Adam Steffens-Smienk made the move from his native Minnesota to Wellington, Fla. at the age of 16 to chase his dreams. This week, that leap of faith has led him all the way to the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions at HITS Lamplight Equestrian Center.
When Steffens-Smienk made the move, he had to start from the ground up, putting in lots of early mornings. He had started dressage lessons aboard Arabians in Minnesota and made the leap to Florida to accept a working student position at Stillpoint Farm with Dottie Morkis and Oded Shimoni while finishing his high school coursework.
Getting to where he is now didn’t come without its challenges, but Steffens-Smienk wouldn’t have it any different.
When he was 29, Steffens-Smienk struck out on his own. He now operates Candoit Stables in Jupiter, Fla., with partner Wendy Petrik, where their goal is to develop horses for future U.S. Dressage Team athletes. Under the guidance of Christoph Koschel and Christine Traurig, they aim to exhibit good horsemanship and present their string of horses in a friendly and harmonious manner.
Steffens-Smienk’s start at this year’s Festival was far from a certainty this winter, when he was sidelined for six months with an injury. Steffens-Smienk’s husband, Sven, stepped in to help with the day-to-day responsibilities of running the business.
“It's been convenient. He’s able to pick up where I left off, and it’s been seamless getting back in the saddle,” Steffens-Smienk explained. “We hold each other to a higher standard, and it’s so nice being with someone 24/7.”
Coming back slowly had left him feeling, admittedly, a little unprepared for this week’s spotlight in the FEI Prix St. Georges, FEI Intermediate I and FEI Intermediaire Freestyle – but it helped that he was paired with a horse who had recently been on an international stage. Steffens-Smienk's equine partner, Petrik’s Candoit’s Scala, a 2015 Hanoverian mare (St. Schuffo x Belissimo NRW), recently made an appearance at the 2025 CHIO Aachen in the Prix St. Georges and Intermediate I with U.S. Dressage Team athlete Kevin Kohmann. In the Prix St. Georges test, the mare was poised and unflappable, even in the face of a sudden thunderstorm that popped up close by.
The partnership between Steffens-Smienk and Candoit’s Scala is less than a year old, and this week, the pair made their third appearance in the sandbox as a team after a long recovery.
“I feel a little underprepared being here, because I haven't been in the ring like I normally am, but [Scala] knows her job, and hopefully, I do, too,” he said.
“She’s really big, like 18.1 hands,” Steffens-Smienk said, “But she is also a total puppy dog in the barn. She is so reliable under saddle but can be a bit stiff because of her size. Overall, she is a pleasure to work with and be around.”
When not training and competing, Steffens-Smienk can be found on the sidelines of arenas coaching his students. Following the 2026 FEI North American Youth Championships, he and his cohort arrived at FOC where he describes being a coach as “inspirational” to him.
“I didn't really realize how many youth athletes are still really passionate about the sport and equally passionate about their horses,” he explained. “To see the camaraderie with all the kids has been really amazing.”
The pair earned an overall score of 67.607% and finished in third place on the championship leaderboard. The celebration didn’t stop there. Steffens-Smienk's student, Eve Boswell, finished in fourth place in the Adequan®/USEF Junior Dressage National Championship on Candoit’s Secret Sunshine, with a total score of 68.787%.
Coming into the week, Steffens-Smienk said he wanted to have a clean test and enjoy himself and his horse. Their results prove that his mission was certainly accomplished, and with all that, he was left to enjoy his time at the HITS Lamplight Equestrian Center, a venue he’s been visiting since he was young.
“I love coming to shows. At home, we have 24 horses, so my time is really in the arena, but when we come to shows, I get to spend more time with the individual horses that we bring,” he exclaimed. “It lets me build that connection and enjoy that one-on-one time.”