Olympian Lars Petersen, who owns and operates Legacy Farms near the international dressage show grounds in Wellington, is well known in the community for his buoyant attitude and infectious high spirits.
Petersen is humble given his accomplishments. In addition to the Olympic Games, he has represented Denmark at two World Equestrian Games, three World Cup Finals and two Continental Championships. He has been named Danish National Champion five times.
Since relocating to the United States in 2002, Petersen has become a prominent figure in the community, but he remains modest. “I’m a farm boy from Denmark,” he laughs. “That’s how I want to stay.”
During the first week of competition at the 2016 Adequan Global Dressage Festival, Premier Equestrian — known for providing advanced riding arena systems throughout the United States — recognized Petersen for his exemplary skills, sportsmanship and role model qualities by presenting him with a tri-colored ribbon, an engraved plaque, and the title of “Premier Equestrian.”
Petersen, who is consistently a strong contender in the Grand Prix level, is already off to another strong start this 2016 season. Petersen and his partner Mariett, a 17-year-old Danish Warmblood mare, placed high in the FEI Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special with scores of 72.7 percent and 71.176 percent, respectively. He also competed two horses in the Prix St. Georges, 9-year-old KWPN gelding Coltrane WRF and 8-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding QuascaiNexen. Petersen also brought along 8-year-old Oldenburg mare Elfenfeuer, and the pair captured first place with a score of 72.2 percent.
The Premier Equestrian Award will be presented each week of the 12 CDI competitions to honor riders who are not only competitive, but also kind and gracious to other competitors and show staff, put their horses first and contribute to a positive overall atmosphere on the showgrounds. For more info., visit www.premierequestrian.com.
ABOVE: Lars Petersen (right) accepts the Premier Equestrian Award at the 2016 Adequan Global Dressage Festival.
