Paras and Developing Horses Headline Final Day of Week 3 at Global Dressage Festival
By Alice Collins for Wellington International
Wellington, Fla. – January 25, 2026—The concluding day of the third week at the 12-week 2026 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL, hosted the first qualifiers in two developing horse tours as well as the freestyle classes in the para international held alongside the CDI5* show.
Locally based rider Kate Shoemaker (USA) took the overall para championship for her three performances on her own 10-year-old Vianne (by Vitalis), culminating in a 78.892% in the CPEDI3* Grand Prix Grade IV Freestyle, giving them a total of 222.975 points, and the title.
Marie Vonderheyden (USA) logged three plus-70% scores on Karin Flint’s nine-year-old Fürstenball gelding Fan Tastico H in the Grade I ranks to take the reserve champion’s sash with 221.339.
Both third-placed Grade V athlete Cynthia Screnci riding For Memory 4 and fourth-placed Grade I competitor Roxanne Trunnell aboard Rumour Has It also put down a trio of plus-70% tests, underscoring the depth of U.S. para dressage talent. Shoemaker, Screnci and Vonderheyden were joined by Grade III rider Hannah Kingsley to make up the U.S. Para Dressage Team at this CPEDI3*.
Shoemaker, who suffers from muscle weakness and spasms on the right side of her body, began the show feeling ill but rallied to increase her scores as the CPEDI went on.
“The week started out a bit rough, and the first ride didn’t go very well [69.398% in the Grand Prix A Test]; I almost needed her to do the test for me,” said Shoemaker of the American-bred Vitalis daughter. “We’ve been together two years, and our partnership has gotten so close. I’ve never had a horse like this; she’s so special with the biggest heart.
“When I first rode her in Denmark, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour said she thought we were a gold medal partnership. We didn’t quite pull off the gold medal [at the Paralympics] in Paris, but we did medal in the freestyle. Since Paris, once that pressure was off, we were able to relax and just do the best training we could. Everything has really blossomed, and it’s exciting.”
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