National competition was abuzz at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) last week, welcoming horses and riders to Equestrian Village at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center from Friday, February 19, through Sunday February 21 for national-level competition. On Saturday, Canada’s Naima Moreira Laliberté topped the FEI Grand Prix with KML Inc’s I Do Kiss.
Moreira Laliberté and the 2006 Swedish Warmblood stallion by French Kiss, topped the class with a score of 74.347%. It was one that the 24-year-old was happy with after a year away from competition, moving into the upcoming five-star week at AGDF.
“This was my first time in the show ring since last year,” began Moreira Laliberté. “I was grateful and happy to be back in the ring with ‘Kiss’ at Grand Prix. I was happily surprised with the score, and I think our ride went super well. He stayed with me the whole way and was very focused and was willing to give his all. He’s a big stallion; he’s a big horse to move, but when he goes in the ring he tries his heart out and I really appreciate that side of him a lot. He’s also got huge changes and is very expressive in them. I think he also is the kind of horse that steps in the arena, and he wants to show off he’s got that presence. He’s a performer.”