Adrienne Lyle and Helix Top World Cup Grand Prix on Opening Day of 2025 ADGF
Adrienne Lyle & Helix. Photo ©susanjstickle.com
U.S. team rider for the 2024 Paris Olympics Adrienne Lyle emphatically opened her 2025 account on day one of opening week — Lloyd Landkamer memorial week — of this year’s Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, Florida. She topped the FEI World Cup™ Grand Prix, sponsored by Palm Beach Equine Clinic, riding Helix to a winning margin of over three percentage points.
Lyle posted 74.065% for the unanimous win from the five judges from final draw of 13 starters on Zen Elite Equestrian Center’s 13-year-old Helix (Apache x Jazz). Germany’s young talent Felicitas Hendricks returned to Wellington with her 14-year-old Drombusch OLD after a sterling 2024 season in which they were only beaten once in their eight CDI starts. The 14-year-old by Destano logged 70.913% to secure the runner-up spot. Sweden’s seven-time Olympian Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén finished third with Devanto, Lövsta Stuteri’s 16-year-old Holsteiner gelding by De Chirico, on 69.565%.
The conditions were unusually chilly for Florida as a blast of arctic air has lowered the temperatures considerably this week, but Helix was unfazed.
“Conditions do not affect him at all,” explained Lyle. “It was 100 degrees in Paris and he was still hot to trot. Hot, cold, doesn’t matter — he’s ready to roll any day. Personally, I love it.”
Lyle partnered with Helix in January 2024, with a tight window in which to qualify for the Paris Games and the pair made their international debut at the 2024 AGDF in late March.
“It’s really good to be back here,” said Lyle. “I’m excited to get a jump start on being able to show a little earlier this season and not have everything crammed into the end of it. It’s been nice to be home for a few months after Paris and to be able to relax and train without a big, looming deadline quite so close.”
by Alice Collins
Wellington International
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