Simonson’s ‘Little Lion’ Fleau De Baian Roars to First CDI Win at 2026 CDI Wellington

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2026 CDI Wellington

-- GDF press release, edited by Eurodressage

Christian Simonson had never ridden a CDI special on Fleau De Baian, and made his debut a winning one in the 3* Grand Prix Special at the 2026 CDI Wellington on Saturday 7 February 2026.

Aboard the 16-year-old Jazz x Ulft stallion, Simonson led the field of 14 with a 70% score on a sunny Saturday during Week 5 of the 12-week 2026 Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL.

Little Lion

Simonson and Fleau De Baian earned plenty of eights, mitigating the dip in marks for mistakes in both lines of changes on the diagonal, though the one-times down the centerline were lovely. The horse looked more engaged from behind and sharper to the aids compared to their Grand Prix performance. This result marked the first CDI win for the duo since Simonson took over the reins in late 2023 from Adelinde Cornelissen, who also rode Fleau De Baian’s full brother Parzival at two Olympic Games.

The win was particularly sweet for Simonson as he and Fleau De Baian were eliminated for a blood speck in the horse’s mouth at the conclusion of his grand prix test during GDF 3.

“Horses are always a learning process, and with ‘Felix’ I’ve learned an immense amount about them already,” said the 23-year-old rider. “It’s a testament to my trainer Adrienne [Lyle] and the team that we can deconstruct what happened and look at how we can best understand it and move forward. Today was a good reflection of our mentality to always try to do right by our horses, understand them better and present them better."

“Felix has so much strength and just wants to go, go, go—especially in the last extended trot today. I was thinking, ‘Oh man, don’t break—if we break, Adrienne will be upset with me!’,” continued the Wellington, FL-based Simonson. “We had mistakes in the changes, but that’s just him and me learning how to compete in the stadium. I was able to do the piaffe transitions really well, though. He has such a good heart and really tries his hardest.

“This was our first special and I’ve only done a couple of them total, so it’s been really fun,” he added. “It’s very different than the grand prix or freestyle because there are so many transitions. Last season, we were only focusing on the U25 with Felix, so it’s been kind of a refinement. At home, we’re focusing on suppleness and elasticity with him. Around the barn, he loves showing off and yelling at the other horses, but he is never wild and is good-natured. He’ll scream, but doesn’t actually do anything, which is cute. We call him a little lion because he loves roaring at everyone.”

Top Three

Ashley Holzer joined Simonson on the all-American podium, slotting into second with 69.447% on her own and Diane Fellows’ 14-year-old San Amour mare, Hawtins San Floriana.

The judges' panel for the Grand Prix Special included William Warren, Elke Ebert, Ulrike Nivelle, Sascha Schulz, and Kurt Christensen and it was interesting to see how they scored the halt at entry and final halt f(or Holzer's ride). The first halt was not entirely immobile yet scored between 7 and 8 and the final halt was not square at all with one hind leg out and also earned the rider 7 and 8s.

Jennifer Williams and the 12-year-old Rousseau gelding Joppe K’s 68.872% got them the yellow ribbon for third place.