Christian Simonson’s ‘Little Lion’ Fleau De Baian Roars to First CDI Win in Grand Prix Special Debut at AGDF
By Alice Collins for Wellington International
Wellington, Fla. – February 7, 2026—Christian Simonson had never ridden a CDI special on Fleau De Baian, and made his debut a winning one in the Modon CDI3* Grand Prix Special. Aboard the 16-year-old Jazz x Ulft stallion, Simonson led the field of 14 with a 70% score on a sunny Saturday during Week 5 of the 12-week 2026 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL.
Ashley Holzer joined Simonson on the all-American podium, slotting into second with 69.447% on her own and Diane Fellows’ 14-year-old San Amour mare, Hawtins San Floriana. Jennifer Williams and the 12-year-old Rousseau gelding Joppe K’s 68.872% earned them the yellow ribbon.
Simonson and Fleau De Baian earned plenty of eights, mitigating the dip in marks for mistakes in both lines of changes on the diagonal, though the one-times down the centerline were lovely. This result marked the first CDI win for the duo since Simonson took over the reins in late 2023 from Adelinde Cornelissen, who also rode Fleau De Baian’s full brother Parzival at two Olympic Games.
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