Fiona Howard Sets New World Record with Plus-83% Freestyle
By Alice Collins for Wellington International
Grade II para athlete Fiona Howard (USA) and Diamond Dunes stormed to a new world record score of 83.276% in the CPEDI3* FEI Para Grand Prix Freestyle on Sunday, March 9, the closing day of action in week nine of the 2025 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL. It marked the high point of a stellar show for the duo, who also logged a new personal best score of 77.299% in Friday’s FEI Para Grand Prix A test en route to claiming the champion accolade for the week.
Fellow U.S. rider Marie Vonderheyden was reserve champion for her Grade I wins on her international debut with Fan Tastico H. Both athletes formed part of the gold medal winning U.S. Para Dressage Team in the CPEDI during AGDF 9.
Howard has been riding Diamond Dunes, a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding by De L’Or who is owned by Hof Kasselmann, for less than a year. In that time, they have won 13 of their 15 international starts, with the crowning jewel coming in the form of triple gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. This was the first time they had competed at ADGF, even though Howard is based between Wellington and Boston, Mass.
“It was our first competition after the Paralympics, so I just wanted to get back out there and back in the groove,” said Howard, who has dystonia, a neuromuscular disease that causes her muscles to contract and twist involuntarily. “Dunes gives so much every single time I come in the ring. He’s never shown here, so it was a new ring, but he tried so hard for me. He’s pretty special.”
Howard rode to music from the movie Avatar, put together by Equidance. The performance garnered a 10 from the judge at E, Portugal’s Carlos Lopes. She was bolstered by a big support crew, including her Paris teammates, her swimming coach and her doctor, who were all in attendance to see the record-setting ride. She has also had coaching from Kasselmann’s trainer Nicole Wego-Engelmeyer in the two weeks running up to the CPEDI in AGDF 9.
“It was a special show for me to have so many people there,” continued Howard, who was born and raised in England and immigrated to the U.S. in 2016. “A lot of my family lives in England, so they’re super far away but I have an incredible team here. It gave me an extra boost because I wanted to make them proud. It’s special to be able to share these moments with them all.”
The bond formed between Howard and Diamond Dunes in a relatively short time has been astounding. It was just a year ago when François Kasselmann got in touch to say he had a horse that he felt would excel in the para dressage arena.
“We were looking, but not actively,” recalled Howard. “I had another horse in Germany that we were qualifying for Paris, but we went to take a look. His brain was so good, and he wanted to do what was right—I fell in love with Dunes from that day. François was really generous to let me try to qualify him for Paris and he got better and better and better. It’s pretty awesome to have a PB in Paris and then come out here in March and have a world record. He’s amazing.”
Howard has her sights set on the FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany, in August 2025, and then perhaps the 2028 Paralympics, which will be on home soil in California.
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