Bluetooth is a wireless technology system used to exchange data over short distances.

It’s also the name of Frederic Wandres 13-year-old mount. You could say, the horse is the analog version of his namesake, using invisible communication within a network of two—and with great success.

Because when it comes to Wellington, Wandres and Bluetooth OLD have a foothold on the CDI market.

The pair were all but unstoppable in 2022, winning five of their six FEI performances at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF), including a CDI5* Grand Prix Freestyle. They went on to collect 4* wins in the Grand Prix Special at Achleiten (AUS), Aachen (GER) and Ludwigsburg (GER) that same year.

This year, the German snowbird is wintering in Florida for his third consecutive season. He brought three grand prix mounts to AGDF this season, including Hot Hit, Bluetooth OLD and up-and-coming young horse, and wasted no time returning to his winning ways.

Wandres won the CDI3* Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special on Week One with Hot Hit OLD, logging a career best score of 75.3%. Week Three, he and Bluetooth OLD topped the podium in Thursday’s CDI4* Grand Prix and in Friday’s CDI4* FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, earning another career best score of 81.805% in the Freestyle.

I am very happy today,” said Wandres on Friday.

“This is the first time for me this season under the lights and I am always looking forward to coming back. I was a little nervous about how it would go because with this special atmosphere you never know how the horses will handle it, but Bluetooth took it in a positive way. I had a much better feeling than in the Grand Prix; he was way fresher and forward, and it felt like one of the best tests that he has offered me.”

Bluetooth OLD was bred by Paul Schockemöhle’s Gestüt Lewitz and is owned by Hof Kasselmann. Their freestyle was originally put together for Wandres’ Herning 2022 team bronze medalist, Duke Of Britain.

“I have another freestyle in the making for Bluetooth, which maybe we can show later in the season,” added Wandres. “I am lucky that I have three Grand Prix horses with me here, so I’ll try to rotate them. But for sure Bluetooth is the one that we are looking at for the CDI5*—and we have the two World Cup shows in mind, too.”

France’s Morgan Barbançon produced a career-best freestyle score on 17-year-old KWPN gelding Bolero of 77.895% to take second in Friday’s Freestyle. Sweden’s Caroline Darcourt was just 0.065 percentage points behind, scoring 77.83% on Lord Django, for third. It was the horse’s second ever Grand Prix Freestyle. 

Feature image: ©Susan J Stickle