Adequan Global Dressage Festival Stages Record-Breaking 2015 Series One of the world’s largest international and national dressage circuits, the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) is hosting its fourth annual show series in 2015 with ten weeks of fantastic equestrian sport at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington. This year’s AGDF includes three national and seven international weeks of competition running through March 28. With an increase to more than $650,000 in total prize money, the series has become the richest dressage circuit in the world. The AGDF welcomes many of the world’s top horses and riders to the beautiful dressage facility at the Stadium at PBIEC, located at the corner of South Shore Blvd. and Pierson Road. International competition includes four CDI-W rated shows, a CDI 4*, a CDI 5*, and the Western Hemisphere’s only non-championship CDIO, which is also part of the FEI Nations Cup series. “The main difference for this year is the quality of the international riders that are coming in numbers from Europe, and this has raised the quality of the competition significantly,” explained Michael Stone, president of Equestrian Sport Productions, the company that stages both the AGDF and its sister show series, the Winter Equestrian Festival. With the 2015 season already underway, this year’s AGDF has many exciting highlights still to come. The Stillpoint Farm FEI Nations Cup CDIO 3* will run March 25-28, serving as the last team event before the Pan American Games in Toronto in July. This special team competition for dressage gives riders the unique opportunity to experience a championship-style format. Stone expects the dressage Nations Cup to be this month’s headline event. “The dressage Nations Cup on the final weekend in March will be the highlight,” he said. “We have more teams than ever, and it is also a qualifier for the Pan American Games.” The AGDF is also pleased to host the historic Palm Beach Dressage Derby for the second year
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during the week of March 5-8, which will feature a special new derby and World Cup qualifying competition. The CDI 5* competition, sponsored by Diamante Farms and Wellington Equestrian Realty, was held the first week in February, featuring more than $200,000 in prize money. It was the richest CDI 5* in the world and hosted the largest week in competition history. Stone considers that show the highlight of the season so far. “We had an enormous crowd, by far the biggest we have ever had, and it was a great competition on a beautiful evening,” he said. One of the special events that takes place each week of international competition at the AGDF is the “Friday Night Stars” FEI Grand Prix Musical Freestyle. International competitors show their FEI Grand Prix musical freestyles under the lights in a fun evening of dressage and entertainment, and there has been a packed house of spectators every week so far in the 2015 season. A star-studded line-up of competitors has taken to the ring in Wellington this winter and will continue to compete throughout the remaining weeks of the circuit. Top U.S. riders, including Laura Graves and Steffen Peters, along with top Canadian riders, including the full World Equestrian Games team and Ashley Holzer, are present for the winter. Top European riders, such as Laura Tomlinson of Great Britain, Daniel Martin Dockx of Spain, Christoph Koschel of Germany, Michael Klimke of Germany (son of the late Dr. Reiner Klimke), Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven of Sweden, and Lars Petersen and Mikala Gundersen, both of Denmark, are in attendance, among many others. Stone said that these top international riders