August 25, 2023 
Twenty-one-year-old Christian Simonson (USA) has plenty of reasons to be grateful these days, but perhaps none more so than Son of a Lady.
In just a year and half together, he and the 12-year-old Danish Warmblood have danced to the no. 7 on the FEI Dressage World Youth Ranking with top 10 finishes in every international appearance together save two, including 11 victories. They swept the CDIY division at Ocala, FL and Wellington, FL in 2022. In 2023, they’ve won small tour classes at the CDI1* and CDIO3* level in the U.S., and earned podium finishes for their CDIY freestyle in Aachen (3rd) and Hagen a. T.W., Germany (2). The last on a score of 79.167%.
It’s a spectacular record for any horse, let alone one that was never intended to do the small tour.
“I’ve had Sonny for a year and a half. This was never his game plan, actually, to do the small tour,” shared Simonson.
“He was supposed to be a U25 horse for me, and he’s just kind of become the wonder horse that could and we’ve gone all over the world now and done from the Young Riders now to the small tour up with the adults and he’s just an incredible horse. He’s always going, always ready to give 110%, even on days like today when it’s almost 100 degrees. He feels like gold when you ride him.”
He also wins a lot of gold (medals).
Simonson and Son of a Lady were crowned 2023 Neue Schule/USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Champions at the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions on Friday. The rising dressage stars won Tuesday’s FEI Intermediate I Test with a score of 73.469%, then clinched the title on Friday with a new, never-before-practised freestyle, scoring 74.015%.
Impressive to be sure. But if you ask the rider, it’s his coach Adrienne Lyle that’s the “true badass.”
On an excruciatingly hot day in Wayne, IL that saw temperatures soar near 100º, the eight-months pregnant American Olympic silver medalist was ringside with her protege, lending her considerable expertise to guide his victory—and potentially to his first senior international championship.
“It means a lot [to win],” said Simonson. “Adrienne won this championship back in the day, and so that also makes it really special. But I think this whole week has been really special.
“It was a Pan-Ams [observation event] and to have the boys do that well—this whole journey [working toward Pan-Am team selection] has been something totally new for me and a whole level of pressure I didn’t know if I was going to be good enough for. I think I’ve learned how to handle pressure through this process.
“But I really think the biggest part of this weekend was Adrienne and the crew. It was 100 degrees these past few days, and she’s eight months pregnant and she’s here coaching me and willing to support me along with the others. I think that’s kind of what made the weekend be more than the championship title as well. It’s so inspiring to watch her. She’s a true badass in every way.”
Nora Batchelder and Nova earned the reserve national champion title.
