Christopher Hector reports
Photos by Jacob Melissen (how good it is to write that again!)
Sönke and Santiano
First out was Sönke Rothenberger on his new Grand Prix ride Santiano R (San Amour / Lord Sinclair), and you realise just how tall Sönke is, the 182 cm gelding looks just about right for the young man. It is lovely clean athletic work in super rhythm. The bay really has a wonderful piaffe and the transitions out are great, although Santiano runs out of puff in the final piaffe on the centre line, 71. 783 is a bit mean, Susan Hoevenaars at C has them on 73 which is more like it.
Edward and Zonic
There is no denying that Edward Gal’s Zonic (Zack / Romanov) is spectacular, but I get the uncomfortable feeling that horses trained in this way are so fixed on the rider, so listening to their aids, that they lose their natural rhythm. The passage and piaffe are impressive but there is no softness, it’s all brittle brilliance, and even that big big canter is a bit flat, and the tendency to come lower in the piaffe in front is really in evidence in the final trip down the centre line. They will finish the class in 5th with 76.587.
This coming lower in front in the piaffe is a common thread in today’s competition, for a discussion of how and why it happens see: http://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2016/01/jeremy-steinberg-telling-it-like-it-is/
Charlotte Fry’s Everdale (Lord Leatherdale / Negro) is a big extravagant mover but he looks tight in front, and he is high behind in the passage and another who is down in front in the piaffes. He gets the ones but it involves a lot of tail swishing and he really doesn’t sit in the pirouettes. Still there is much to admire and they finish in seventh place on 75.696, third with Susan Hoevenaars, but 10th with one of the Dutch judges, Mariette Sanders-van Gansewinkel at E.
Jessica and Zaire-E
Jessica von Bredow-Wendl’s Zaire-E (Son de Niro / Jazz) hasn’t the scope of Jessica’s front liner Dalera, but it is such a sweet, smooth, rhythmic show AND soft through the back, this time the tail sways gently, it does not rotate like a propeller. Take a deep breath and enjoy the picture of a relaxed horse in action, you get the feeling that the forces of Light and lightness are winning, just as I write that the mare does some tense ones, but the pirouettes are lovely and soft and they have a sweet final trip up the centre even if the piaffe is a bit modest. Third with two judges, fourth with another, fifth another, and sixth with the C judge and they finish 4th just in front of Zonik. Score 77.391.
Last year’s Amsterdam champions, Isabell Werth and Weihegold (Don Schufro / Sandro Hit) enter the arena to a round of applause. Extended trot is not the mare’s thing, but it is trot, with the hind legs engaged, not leg flicking trash, super unhurried half passes, the first piaffe / passage tour is fine, but the second is a knock-out, and she saves her best piaffe for a brilliant trip up the centre to C. The crowd roars its approval, Isabell drops the rein, and the mare drops her head and meanders out of the hall. 83.565, can anyone catch them?
Dorothee and Sammy Daivs Jr.
For a while it looks as if her team mate, Dorothee Schneider might do the job on Sammy Davis Jr. (San Remo / Wenckstern). The black gelding is in such a super frame, ridden up in front not jacked up, a beautiful deliberate rhythm, breath-taking half pass, super trot diagonal, instantly, seamlessly into passage, there is a bit of a creep in the piaffe, but wow, look at the transition. This is a wonderful horse in his prime, with a rider who is on the crest of a wave. Expressive ones, then just when you think they might do the unthinkable and go past Weihe, the gelding drops out of the left pirouette. They get it together again but the damage is done, although it appears the judges haven’t liked it half as much as I have. Score 74.891 and into eighth.
Emmelie and Desperado
The black stallion Desperado (Vivaldi / Havidoff) and Emmelie Scholtens are giving it their best shot, I suspect I am very much in the minority but the exaggerated front leg with the hind leg trailing does nothing for me, and I really can’t handle the protesting tail. The passage is spikey, and he is lower in front and swaying in the piaffe, and ever so croup high in the changes. The pirouettes are wonderful. Third with two, fourth with two, and my fellow aussie at C seems to agree with me, Susan has them seventh. 77.87 is enough for them to slip into third, just in front of Jessica and Zaire-E.
Damsey FRH (Dressage Royal / Ritual) is eighteen years old and you wonder, does he really need to keep doing this? Still the work is fine although he is doing something a bit weird with his off hind in the passage and it really falls apart just before the final halt. Sixth, seventh, fourth and fifth with two for a 76.413 and sixth place.
There’s still one to go, Charlotte Dujardin and Freestyle (Fidermark / Donnerhall). Charlotte seems to have found her sweet spot again, riding softer like she used to with Valegro, the half passes are scintillating and the hind legs are catching up with the front ones in the big trots. There a couple of false steps in the piaffe, with the right hind seeming to collapse at the fetlock, the passage is truly great, as is the canter. The ones are really big. There’s a little tangle at the end of the left pirouette and Charlotte plays it safer and wider on the right one, another huge trot and a fine centre line, enough? Not quite, they finish second (first with one judge, Mariette Sanders-van Gansewinkel, second with the other four) on a score of 81.957 and Isabell and Weihe have done it again. In fact if they can take out the freestyle tomorrow they will have done it FOUR years in a row at Amsterdam – still I guess Charlotte might have something to say about that…
Watch this space.
check out all our stories from Amsterdam
Sönke Rothenberger – on his new horse, and Cosmo’s campaign for Tokyo
Charlotte on disqualification, on coming back and Freestyle’s future