When two- (soon to be three-) time Olympian Adrienne Lyle first met Helix, it was December of 2023. Together with Heidi Humphries of Zen Elite Equestrian Center, Lyle had been searching the globe for her next all-star equine partner—a search often likened to looking for a needle in a haystack.
The timing wasn’t ideal to be on the hunt for a horse that could potentially qualify and make the U.S. Olympic Dressage Team for Paris in 2024, but Lyle has always focused on horses first and her aspirations second. Her top priority was to find a quality horse for the long game.
Just a few months later, she was named to the U.S. Dressage Team heading to Paris with Helix (Apache – Zeester T, by Jazz), a horse she eventually found in Sweden, formerly campaigned to grand prix by Marina Mattsson.
Paris had been in the back of Lyle’s mind, and owner Humphries certainly wanted a horse that had Olympic-level caliber. But the intensive qualification process the new pair would have to undergo wasn’t something just any horse could do. Both Lyle and Humphries understood that Helix would tell them what he could handle and what he couldn’t.
“To be honest, I fell in love with his feel,” Lyle recalled of the first time she rode Helix. “His sensitivity and willingness to try for his rider were obvious to me from the start. And when you have that you can pretty much shape them into what you want them to be.”
Finding Their Groove
It was the gelding’s “people-pleasing” temperament that allowed Lyle to achieve the qualifications the pair needed to be eligible for Paris. The qualification period began in September of 2023, and since she didn’t start working with Helix until the winter of that year, Lyle was already somewhat behind the qualifications’ curve. Sensitive to the fact that horses with people-pleasing mentalities can easily be exploited and burned out, she took things step by step with the gelding.
“A lot of the horses I’ve had, I’ve gotten when they were younger. But it’s hard whether you bring them up yourself or you get them when they’re ready for grand prix,” she said. “There is a foundation of communication you need to lay, and some people maybe overlook that basic stacking of aids and communication. Just because he knew grand-prix movements, I may not ask in the same way as another rider. So that was my first priority.”
Indeed, the pair did need some time to truly begin to gel with one another. “The first month we had him I didn’t think there was any way I would get him into the grand-prix ring. I was still working on the walk-trot transition!” Lyle laughed. “When you’re executing a movement there is a stacking of all these different aids, and without a basic understanding of that you can’t just go right into it.”
Things began to come together, and for all intents and purposes, rather quickly, too. Lyle and Helix won the CDI4* at TerraNova in May. It was only their second international competition together. They’ve not finished lower than fifth in FEI competition, sealing their ticket to Paris with the cumulative consistency they’ve shown in such a short time.
Believe in the Process
Lyle was intent on striking a partnership with the gelding that would only strengthen over time.
“Honestly, I give Helix so much credit because he is just so genuine. He was so game for everything,” Lyle said. “A lot of horses might get upset or flustered if you ask for things differently. For example, my leg may not hit in the same way when I’m asking for a flying change. But he’s always just been like, ‘okay, I can do this differently, no problem.’”
Lyle said her primary focus has been controlling Helix’s stride length and power in a way so he understands that it doesn’t come from the hand. Self-carriage and keeping his natural enthusiasm in check so that he keeps his balance has been key.
“It’s taken a bit of experimentation for me to figure out exactly how he likes to be asked,” she noted. “He likes me to sit looser in the two [tempis] and not get too constricted with my legs. For the one [tempis], he likes me to keep him very close and have very little movement. That seems to clarify it in his mind.”
Lyle fine-tuned her training process and put her methodology to the test at the competitions they did en route to Paris. Here, she underscores the importance of knowing what your core values are as a rider. For her, it’s a fair and ethical lining up of one’s training and their competitive goals.
“When you align your principles accordingly, it’s a really awesome feeling,” she said, alluding to the validation a rider must feel that their system is working, and in a way that’s friendly to the horses. “One of the biggest things I learned after my first Olympics is not to change your process and to believe in what got you there and not feel pressured to change that. In a way, it’s good to see what others are doing because you’re always learning. But the time to change things is not before the Olympics.”
It Takes a Village
Lyle expressed her gratitude for the team she has surrounded herself with. The Paris Olympics will look different in many ways. Her last trip to the Games was in 2021, when the 2020 Tokyo Olympics had been postponed due to the pandemic, which resulted in her having to go through the qualification process twice. This year, she also has a new addition to her family, her 9-month-old daughter Bailey.
“It’s incredible to have the people I do,” she said. “My husband is an equine vet, so he works just as long and crazy days as I do, but he’s able to help support and come to Germany and help with Bailey. My groom, Marina [Lemay] has groomed for me for a couple of years at home and is on her first European tour with me. She has been amazing and is an excellent horse person and a very hardworking individual who’s also fun to be around.”
Debbie McDonald has coached Lyle throughout her career. She trusts in McDonald’s methodical and horses-first approach to produce horses to the top levels of the sport. Humphries, who owns Helix, also contributes a spirit of generosity and positivity that radiates throughout.
“Heidi is just one of those people who radiates positivity and fun,” Lyle said. “She loves the sport, and most importantly, she loves the horses. I think that’s why we connected so well. We all do this because we are competitive and want to compete, but it’s important that you and your trainers’ and owners’ ethics match. We push ourselves, not the horses.”
Focusing on the Long Game
Generally, Lyle puts her horses on a three-day intensive schooling schedule, adding a fourth day ahead of a competition. On other days, they stretch or go on long, active tack walks, or they simply have a day off completely.
“We don’t drill repetitive movements,” she said. “Gymnasts don’t run through their whole routines every single day. They spending time stretching and staying supple. And I think with our dressage horses that’s really important to keep in mind.”
Leading up the Games and after such an intensive qualification and selection tour, Helix will enjoy some well-earned downtime. After consulting with the team and US Equestrian, Lyle decided that Kronberg would be their last competition before the Olympics. “We really had to pack it in,” Lyle noted. “And then in Europe there were two very intensive observation events.”
For Lyle, the experience of a third Olympics is one she will relish. But she’s also focusing on the 12-year-old horse’s long game. “It’s the Olympics,” she said. “Of course you’re going to feel pressure, or you’re not doing it right. But it’s still just the beginning for this horse and his career. We’re playing the long game. He is young and hopefully has many more championships ahead of him. I really want to make Paris a positive experience for him, deliver a solid performance for what the team needs and set him up well for the future.”