January 27, 2024 
Germany’s Felicitas Hendricks is coming up in Wellington, Florida.
The 23-year-old and her equine partner-in-rhythm, Drombusch OLD, claimed their fourth victory in as many starts at the 2024 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival on Friday. Their latest win is their biggest yet—the CSI4* FEI Grand Prix Freestyle—and had the crowd clapping to the beat and dancing in their seats.
“It was so much fun. People clapping is exactly what I want to achieve with my music. I want to have good vibes and a party in the house—I’m so happy that we achieved that,” said Hendricks.
With curving lines of changes, double pirouettes, passage half-pass, and piaffe pirouettes, their technical routine earned a 78.79% from the judges. It’s just 0.3 percentage points shy of their career high score.
“Even though we had some small miscommunications we had a lot of highlights and they were definitely much brighter than the lowlights,” the U25 rider continued. “I’m always up for a challenge, and grand prix is challenging. But I’ve got a great horse by my side who makes this whole journey—learning as much as I possibly can—so much fun.”
Henricks has every reason to be thrilled. The U25 rider made her senior tour debut with her partner of seven years, 13-year-old Drombusch OLD (by Destano x Dimaggio), in 2023. In 18 FEI performances, they logged 10 podium finishes, including double gold at the European U25 Championships.
Just two shows into the 2024 season and they’re already on track for their best season yet.
Sharing the podium were Lövsta Stuteri riders Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén and Caroline Darcourt. Vilhelmson Silfvén, aboard the 15-year-old Devanto, waltzed into second place with a score of 77.11%, while Darcourt and the 14-year-old Lord Django showcased their moves to claim third at 76.89%.
International competition returns to Wellington February 8–11 with the FEI Dressage World Cup.
