Australians Kyros and Beerling In the Spotlight on Week 1 of 2024 Global Dressage Festival

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2024 CDI-W Wellington - Week 1

Australian riders picked up all three winner’s sashes on offer on Friday 12 January 2024 at the 2024 Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida.

Australian Hope Beerling scored the third Aussie win, topping the 1* Intermediate I, which only featured three combinations. The team NorCordia rider piloted Sternentanzer, an 11-year-old gelding by Surprice, who was contesting his first ever CDI.

“It was a super day for Australia and it’s really nice having a lot of Australians here this year, it’s good for the future,” said Beerling, who led the class with 67.647%. “I’ve only been riding the horse since October,” explained the 24-year-old Beerling. “NorCordia bought him and he came over and we clicked right away. I’ve only ever competed him in one test before — at Prix St. Georges — so this was the first time we had ever done an inter I and there were no real expectations.”

Beerling, who has a couple of horses whom she plans to compete in this season’s developing Prix St. Georges horse series, added, “Now I get to enjoy him and compete him until he sells. He’s so trainable and every day is fun.”

Kyros Makes a Splash

The 19-year-old Kate Kyros accounted for two of the blue ribbons on Friday 12 January 2024, picking up the Young Riders team test and the Under-25 Grand Prix. The competition was not that impressive on week one of the GDF as she was the sole competitor in the Young Rider division and battled just three rivals in the U25 Grand Prix.

Kyros, who is the Australian Under 25 Champion, rode two stallions both owned by her mother, Heather Kyros. This is Kate’s first CDI outside her home country. In the Young Rider class, she rode the 11-year-old stallion Intro K (by Apache x Rousseau) to 69.441%. She also scooped the Under-25 FEI Grand Prix on the 12-year-old Connoisseur x Johnson TN son Chemistry (68.077%).

The next day, Saturday 13 January 2024, Kyros extended her unbeaten run this week with Intro Kin the Young Riders Individual test to 71.5%.

“This is our first ever season in Wellington with the horses,” said the 19-year-old. “It’s been so exciting to hear the Australian anthem played so many times. It’s hard coming from a different country; you never really know where you’re going to stand with scores and the other competitors, but we’re over the moon. I’m looking forward to being able to compete so often because that’s what we miss out on at home.”

Kate’s mother — who owns both the horses the family brought to Wellington — flew with the horses in early December on a mammoth journey from Queensland to Hong Kong, on to Alaska, and then finally flying to Miami for a week of quarantine.

“We gave them a month to settle in,” added Kyros, who is competing internationally outside Australia for the first time. “Luckily the weather is similar to home, but it’s a big trip for them. The rest of the season we’ll keep trying to improve on the scores and try to get my world ranking up, as well as getting competition experience for me.”