Alice Tarjan and Serenade MF © SusanJStickle.com.

Wellington, FL – March 5, 2022 – In an already thrilling week 8 of the 2022 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF), Saturday’s competition continued to deliver high-quality sport. Alice Tarjan (USA) and her own Serenade MF put the exclamation mark on the day, donning the blue ribbon sash for the Grand Prix Special CSI4*, presented by Mission Control.

From the 14 starting combinations, Saturday’s winning presentation mirrored that of Thursday’s qualifier, but all top three competitors improved upon their scores. Canada’s Naïma Moreira Laliberté entered the stadium with KML Inc’s Statesman, a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Sandro Hit x Brentano II, for a lovely test scoring 70.851% to finish in third place. Last to go was Benjamin Ebeling (USA) and Indeed. Ebeling continued his successful week, guiding Vantage Equestrian Group II LLC’s 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Hofrat x De Niro) to a second-place finish with a score of 71.276%.

None could match Alice Tarjan, however, who laid down a beautiful test for a 73.149% to resoundingly lead the way with Serenade MF, a nine-year-old American Hanoverian mare by Sir Donnerhall I x Don Principe that Tarjan purchased as a foal and has brought along herself.

“I’m happy, but I’m also kind of surprised,” admitted Tarjan. “You know the horse has the ability to do it, but you don’t expect her to do it so soon maybe.”

Serenade MF was the youngest horse in the class, and this week marked the mare’s first CDI competition. While she has an obvious talent for the movements, her even-keeled character has been her strongest asset.

“The horse is the most reliable of all the horses I have. She goes in and does the job every time, and she’s so honest,” continued Tarjan. “She has the ability to do all the movements pretty well too. The pirouettes and the piaffe are good, and she has a nice trot and canter to start with.”

For more information and results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.