VICTORIAN DRESSAGE FESTIVAL TO HOST FIVE TIME OLYMPIAN STEFFEN PETERS.

This year, Dressage Victoria will present a very special Victorian Dressage Festival, set to run December 8-10 at Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre. Not only will the event crown the State Champions at each level but it will host two masterclasses with five-time Olympian Steffen Peters.

Born in Germany, Steffen Peters came to the United States in 1984. Southern California was a good fit for Peters and he made the decision to stay, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1992. He has been one of the country’s top international dressage competitors ever since, having represented the U.S. at five Olympic Games, six FEI World Equestrian Games™, and two Pan American Games.

Peters rode his KWPN gelding, Udon, to team bronze in his first Olympic outing in the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. With Legolas 92, he won team and individual gold at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games and team bronze at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics. With his longtime mount, Ravel he won the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final in 2009 and individual bronze at the 2010 WEG in Lexington. He has been recognized for his accomplishments with three USEF Equestrian of the Year titles, in 2008, 2009, and 2011.

Peters has built a phenomenal record with his current top horse, Suppenkasper, a KWPN gelding. In their first year together, they helped the U.S. team earn silver at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018. They were undefeated in 2020 through the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival in Wellington and the CDI3* at Desert Dressage in Thermal, Calif. The pair kicked off 2021 in the same fashion, winning the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special CDI4* at AGDF 3 and the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle CDI5* at AGDF 7.

Peters and Suppenkasper were part of the silver medal-winning U.S. Dressage Team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where they also placed in the top 10 in the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle to Music.

In 2022, Peters and Suppenkasper swept the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special CDI3* close to home in Thermal and Temecula, California before traveling to compete in Europe for the summer. They represented the U.S. at the FEI Dressage Nations Cup Germany CDIO5* at CHIO Aachen, then went on to win the Kronberg CDI4* Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle in July. The pair again represented the U.S. at the World Championships in Herning, Denmark. They closed out the year winning the Grand Prix and Freestyle CDI-W at Desert Dressage II and III.

Peters and Suppenkasper began 2023 by winning the Grand Prix and Freestyle CDI-W at Desert Dressage IV. They then competed in the FEI Dressage World Cup finishing 5th in the Grand Prix with 74.581 and noting a personal best score of 80.785% in the Grand Prix Freestyle.

Event Director Lizzy Schirmer said “It is a privilege to announce that we will be hosting the legendary Steffen Peters at the Victorian Dressage Festival. As a not-for-profit event, tickets will be reasonable with a range of options to suit everyone. We are proud to put on this event and be able to give back to our riders, traders, sponsors and supporters by creating an event that benefits everyone and provides unbeatable education and competition opportunities in a brilliant atmosphere.”

Further information will be available soon.

Event Director - Lizzy Schirmer

Masterclass Manager - Dolly Joyce