Anna-Christina Abbelen Caps 2024 Season with Freestyle Victory in Final ‘Friday Night Stars’ of 2024 AGDF
The best was saved until last in the Lövsta Stuteri CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle, the final ‘Friday Night Stars’ freestyle class under lights of the 2024 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF). From final draw, Germany’s Anna-Christina Abbelen jumped to the top of the leaderboard with an energetic performance on the evergreen 17-year-old Sam Donnerhall. AGDF 2024, which hosts seven weeks of CDI competition over three months, concludes on March 31.
Abbelen’s high score with Sam Donnerhall of 77.375% came from the judge at M, Maarten Van Der Heijden, but it was extremely close between the top two. Trailing Abbelen by just 0.045 percentage points — and placed first by four of the five judges — came dressage juggernaut and Sweden’s seven-time Olympian, Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén. She and the 15-year-old Esperance (by Sorento OLD x Harmony’s Rousseau), in just the stallion’s fourth big tour CDI, scored 75.86%. Charlotte Jorst (USA) and the 11-year-old Zhaplin Langholt — the youngest horse in the class — put down a new combination best score of 74.375% to finish third.
Abbelen is tremendously grateful for all the lessons and experiences that Sam Donnerhall has facilitated for her over the past four years. At 17, the gelding by Samarant x Donnerhall was the oldest horse in the class, and she is carefully considering his future.
“At every show he keeps getting fresher and fresher,” she grinned. “Today he was really on his peak. The floorplan is quite difficult, and the feeling was actually really good, especially in the passage and the piaffe. And the whole canter tour was mistake-free. But due to his freshness the first halt, which is usually a strong part, was not really good.
“At the very end, in the music I put in a little thank you to my horse because this was maybe my last show with him. I don’t know. But he’s at his strongest at the moment and he’s so fresh and I learned everything from him,” she added. “I did so many great five-star shows with him and learned a lot. I thought if this was a really good one today, then I’d be happy to say that maybe I’ll just do smaller shows, or even just ride him at home. I owe him everything,” added the 27-year-old, who had grooming help from Lars Ligus, who was awarded the Massa Horses Groom’s Prize of $500.
Vilhelmson Silfvén rode Esperance at AGDF in 2017 at small tour, but the horse was dogged by injuries and only did three CDI shows over the following four years. He is now back with a bang, and this was the horse’s first experience of the atmospheric ‘Friday Night Stars’.
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