Story – Christopher Hector
Photos – K-H Frieler
Don Johnson has been competing nine years at Grand Prix…
It was a case of something old, something new on the second day of the Frankfurt horse show. The Grand Prix will not go down in history as one of the great contests of our time, indeed I am sure Isabell Werth’s winning test with Don Johnson FRH (Don Frederico / Warkant) won’t make it onto her greatest hits compilation. The warmup featured a decent argument between the great rider and her long time campaigner, just two feisty individuals trying to sort out who was calling the shots. Of course once they started the test, the trademark strengths were there with those super Isabell half passes, but the passage / piaffe tour was more than a little whacky, the passage in particular was very strange, although the pirouettes were the usual high standard fare.
The unevenness of the test was reflected in the judges ranking, Don Johnson was first with three, second with another, and third with one, for a 75.63 result.
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Ingrid and Franziskus
It was a bit more of the same with the second and third horses, both of which struggled with the really collected movements. Ingrid Klimke’s Franziskus (Fidertanz / Alabaster) looks a million dollars when he steams across the diagonal but the piaffe is still a work in progress and the passage tended to get a bit flat, but wow, the final trot diagonal took your breath away. 74.913 (first with one, second with three, fourth with the other) to slip ahead of Hubertus and another power machine, Escolar.
Escolar (Estobar / Fürst Piccolo) really is such a magnificent creature, his big trots and even bigger canters are truly sublime, the horse gently chewing on the bit, the curb rein hanging loose but that piaffe really isn’t there yet. The final centre line was great and produced his best piaffe of the test. We are all hoping that he makes it because Hubertus Schmidt is a master of the art of dressage, and deserves a really top horse. Again the judges couldn’t make up their collective mind, first with one, second another, third another, then a fifth and a sixth, score 74.804.
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Benjamin and Famoso
It was the same story with another combination that the German training duo of Monica Theodorescu and Jonny Hilberath are watching keenly – Famoso (Farewell III / Welt Hit II) and Benjamin Werndlt. The pair are oh so close to nailing it, the dark brown gelding is such an athlete with scope to burn but the work is uneven. A tangled first piaffe is followed by a wonderful second one, they lose it going into the first canter pirouette and make amends with the second, watch out when they put it all together. 73.826, two threes and three fives is not much of a poker hand.
Maria and Coroado
Rounding out the top five we have the grey stallion out of the child’s fairy tale, Coroado (Rubi / Xaquiro) with another really special rider, Maria Caetano. The stallion is so obliging, so on the aids, the half passes are amazing, so much bend and reach and the big trot gets better all the time, the final centre line is wonderful. Score 73.739, with rankings from third to seventh.
That actually makes it two out of the top five, Isabell and Maria, ambassadors for the Bates Saddle.
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I thought the one hard done by was young Jil-Marielle Becks and her wonderfully elegant Damon’s Satelite (Damon Hill / Rubin-Royal). The chestnut gelding is so lovely forward and crisp, light to the ground, so elegant and correct in his neck, the poll nicely open, the ears pricked. The judges ranked it 8th or 9th, so what do I know…
Jil-Marielle Becks, I loved her test
The top three in the other big class of the day, the Louisdor-Preis for horses aged eight to ten, were all absolute joy to watch.
Lena and Fiderdance
Third was young Lena Waldmann, who is having a super show. This time she was riding Fiderdance (Fidertanz / Don Schufro). The chestnut gets a bit agitated in piaffe but everything else is smooth as silk save a bit of body swing and tail swish in the changes, still so refined, so elegant. They finish on 73.395 in third.
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Soiree d’Amour and Kira
Second place went to the divine Ms Wulferding and her elegant mare, Soiree d’Amour (San Amour / Latimer). A little spook in the canter can’t ruin this exquisite test, especially lovely the passage, piaffe, passage tour. Score – 73.674 – 1st with one, 2nd with another, 3rd with another , 4th with another and 6th with the judge at E, Christoph Umbach who must have been watching quite a different test from the one I saw.
Jessica Bredow-Werndl has long been one of Germany’s leading riders but with the recent meg-success with her mare, Dalera seems to have moved Jessica to another, higher plane with all her horses. This time Jessica is riding Ferdinand BB, out of a Lanciano mare, and by Florencio, and like his dad, he’s a bit high behind, but the work is great. He breaks a couple of times on the trot diagonal but everything else is sweet, so happy to lengthen and relax in the walk, it is such a lovely smooth correct test. First with four and second with one, on a score of 76.488.
Jessica Bredow-Werndl and Ferdinand BB
The Louisdor-Preis is yet another of the wonderful innovations that make Frankfurt Show the place to be in the week before Christmas…
