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Alice Tarjan and Long-Time Partner Candescent Grab Glory at AGDF

Alice Tarjan & Candescent. Photo © SusanJStickle.com.

Alice Tarjan (USA) came out on top of the 15 combinations forward in the Grand Prix Special CDI3*, presented by Iron Spring Farm, on Saturday of Week 7 at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL.

Tarjan was competing her own 13-year-old mare Candescent (Christ x Falkenstern), and the pair netted a winning score of 72.638%. This was just 0.06 percentage points shy of their best performance ever in this test, achieved in the very same arena at AGDF in 2021.

Tarjan explained that although she has been training Candescent since she was a four-year-old, she hasn’t been the most straightforward horse despite her attractive, expressive movement.

“Overall, everything’s going in the right direction,” said the 43-year-old from Oldwick, NJ, who has a clutch of prolific horses at grand prix level. “It’s been a long road and she hasn’t been the easiest. I’ve had her for nine years and she’s always been a real challenge.

“I don’t think anyone wrote a book on how to train this horse. She’s been doing grand prix now for a few years but what I’ve learned is that being able to do the movements in the grand prix and then putting everything together in a cohesive and harmonious test are two very different things,” added Tarjan, who has been coming to Wellington for almost a decade. “Now I finally feel like I have a horse that’s on my side and we’re finally starting to form a partnership.”

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