-- GDF press release, edited by Eurodressage
With U.S. Dressage struggling to nurture fresh, rising Grand Prix combinations, the last two days of competition at the 2026 Global Dressage Festival on 20 - 22 March 2026 saw Jordan LaPlaca finally crack the code to opening the 70% door at international Grand Prix level.
LaPlaca (37) won the CDIO 3* Grand Prix Special with his second international 70+ score and third international win of his first season at Grand Prix. Jane Karol (63) won the 3* Special on probably the best horse - quality-wise - she has ever had in her ectensive dressage career. Both riders bought their horses as youngsters at Hof Kasselmann.
LaPlaca Scores First International 70% Score
LaPlaca threw his arms in the air and hugged Gold Play after their final salute in the CDIO 3* Grand Prix Special. He was justifiably delighted with his own and Nancy Huton’s 11-year-old, for the Grey Flanell x Sir Donnerhall II gelding had just sealed the Nations Cup team win, as well as a Special individual victory for LaPlaca on the U.S. rider’s senior team debut.
The jewel in the crown of a breakthrough debut CDI grand prix season, LaPlaca and Gold Play—the youngest horse in the class—set a new personal best of 71% in the Special. Their score relegated the in-form pair of Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu (CAN) and Jill Irving’s 12-year-old Desperado x Jazz gelding, Jaccardo, into the silver medal position on 70.362%.
They were joined on the podium by Anna Marek (USA), whose 68.021% on her sister-in-law Cynthia Davila’s Fayvel earned the bronze. The result was impressive given that Marek and the 16-year-old Zizi Top x Houston gelding were only called up at the last minute to ride in the Nations Cup.
LaPlaca and Gold Play displayed exemplary use of the arena with textbook deep, balanced corners, as well as beautiful piaffe and passage work with seamless gear changes. There was a hiccup in the beginning of the first line of one-time changes, but Gold Play was enjoying the second set down the centerline so much that he decided to add two extra changes. Despite the glitches, the judges awarded plenty of eights, with the high score of 72.553% coming from H judge Susanne Baarup (DEN).
“I honestly expected none of this, and I’m a little bit in shock,” said LaPlaca. “Riding for the U.S. team is not only a privilege, it’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid. It’s what kept me inspired to learn, to teach, and to keep going. It’s incredibly humbling and an honor and I don’t take lightly. I just wanted to give my horse a good season and a good go at the CDI3* level, and it ended up in a gold medal. It’s what dreams are made of.”
Of the errors in the test, he said, “I think making mistakes is essential, because it’s how we learn. I don’t evaluate my performance off mistakes; I base it off how my horse is feeling. Is he still confident because he’s still relaxed? Did I leave a good impression after the mistake that didn’t set him back? That’s what’s important for me. That’s also the joy of my relationship with Gold Play, given our years together. We’re a bonded pair.”
LaPlaca is based at Maverick Hill Dressage in Ledyard, Conn. and trains with mentor Albrecht Heidemann and U.S. Dressage Team Chef d’Equipe Christine Traurig. He has trained Gold Play since he was a young horse after buying him from Frederic Wandres through Hof Kasselmann as a 4-year old. Jordan is ensuring that his varied life included plenty of trail rides and turnout.
“I got to bring a young horse up, and I have an owner that worked with me to help see this through—the journey’s been nothing but fun and there has not ever been a bad day,” continued the 37-year-old, who is also an FEI-registered driving competitor. “To go from a four-year-old to an international grand prix horse has been everything. It’s hard to put into words.”
LaPlaca, who was full of praise for Traurig’s inspirational coaching at GDF, is aiming for a couple more Florida CDIs before firming up plans for Gold Play.
Jane Karol Tops CDI3* Grand Prix Special
As the second of 14 riders to go in the 3* Grand Prix Special, Jane Karol was surprised to find herself still atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of the class in which U.S riders filled the top four spots. She rode her own 11-year-old Vivaldi x Don Schufro mare Vioretta to 68.17%, with a high score of 71.064% from the judge at C, Germany’s Pascal Strohbücker.
“To win is completely surprising because I really wasn’t expecting to stay in that place, and I had a terrible ride in the grand prix on Thursday, so I’m overjoyed,” said Karol, who was riding Vioretta in just her second CDI. “She’s an incredible horse. I just have to ride her well, but she’s got it all. I’ve worked with her since she was six, and she has everything it takes, but I have to produce it. If I do it right, she gives me 200 percent.”
Karol, who is dressage rider Hope Cooper’s mother, bought Vioretta at the 2021 P.S.I. Auction, despite the fact that she was on the strong side.
“Hope saw Vioretta’s video and said, ‘Mom, that’s your horse.’ We knew people who had ridden her, and they said she was kind of strong,” explained Karol, whose summer base is in Massachusetts. “Viola Abrahams and [my coach] Christoph Koschel said that they were different types of riders, and they thought she would be a good match for me. And because she was a little strong, she was not in the top price bracket.
“She came to me with a bit of an underneck, but I like to ride from behind and keep it soft in front, so I’ve been creating relaxation,” continued Karol, who has a doctorate in psychology and runs an equine psychotherapy facility alongside the family’s dressage barn. “It took years to get the right topline and have her reaching over the back, and I’m still working on that. She has so much power. The rest will come.
“The surprising high points today were the canter half-passes, which are usually more difficult for her,” she continued. “The piaffe/passage is our real highlight—she’s a machine, and as soon as I give her the rhythm, she comes right into it. If there’s a mistake, it’s my fault. I’d love to make a team with her, but life is unpredictable and I keep my expectations in a livable range.”