Horse Illustrated Magazine

The highlight of last week’s U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions presented by The Dutta Corp. was Saturday evening’s grand prix freestyle. Eight top horse-and-rider pairs performed their musical freestyles as they competed for the title of Grand Prix Dressage National Champion.

In the end, it was no surprise to see three-time Olympian Steffen Peters and 11-year-old Westphalian gelding, Legolas 92, ending the show at the top of the leaderboard. The pair performed their freestyle to a medley that included parts of the classic Queen/David Bowie song, “Under Pressure.” The freestyle scored a 79.450, bringing their final grand prix score to a winning 76.476.

Peters and Legolas were champions at last year’s U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions in Gladstone, N.J. This year’s victory marks Peters’ seventh national grand prix championship title, a new record.

Guenter Seidel and Coral Reef Wylea took second in the freestyle with a 76.450, putting them in position to take the reserve champion title in the grand prix. Kathleen Raine and the 13-year-old Hanoverian mare, Breanna, rounded out the top three with an overall score of 71.213.

See more photos from the 2013 Festival of Champions.

For full results, visit USEFConnect.com/Festival.