch (by Jazz x Lingh) at international Grand Prix level.

From Novice to Grand Prix

Fortmüller has been training the 11-year-old black Hanoverian mare (Fuerstenball x Rouletto) since Frieda was two years old.

“My partner, Lars, found her as a two-year-old,” explained Fortmüller who owns Frieda in partnership with Lars Busch. “We were living in Germany at the time, and she caught his eye at a mare and foal auction. She is a precious horse, and it’s been the most exciting journey to develop her through the levels.”

With Frieda at the 2016 World Young Horse
Championships in Ermelo

The pair represented Canada at the 2016 World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo, where they were 6th in the consolation finals.

Fortmüller and Busch operate Dancing Feet Dressage – named with a nod to their respective careers as dressage trainer and farrier – in Priddis, AB. Since returning from Germany six years ago, the couple have been traveling to Wellington, FL, each winter. In addition to her own horses, Fortmüller has a group of clients who will also compete on the winter circuit through to April.