September 15, 2025 
Adrienne Sternlicht has a way of doubling down on strong results.
In August, she won not one but two FEI Grands Prix in the space of a single day. And, over the last month, she’s jumped a total of four international classes with the 11-year-old Belgian gelding Origa V/H Zuid-Pajottenland. The pair have made the podium in three out of four of these, winning two.
Their latest victory took place in Saturday’s $200,000 Old Salem Farm FEI 4* Blue Diamond Cup, where Sternlicht and Origa bested a field of 30 on Course Designer Alan Wade’s 16-effort, 1.55m track. Only five combinations made it to the jump-off round, where fellow American Molly Ashe Cawley and Quimi Del Masetset set the time to beat at 40.50 seconds.
Ashe Cawley was quickly usurped by Marilyn Little (USA) and La Contessa—who also won Thursday’s $65,000 Old Salem Farm 4* Welcome Stake—tripping the timers in 39.85 seconds. The next two combinations failed to take over the lead and so, as the last clear of the day in Round 1, Sternlicht found herself in the enviable position of being the final rider to go on the shortened course.
“Going last is always a big advantage,” Sternlicht said. “Marilyn is always so fast, so I said, ‘Any day that I can beat Marilyn and La Contessais a good day.’
“I was able to really take advantage of my horse’s stride and his bravery; I knew that I could do (Fences) #1 to #2 in seven strides on the bend, where Marilyn’s horse really had to keep going, so that helped us get back to the next fence quicker. I really trusted my horse, because he’s so game, and has so much scope.
“I knew that if I did it right and gave him a good chance, he would fight for me.”
Fight for her, he did, stopping the clock at 39.11 seconds to just pip Little and La Contessa’s time. After a year off due to injury, Sternlicht said she’s “overwhelmingly, emotionally proud of [Origa] and the way he’s come back,” even noting that he’s the best horse she’s sat on since her team gold medal-winning FEI World Equestrian Games partner, Crystalline.
“The first time I rode him, I thought, I’ve never felt a horse that has that much power. I think he has more natural power than anything I’ve ever ridden, actually,” Sternlicht says of the gelding she first rode as an 8-year-old.
“The rideability has always been the challenge [and] figuring out how to harness that power. And we’re slowly getting there, step by step. I wouldn’t say I’m there yet, completely, but I feel like I understand him more now than I did a year ago.
“It’s less pressure on him because, when a horse comes back from injury, you’re really just so attentive to them and grateful for every round,” Sternlicht told Horse Network.
“I’ve always said he gave me one of the best feelings I’ve ever had on a horse, and to see him really get his time in the spotlight is just amazing.”
