German Olympian Richard Vogel and nine-year-old Levi Noesar clinched their first major victory of the 2025 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in the $35,000 Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Premiere Round on Thursday of opening week at Wellington International in Wellington, FL.
Owner Patrick Mielnik was rooting on his nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Zirocco Blue VDL x Baloubet du Rouet) from the stands as Vogel bested the closest challenger by nearly three full seconds. With a blistering jump-off time of 29.506 seconds, Vogel handily took the win over Alison Robitaille (USA) riding Oakingham Lira in 32.336 seconds.
Brazil’s Celso Ariani aboard JIP Van T&L Z rounded out the podium in third on a time of 32.889 seconds over an Eric Hasbrouck (USA) designed course.
“Patrick has been the owner since the horse was five and he is here this week so it’s great to win for him,” said Vogel, who got the ride on Levi Noesar at the end of the 2024 winter season after the young talent was produced by Nina Piasecki (GER). “He was only eight last year and did amazing things. We have high hopes for him.”
Early in the partnership, Vogel and Levi Noesar won the Youngsters Cup at CHIO Aachen before going on to win a five-star grand prix the same year. “From our first show, it went upwards and improved quite a lot. I guess that's not normal—it's quite unique—but that's possible with horses with such a talent and mentality.
“Since he's only nine, we try to not overdo it,” continued Vogel. “Because he has a lot of ability and jumps it easily, we can do a bigger class already but we need to take our time, keep the motivation and continue making it feel easy for him. By the end of circuit I think you’ll see him stepping up again.”
Vogel—currently ranked no. 6 in the world—has returned to Wellington with a string of young and seasoned horses ready to tackle the 13-week circuit.
“I’m super motivated. I think you can see that,” said Vogel, who won the 2023 Rolex Grand Prix at Wellington International. “WEF and Wellington have always treated us very well. We have high hopes to bring a group of younger horses into the bigger sport here. We will see where the journey takes us.”
For complete results from the $35,000 Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Premiere Round, click HERE.
Competition continues during the long-awaited opening week of WEF 2025 with the fan-favorite Battle of the Sexes being featured during Saturday Night Lights at 7pm. Jumper athletes then go head-to-head in the $75,000 WEF Premiere Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. Full results from WEF Premiere are available HERE.
