A last-minute call-up saw Simone Pearce and Fiderdance jumping on a plane to Omaha, Nebraska, to contest the FEI World Cup Final in April. Finishing seventh against the best in the world, they added yet another impressive accolade to their remarkable list of achievements over the past year.

 “There are always things
to work on and improve on…
but overall, I was really happy.”

“I was absolutely not expecting to get on the start list,” says Simone Pearce of her FEI World Cup Final appearance with stallion Fiderdance. As the German-based Australian dressage rider explains, she was competing in the FEI’s Western European League – the most competitive of the four World Cup leagues – and only contested three of the 11 qualifiers. Many of the European riders attend between eight to 10 shows to accumulate qualifying points.

“A World Cup Final start wasn’t really our initial intention. Over the winter, we just wanted to do some of the really nice big World Cup Qualifier (CDI-W) shows here in Europe, as that alone is an amazing experience; it’s spectacular to ride at those shows,” says Simone. She and Fiderdance contested the CDI-W in Stuttgart in November last year, followed by The London International Horse Show in December, and then Neumünster in February, with highlights being a seventh place in London and an impressive 78.045% Freestyle in Stuttgart.

When the FEI announced which athletes would gain the extra starting spaces at the FEI World Cup Final in Omaha, Simone was thrilled and surprised to find her name on the list. “When we got the last-minute call to say we were invited to the Final, of course I was super happy and super exited. To be honest, we were planning just to wait for the European outdoor season, but when you get an opportunity like that, you don’t say no; we were really excited and booked our flights to the US and were off within two weeks!”

It was a whirlwind adventure for Simone, Fiderdance and long-time friend and groom Emily Reudavey. Finishing seventh in the Grand Prix on a score of 71.320%, Simone and Fiderdance qualified for the Freestyle Final where they again finished seventh – this time with a score of 76.575%.

It was the second-best ever FEI World Cup Final result by an Australian, only bettered by Kristy Oatley’s overall sixth place in 2001 with Wallstreet. That year, Kristy was fifth in the Grand Prix and seventh in the Freestyle, and as per the rules at the time, both tests contributed points to on overall final placing. These days, the rules stipulate that the Grand Prix serves as a qualifying event for the Freestyle, with the results of the latter determining the final rankings.

“I was really happy with my first World Cup Final,” says Simone. “Of course, there are always things to be improved, but overall I thought it was a really great experience and I was super proud to be there.”

Although no stranger to events with big atmosphere – having competed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 with Destano and the FEI World Championships in 2022 with Fiderdance – Simone explains that depending on the horse, the indoor atmosphere of a World Cup Final can be a little different to the outdoor championships.

“You have some horses that give the same feeling whether you are inside or outside. Fiderdance is a bit more confident outside, so for me it’s a little harder to ride inside. He’s a stallion and did a lot of stallion shows as a young horse, so when you enter the stadium and the crowd is already clapping, he goes a little bit into stallion show mode!” she laughs. “He can become a little nervous inside, so that was a challenge in Omaha that I had to deal with, that I didn’t have to deal with at the FEI World Championships in Herning, for example. But riding at one of these championships is just an honour and an amazing sensation… whether its indoors or outdoors, it’s a huge thrill.”

“Fiderdance is a really
wonderful horse.”

Simone says she was really happy with her Grand Prix test, especially given the electric atmosphere. “Like I said, Fiderdance is the not the most comfortable inside, but I felt like in the Grand Prix he really stayed with me. We still had a few mistakes, but overall he did a really good job to stay focused. I felt like we were really harmonious and put together a pretty nice test. There are always things to work on and improve on – that’s the nature of the sport and that’s why we love it – but overall, I was really happy with the Grand Prix.”

While she produced a great Freestyle test, Simone reveals she was actually suffering from a bout of food poisoning at the time. “Unfortunately, I had to sleep due to food poisoning the afternoon leading up to it; I was not feeling so good. It was hitting me just before I got on the horse and then I was really sick over the next 48 hours, so I felt like I didn’t ride as well as I could have in the Freestyle; if I’d felt a little bit sharper it could have been even better.

“Of course, I was still really happy and overall the test was still something to be proud of. I was just thrilled to be there and, in the end, you can just take away nothing but an amazing experience.”

“Riding at one of these
championships is just an honour
and an amazing sensation.”

Simone is full of praise for Fiderdance, a 14-year-old stallion by Fidertanz 2 out of a Blue Hors Don Schufro mare and owned by Gestüt Bonhomme. “Fiderdance is a really wonderful horse. I’ve been riding him for just under a year now and I feel like we’ve already achieved so much together; we’ve done the FEI World Championships in Herning, the CDIO5* Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen, and now the FEI World Cup Final in Omaha… it’s just been an amazing partnership in such a short space of time. I’m so grateful to have him to ride and to have had this amazing year together. He’s a really special horse and it’s just a pleasure to work with him.”

Simone has now been based in Europe for more than a decade, working for the likes of Helgstrand Dressage, Gestüt Sprehe and Gestüt Bonhomme along the way. She’s forged her own career path, gradually working her way up to the elite end of the sport and now proudly holds the titles of not only Olympian, but also World Championship and World Cup Final representative. At just 31 years old, Simone still very much has her whole career ahead of her in a sport where age simply adds experience.

It has now been announced that Simone will be leaving Gestüt Bonhomme mid-June to base herself at Sophia Ritzinger’s yard in Bavaria. Therefore, looking ahead to the rest of the year and working towards the 2024 Paris Olympics, Simone says she doesn’t have any immediate plans set in stone.

“I’m about to make a transition with an opportunity that I think for me is a really big chance in the long run, but it means my season is a little bit uncertain at the moment. I hope I will be in contention for Paris, but you never know. Life is unpredictable.”

“I think Australia is in really good shape with riders such as Lyndal Oatley, Will Matthew and Jayden Brown riding exceptionally well at the moment, and I am super optimistic we will have a really good team together for Paris. I hope I’m there, but we’ll see what happens… I will give it my all!” EQ

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE TO READ:

Megan Bryant’s Homegrown Formula – Equestrian Life, May 2023