The USA’s Steffen Peters and Ravel claimed the 2009 Rolex FEI World Cup Dressage title with an amazing Freestyle test. Peters, who was born in Germany but competes for the US, edged out Isabell Worth, who was a close second and Anky Van Grunsven who finished in third place. Peters was in second place up until the Freestyle portion of the event.

This was only the second time that the US has won a Dressage World Cup since the competition began 23 years ago. Debbie McDonald was the previous American Winner in 2003 with her mare Brentina.

The fact that Ravel (and presumably the other horses) could stay focused on their tests during the cheering and excitement of the crowd is amazing. There’s no excuse now for the rest of us to complain that our horses were distracted by events outside the ring.

Here are Steffen Peters and Ravel in both their Freestyle and Grand Prix tests. Enjoy!