Germany’s Felicitas Hendricks and the 14-year-old Drombusch OLD (Destano x Dimaggio) saved the best for last the FEI World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington Friday.
The final of 13 pairs topped the leaderboard with a score of 78.2% to win the first Friday Night Lights freestyle of the 2025 season.
Hendricks, just 24 and still eligible for the Under-25 classes, returned to AGDF for a second year after finishing as the top rider in the 2024 season. Her test Friday night featured disco themes and an impressive 20 one-time tempi changes down the centerline.
“He exceeded my expectations, like he does every time,” she said. “He leaves his heart in the ring. I can tell that he’s very happy to be back and he was loving the crowd. He was a little spicy, but in a good way.”
“The main work we’ve been doing at home is still the same and won’t change—it’s very basic work of improving self-carriage and gaining more strength behind,” Hendricks said of Drombusch OLD’s training. “I think that is a process that won’t ever stop, but I can tell that it’s really benefiting both of us. We take all that basic work into the exercises like the pirouettes and changes.”
Hendricks is planning to ride three more CDIs with Drombusch during the AGDF season, including the Nations Cup in week seven and week 10’s CDI5*.
American Olympian Adrienne Lyle and Helix, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding (Apache x Jazz), finished second with a 77.28% despite a disruption in her performance due to a technical issue with her music.
Lyle stopped shortly into her first attempt of the test and was allowed to restart once the technical issue was resolved. The day before, Lyle and Helix had won the FEI World Cup Grand Prix, the qualifier to Friday night’s freestyle, on the fist day of this year’s festival.
Sweden’s seven-time Olympian Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén and Devanto landed in third place on a 75.515% score.

“We’ve been getting him out at night and I’ve been riding him in the outdoor arena in the dark,” said Lyle, who rode to 70s and 80s music put together by Terry Gallo.
“My girls are really good sports and they come and put speakers around the arena. We’ve been playing applause music and doing all sorts of things to try to desensitize Helix because he’s a very hot and sensitive horse. We’ve been trying to put in our due diligence to make sure that he was not overwhelmed in this environment.”
Despite the unconventional start to the rest, Lyle sad she was still happy with their performance.
“He got a little excited at the beginning, so it wasn’t our most polished ride but I’m very proud of him as this is a new experience for us,” she said.
Friday’s freestyle was also a qualifier for the inaugural U.S. Equestrian Open of Dressage, which features 23 qualifying events across the country, seven of which will take place at AGDF, before the final held in California in November. The Adequan Global Dressage Festival hosts seven weeks of CDI competition through March 30.
Stay tuned for more coverage from Wellington this season at horsenetwork.com.