Liberté - Against All Odds Evening Show

The world’s greatest equestrian trainer and performing artist, Sylvia Zerbini, is bringing her production, “Liberté - Against All Odds” to BreyerFest in Lexington, Kentucky on July 12th and 13th. The former star and lead trainer of Cavalia has performed across the globe for millions of fans and is excited to bring her spectacular show to BreyerFest once again.

Sylvia’s epic multidimensional equestrian voyage featuring over four dozen magnificent horses and world-class equestrian theatrical performers will take your breath away! Blending awe-inspiring horsemanship with imaginative stagecraft, intricate choreography, and multi-talented live musicians, this horse lover’s extravaganza expands the definition of equestrian performance into an epic yet soulful theatrical experience. This larger-than-life show will send hearts racing as it is a feast for the eyes that is guaranteed to touch the soul.

Whether you're a BreyerFest groupie, horse enthusiast, a fan of theater, or simply looking for a unique and entertaining experience, Sylvia Zerbini’s “Liberte´ - Against All Odds” production is an event you won't want to miss. Immerse yourself in the magical world of equestrian artistry and create lasting memories with your friends and family!

The Celebration of Horses Evening Show is available to all ticket holders. The doors to the Allech Arena open at 5:00pm for in-person ticket holders. Snacks and refreshments will be available for purchase. The show begins at 6:30pm. Online ticket holders will be able to live stream the event from the comfort of their homes! The show begins at 6:30pm EDT.

 Learn more about the acts below!

Sylvia Zerbini

BreyerFest’s Celebration of Horses welcomes back the incredible Sylvia Zerbini as the producer and director of this year’s show. This summer’s show was produced exclusively for BreyerFest: Against All Odds and features thrilling performances from the horses of Cavalia you won’t see anywhere else. Her performances have been called the "quintessential equestrian ballet!" A 9th-generation equine performer, her Grande Liberté act with Arabians at liberty, including the handsome 2019 Breyer portrait horse Rico and 2023 WinterFest portrait horse Trueno, is not to be missed!

Hannah & Mikaylah Jewell

Florida's Hannah and Mikaylah Jewell have been playing the violin since they were six years old, and practice for an hour each day. In 2024 they received “Superior” rating in solo violin and are 2024 FFMC State Champions. They received their first horse on their 10th birthday and enjoy English, Western, jumping and liberty - the best ways to become friends with your horse! Hannah and Mikaylah are grateful for the opportunity to perform with Sylvia Zerbini and her amazing Liberté horses.

Jennifer Staples

Jennifer, a Gainesville, Florida native, has devoted her life to the performing arts. She earned her BFA in Dance Performance from Dominican University of California through the Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s BFA Program, training under renowned coaches like Alonzo King, Amy Seiwert, and Sidra Bell. Jennifer performed professionally with Dance Alive National Ballet and Oakland Ballet before retiring in 2015. Transitioning to arts administration, she worked at the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and Houston Ballet before becoming Special Events Manager at the Houston Symphony while earning a Master of Arts in Arts Leadership from the University of Houston. Returning to Gainesville, she founded Gainesville Movement Studio, offering and teaching dance classes for adults. Jennifer values authenticity, equity, humility, and transparency in all her endeavors.

Spencer Rose

A California native, Spencer Rose first stepped into the rodeo arena at the age of twelve with the Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls. Spencer quickly became one of the world's best trick ropers and has entertained crowds at the California Rodeo Salinas, Pendleton Round Up, California Circuit Finals, the World Equestrian Games in 2010, and the Qasr Al Hasn festival in Abu Dhabi. At 19, she embarked on a tour with Cavalia that lasted 5 years and crossed 4 continents. Spencer's latest accomplishment includes opening for Shania Twain at the People’s Choice Awards in December. She now travels the world bringing her unique form of entertainment by taking the traditional western arts and adding a circus flare.

Pegasus Riders

Composed of two award-winning performers aged eleven, the Pegasus Riders are Maddy Gatrel and Liberty Cunningham. They specialize in trick riding, roman riding, dance, aerial hammock, and equestrian liberty. These multi-talented kids have performed alongside the nation's leading equestrian performers and offer polished, fast-paced, dynamic acts that have stunned audiences around the world. Their viral videos have also been shared globally! They are excited to perform again at BreyerFest alongside Sylvia Zerbini.

Ascent Equestrian Vaulters

Returning for a third year, these high-flying vaulters are ready to dazzle BreyerFest crowds again! Ascent is a 501c3 non-profit that supports high-performance athletic development of equestrian vaulters. Lead by coach Mary McCormick, their group of Junior Squad vaulters brought home the silver medal at the 2021 FEI Junior World Championship in Le Mans, France. Mary and her team of vaulters have prepared a gravity-defying routine for guests!

Canadian Cowgirls

Since 2003, the Canadian Cowgirls have become renowned for their musical performances that have dazzled audiences across North America with their precision riding, stunning costumes, and dangerous and daring maneuvers. This elite precision drill team, hailing from the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario, consists of 28 passionate, spectacular women and their equally smart, strong horses. This group has dazzled crowds across Canada and America and are now, for the third time, BreyerFest guests!

Guy McLean

Guy McLean is a world-renowned, self-taught Australian horseman who has entertained, inspired, and educated thousands of people from all walks of life. Guy grew up on his family’s 1660-acre Homestead Resort in Queensland where he helped guide trail rides for guests through the bush. After falling in love with working and training horses, he wanted to share them with a larger audience but ran into the problem that he was extremely shy in front of large crowds. He ended up getting strength and courage from his horses.

He first started by riding his stallion, Nugget, brideless and saddless into his father’s restaurant and recited poetry for guests – up to 100 at a time. The pair started performing at festivals, on music stages, and at street parades after word had gotten out about the "Horseman from Susan River." This led Guy to develop his amazing liberty acts that help teach the best tools of horsemanship – knowledge, compassion, patience, and imagination.

Guy develops an incredible bond with every horse he works with, and it shows in his awe-inspiring performances. His team of horses have been featured at many major Australian, American, and Canadian events such as Royal shows, Equitana Asia Pacific, WEG, BreyerFest, the New York Central Park Horse Show, and Australia’s Got Talent. Through his performances, Guy strives to inspire and educate people from all around the world.

Although Guy has always identified himself as a horseman first and foremost, his talents with Bush Poetry have twice crowned him as Australian Bush Poet Champion in 2002 and 2006, along with the great honor of being named an official "Ambassador of the Outback." His awards don’t stop there, though - his most treasured triumphs are winning two world Road to the Horse championships in 2012 and 2013, and Australian Champion at Equitana Australia’s "Way of the Horse" in 2005. His most recent title has been being named the first Official Australian Stock Horse Ambassador, which is one of the most honored appointments of his career thus far.

Guy’s performances are known for being inspiring, educational, and above all entertaining for both young and old and the horse enthusiast and the uninitiated alike. With all these achievements under his belt, Guy continues to share what a shy boy from a small country town can achieve with passion and desire. He wants to be able to inspire and educate people from all walks of life from around the world on his many tours. It is his ongoing desire to create shows to inspire the younger generation, as they are so crucial to our future for our equine and agricultural industries – they will be the next great horsemen, stockmen, cowboys, and farmers across all countries.

Shawn Drentwett

Shawn has been immersed in the equestrian world from an early age, born in 2002 to Christine and Toby Drentwett in Germany on the traveling horse musical “Der Zauberwald.” Before she even took her first steps, Shawn was already on the back of a horse sitting in front of the saddle with her mother, or with her dad supporting her while she rode their miniature horse, Ashley. After relocating to Florida in 2005, Shawn's family established “Paradise Farms,” an equestrian boarding and training facility, while also continuing to work in the equine entertainment industry. While her mother worked as head trainer for the dinner theatre “Arabian Nights,” Shawn trained and performed in the show’s circus bareback act at the ripe age of 7.

During this time, she not only had the opportunity to watch her mother train a wide variety of horses, but also learned from other professionals at the show. In 2014 the Drentwett family joined the “Gala of the Royal Horses” during their American tour, which gave Shawn the opportunity to study the ways of dressage with the show’s owner and head trainer, Renee Gasser, for several years. Finally, in 2017, Shawn started riding for the company and still performs with them on a regular basis.

In 2018 Shawn began to branch out, competing in endurance riding, competitive trail, and dressage competitions. She also continued to train with her mother in the Spanish riding arts such as “Doma Vaquera” and “La Garrocha,” along with learning how to work a horse in long lines. At this time, she was also creating her first feature act, “The Phoenix”, with her "heart horse" Friesian stallion Ricco. Their act had its debut at “Equine Affaire” in November 2018.

She and Ricco have continued to return to Equine Affaire several times over the years, with “The Phoenix” along with other acts such as “Long Lines” and “La Garrocha.” This dynamic duo has since captivated audiences at various other shows, including “Dream Horse Journey,” “Cirque Ma’Ceo,” and “The Dancing Horses Theatre.” Shawn's dedication to her craft extends beyond traditional disciplines, moving onto a more natural way of working with her horses. She went on to work with and learn the ways of liberty from acclaimed trainer Sylvia Zerbini, integrating this unique skill into her performances. With determination, talent, and a deep connection to her horses, Shawn continues to inspire and dazzle audiences nationwide.

Christine Drentwett

Born in 1972 in New York, Christine Drentwett began riding at the age of eight, training and later working at the Parkview Riding Stable in Long Island. At age 13, Christine started showing English, competed with jumpers, and qualified for the Medal Maclay. When she turned 18 her family moved to Orlando, Florida where she started breezing racehorses and later rode for Mark Miller at his world-famous horse show “Arabian Nights.” She stayed with the show for six years and trained in trick riding with Rex Rossi. She also dabbled in western riding, circus bareback riding, using bull whips from horseback and on the ground, dressage riding with Kim and Yvonne Barteau, firebolas from the ground, performing with liberty horses including showing Walter Farley’s Black Stallion, and learning trick training from Pat Crampton. who was trained by the famous Glenn Randol.

Christine trained Trapeez and Web for five years with Gayner Johnson and performed for Disney, as well as at the Sarasota Circus Festival. In 1997 Christine was hired in Germany at Europe’s biggest travelling horse show, Franz Althoff and Guenther Froehlich'a "Der Zuberwald."  Already having already plenty of experience working with Arabians, Quarter Horses, and the warmblood breeds used for jumping and Dressage, Christine was now challenged to train and perform baroque breeds like Friesians and Andalusians. She intensified her Dressage studies with great German trainers like Sabine Schut-Kery, Stephanie Meyer-Bliss, Thorsten Huesken, Britta Rasche, Fritz Kruemmel and Dutch Friesian specialist Cor DeJong.

Christine had now developed the abilities to train horses for competition, as well as alternative movements for exhibitions such as Spanish walk, bowing, the lay down, the sit position, rearing on command, high trot and liberty. In 2003 Christine also started to ride with the Spanish "garrocha," an almost 13-foot-long lance that is used to herd the fighting bulls and requires the highest level of communication between horse and rider. After eight years of performing and training in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, Christine returned to the USA in 2005 to open her own boarding, training and exhibition facility, Paradise Farms in Clermont, Florida.

In the summer of 2006, Arabian Nights offered Christine the position of head trainer, where she oversaw the training of all horses and riders. In addition, she constantly developed new acts and routines for the show while still performing in it. She stayed in close contact with the show after her departure, training horses and personnel and performing at special events until Arabian Nights was closed in January 2014. That year Christine went on tour with the “Gala of the Royal Horses,” and still rides on occasion as a featured performer. She has also been hired to perform “La Garrocha “and high school acts for various well-renowned events such as Jerry Diaz’s “Feria Charro” and Equine Affaire. Christine has appeared nationally on productions like Olossio ZamperlaZoppe’s “Cirque Ma’Ceo” and also works currently on shows and events with Sylvia Zerbini.