Sometimes dressage can get a bit predictable, but Sunday, March 5, was filled with surprises as two green horses proved their worth to Canadian Ashley Holzer and Leslie Morse in the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI in Loxahatchee, Fla.

Holzer continued her winning streak by capturing the Grand Prix Special in the morning aboard Gambol (69.08%). But it was a hair-raising trip to the ring for the young stallion. Gambol and Leslie Morse’s stallion Kingston nearly came to blows in the warm-up as testosterone ran high. The leadline ponies waiting for their lunchtime demonstration only added to the mix by whinnying throughout the test.

Holzer kept her composure, riding an elegant and accurate test aboard the Dutch Warmblood. She didn’t blink when he started to call back to the vociferous pony–just focused him on piaffe instead.

By the time Morse got her Grand Prix superstar, Kingston, into the ring, she was already exhausted from keeping him in check. A mistake in the tempi changes and an error at the end for crossing the diagonal in extended trot instead of going down the long side cost them first place (67.80%).

Morse got her redemption though in the Grand Prix freestyle. She came out with a bang aboard her less-experienced stallion, Tip Top 962, and wowed the audience and judges (76.18%). They swayed to swing music, proving that Morse had put the Special behind her and was ready to have some fun.

Holzer put in a beautiful ride aboard her Olympic mount Imperioso (73.90%), but she couldn’t match Morse for shear joy and pizzazz. The pair was poised and precise, but a little bit on the safe side compared with Morse’s wild ride.

“One was harmonious and steady,” said judge Axel Steiner. “The other one took a lot of risks and was really a freestyle.”

Cesar Parra of Colombia put a little spice in his freestyle, dancing to a latin beat and third place in the freestyle with Galant du Serein (70.47%).

George Williams pleased the crowd and grabbed the fourth spot with his Cher-themed freestyle aboard Marnix (69.97%).

Morse was thrilled with Tip Top and very excited about the upcoming freestyle championship. It was her first time riding to this music in competition and she admitted there was still a bit of tweaking left to do.

Though disappointed by Kingston’s performance, Morse explained that he just needs a bit more time in front of the judges. They haven’t competed since the Aachen CDIO in Germany last August.

And Morse wasn’t the only one to have trouble in the Special. A spectator startled FBW Kennedy during his test, and Katherine Bateson-Chandler had all she could do to control the wild bolt that ensued. The test was very good, but the energetic gelding was a bit on the muscle for the rest of it leaving them in fourth place (65.80%).

Those mistakes gave Arlene “Tuny” Page a chance to earn some accolades for her young Grand Prix horse, Wild One. “Double V” slipped into third place (65.84%) with an accurate and fluid test.

Wild One went on to put his rambunctious competitors to shame by entering an unexpected class–the leadline. He carried young Charlotte Page around the ring without so much as twitching an ear while minute ponies danced around his knees.

Last but not least was the Intermediaire freestyle in the late afternoon. Pop Art continued his winning streak with Holzer, winning the class by almost five percentage points (74.80%).

Humble as always, Holzer pinned the wins on their combined depth of experience and said they’d be back down at the bottom when they made their Grand Prix debut later this year.

Emily Gershberg and Pancratius tied with Christopher Hickey and Regent for second place (69.60%) in the Intermediaire freestyle.