Pity about the judging!
An on-the-spot report from Christopher Hector
Photos from DigiShots
Taminiau © DigiShots
The first horse out in the World Cup Grand Prix was the ten-year-old Taminiau, Toto Jr’s first Grand Prix representative (out of a mare by Sandro Hit). The black stallion is a wonderful type, unlike his dad who is a bit ponyish (but proving an excellent sire for all that) and Hans Peter Minderhoud who is riding more quietly and tactfully these days. There’s lots to like about the test, the final centre line is super and when Hapi drops the rein at the end of the test, Taminiau strolls out cool as. Score 72.565 and the combination remains at the top of the leaderboard even after a score of much more experienced campaigners have done their thing.
Don Olymbrio © DigiShots
I confess to loving Don Olymbrio (Jazz / Ferro) he has that ‘look at me’ special presence, and it’s not just all those flashy white bits. The seventeen-year-old stallion is so soft through the body, and so with his rider, Nanna Skodborg Merrald. The curb rein is loose so the bit sitting correctly, and he extends through his whole body, not just those flashy front paws – bigger not faster. He gets a bit agitated in the final piaffe, and he pays the penalty of going third in the draw with a way mean 74.37. Still it’s enough to take the lead and stay there for a long long time.
He’s a horse that gets me thinking about just what is that special magic – a combination of power and grace that makes some horses grab the limelight, perhaps being a stallion helps.
Interestingly the next two into the ring are by Charmeur (Florencio / Jazz) who looked sensational at the 2010 licensing, but who proved a bit of a handful as a competitor. Madeleine Witte-Vrees finally got him into Grand Prix, but his highest score in nine outings that made it to the FEI database was 69%. The two at Amsterdam were both geldings and were calmer than their dad but no stars…
Johnson (Jazz / Flemmingh) is another who seems to produce better geldings than stallions. Dinja van Liere’s Heartsuijker, (out of a Scandic mare) is a wonderful type, the chestnut has an abundance of power in the trot, a huge unhurried diagonal, a little agitated in the piaffe, but he keeps the rhythm. The canter really covers ground and a 73.652 has him sitting just behind Don Olymbrio, at least until the big kids come out to play in the final stages of the class.
Isabell Werth’s Quantaz (Quaterback / Hohenstein) is going great guns at the moment, but does the rather plain, chunky brown gelding have the magic? He has certainly got the strength, and the work is oh so correct, no surprise with Isabell in the saddle. He is superbly educated but just a tech boring. 74.109, and Nanna holds her place at the top for now.
Glamourdale © DigiShots
There is nothing boring about Glamourdale (Lord Leatherdale / Negro), the black stallion is an excitement machine, and his rider Charlotte Fry is not afraid to take a risk, there’s a few little mistakes and a biggish whoopsy on the final centre line but there is no denying the magic and the judges fall under the spell. 79.5 to take the lead.
Jagerbomb © DigiShots
Becky Moody’s Jagerbomb (Dante Weltino / Jazz) is plain bay gelding, but perhaps we might remember another plainish gelding, Valegro who with Charlotte Dujardin gave us some of the truly great moments in dressage (get lost Facebook Trolls who will get agitated at any favorable mention of one of the great riders of our time). Jagerbomb is another marvel of training, though you can see why Becky, whose family bred him, almost sold him as a youngster because he didn’t show that flash movement. Okay it might lack that special something, but sit back and enjoy and marvel at the purity of the training. 77.087, up to second, with only Ingrid Klimke and Vayron (Vitalis / Gloster) to come.
I’m a bit conflicted at this point since Ingrid and Daniel Bachman Andersen are two of my very favorite riders, and I was sad when the owners took Vayron away from Daniel. The line that they were patriotic Germans looked a bit thin after it was revealed that the stable switch only happened after a deal to send the stallion to America fell through, still Ingrid is not to blame and they join a legion of owners who have done riders wrong.
The big bay has a degree of elasticity that Franziskus never possessed and Ingrid has him motoring in a fabulous impulsive trot. Okay he might not have as grand a canter as Glamourdale (who has?) and he gets a bit untidy in the piaffe passage tour, though the final passage is really great.
Vayron © DigiShots
A score of 73.326 and Vayron finishes sixth, though the scores were so close (in the top ten there were two 74s and two 73s) that the placings were a bit of a lottery.
Last year the judging here was a disgrace, this year it was just timid. For all that, sit back and look at that top ten and you will see that we were lucky enough to enjoy some wonderful dressage…
https://www.longinestiming.com/equestrian/2025/jumping-amsterdam-amsterdam/resultlist_D01.html
Great stuff by all, but it is sad when judges mark on who the horses and riders are rather than what they can do in any given moment ( or test). However this happens to all celebrities whether two or four legged.