Steffen Peters breaks records with his seventh national grand prix championship

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.