with Rebecca Ashton
It was a roller coaster of a Championships. There were the lows of Charlotte Dujardin being disqualified after the Grand Prix for blood but the highs were aplenty with so many personal bests, the standard of dressage continuing to go through the roof. It’s not enough to aim for 80% anymore if you want to be on the podium. The pressure is intense in the top sport at the moment, but these talented athletes keep climbing the heights and hitting new highs. Germany ruled supreme taking out the teams competition and the three women on the team taking the top spots in the music all with personal bests.
Bella – mistress of the piaffe / passage tour…
Isabell Werth was just so proud of her amazing mare, Bella Rose. All week, their tests were a lesson in piaffe/passage. The pair received 74 10s in their Special with Isabell commenting that the mare deserved every point. It’s a real privilege being a photographer and having the great mare piaffe two meters form you in the prize giving. Talk about goosebumps! It’s a real credit to Isabell that Bella remains just so chilled in the medal ceremony enabling Isabell to play to the crowd and make it something really special. Who says dressage is all serious?
The pair won all three tests with personal bests (GP: 85.652%, Special: 86.52%, Kur: 90.875%) and Isabell now has 24 European medals in her cabinet. “It was a great atmosphere. It was a very long week with different weather. I’m so happy and so proud of Bella. In all three competitions she gave me her best. We had tough competition and I think it was super for the sport. We had such exciting performances. I know today in the kur I had a few little things to improve but there were so many highlights and the final centreline and the crowd clapping…I’m just so happy.”
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Dorothee and Showtime, on song…
Dorothee Scheider and Showtime have really hit their stride. After a couple of years battling injury, the 13 year old Sandro Hit gelding was back in full competition mode from the start of the year and they have become such an exciting combination who are really keeping Isabell on her toes. Again a show of personal bests saw Dorothee become only the 6th rider in history to score over 90% with her silver medal winning kur.
After the Grand Prix Special, the German said, “This is the greatest day of my life because I have such an amazing horse. It’s the first individual medal in my life. I was flying over the ground in the test. I had a little mistake in the ones because I lost my stirrup, but he came back and concentrated. We’ve been together ten years. It’s quite emotional after bringing him back to the top sport (after injury).”
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Jessica and Dalero – the ups and downs of dressage…
Fellow German team member Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl with her 12 year old mare Dalera BB really experienced how tough the sport can be. After a miscommunication in the Grand Prix when the mare lost concentration when needing to go to the toilet in the trot half pass, Jessica was crying tears of shock. However, being one of the best riders in the world meant she went away, had a good think about things and went from strength to strength as the show continued culminating in a personal best and bronze in the final test with a score of 89.107%.
Jessica reflected, “After this week, nothing surprises me anymore. It was the most exhausting week ever in terms of my emotions. Dalera was extraordinarily good today. She was a bit nervous before, I was a bit nervous, so I took some deep breaths. It was like a phenomenal dance.”
Dressage in a downpour – Cathrin and Cassidy
Denmark’s Cathrin Dufour also experienced the ups and downs of the sport. The weather gods were against her in the Grand Prix when the heavens opened up and it absolutely poured. She miraculously produced a super test, but not her best. After her bronze medal winning Special she said, “I’m just really proud of Cassidy, I could go home today. The first test he was really, really amazing. The weather, that’s just the sport and we’re working in details really so it matters. My reins were getting a little bit slippery so I was holding them too tight. It was not like they were sliding but I was too strong. But the Special with no mistakes, it was really, really nice and super emotional. It was not expected (Cathrine had already gone back to the stable and was taking Cassidy’s braids out). You know he’s sixteen years old now, so it’s amazing making a personal best after missing the World Equestrian Games. We’ve just spent the last season really building him up.”
Although she was a little disappointed with her Grand Prix score in terms of the teams, Denmark still managed to secure one of three final coveted spots for Tokyo.
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Portugal qualifies for Tokyo – Joao Miguel Torrao and Equador, and
another Lusitano – Maria Caetano and Coroado
The other two team spots went to Portugal (who qualified with four Lusitanos) and Ireland. Leading Irish rider Judy Reynolds had a sensational show with her 17 year old Vancouver K. “I don’t think I’ll have another week like it. When I saw who was coming this week, I was looking to just make the freestyle.”
Judy and Vancouver… a first for Ireland
But Judy surpassed all her expectations with two fifth places, one in the Special and one in the kur on personal bests and Irish records. It will be the first time in history that Ireland will send a full team to the Olympics. “It feels serial that we actually achieved that with the team. It’s come together really in the space of a year. The horses belonging to Heike (Holstein) and Anna (Merveldt) are really in their first year of Grand Prix, so that’s really amazing. It was Kate’s (Dwyer) first championship too.”
And of her own gelding? “He is just incredible. His will to go and his will to work is just phenomenal. It’s kind of now that he’s reached a maturity level that his brain and his body can deal with it. He’s Jazz/Ferro so that’s pretty tricky combination, but it also makes for tough horses. We did have a year out through injury when he was 15-16 and we thought that was a bit old for a horse to have an injury to come back from. He literally injured himself four days before the last Europeans. But he came back better. I don’t know why, maybe it was a blessing in disguise that he had the time off. He’s just one of these horses, as long as his body stays healthy, his brain and his will are there.”
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Eliminated – Charlotte and Freestyle
Team GB had a championships of super highs and the lowest lows. Team golden girl Charlotte Dujardin on the mare Mount St John Freestyle were hit with elimination after blood was present on the horse’s left side at the steward’s check after their Grand Prix test meaning the team missed out on a medal, finishing fourth rather than second (Charlotte had scored 81.91% in her test), team members Charlotte Fry and Gareth Hughes had great shows. It was Lottie’s first championships and she didn’t disappoint under pressure with her ride Dark Legend.
Lottie and Dark Legend…
Gareth Hughes’mare Classic Briolinca was a real standout and really proved herself in a tough environment. Gareth praised the mare, which his wife found as a three year old in the Nertherlands, “The last time she did music, she didn’t halt, she didn’t walk. There is so much noise in there today and it’s really hot and everyone’s fanning themselves so there’s lots of movement, a lot going on. She got a little strong on me which pushed us a little down but I thought we could pick up marks on her strengths; pirouettes, passage and I just wanted to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes and save the walk. It’s certainly not her strong point but she walked, we got all our changes, we rode all our lines.”
Gareth and Classic Briolinca
“I did have another kur and before I came here I thought I’m going to stick with the easy one because of what could happen. Through this week I thought damn I wished I’d picked the harder one but now I’m glad I did the easier one because it was really tough in there. But if they can cope with that, they can cope with anything. Even today, I could feel in the walk she so wanted to jog. Ok the walk wasn’t great, but she did it. That’s when you know you’ve got them on side. She really tried. She dropped off my hand a bit when I came into the changes, but she didn’t make a mistake. That’s what you need. You need one that’s going to fight for you. She’s a real babe. And she’s got some real highlights and she’s getting stronger and stronger. We will aim for Tokyo. She’s proved what she’s like in a championship environment. She’s come here, I’ve got a PB in the Grand Prix, the Special and the Kur. The support team has been amazing, the owners, everybody has been amazing.”
Carl Hester and Hawkins Delicato
Team stalwart Carl Hester didn’t have quite as good a time of it when his inexperienced Hawtins Delicato just didn’t want to play ball in the kur. “He already felt a bit crispy going around the edge and must have thought hang on a minute, this crowd has swelled a bit. And the trouble was I had put a bit of difficulty in the test and being unridable and trying to do difficult things made him worse. So, fair enough. But you can’t suddenly change your mind in there and think I should have done an easier programme, because he’s been so good all week so I was stuck with what I came with. I just couldn’t believe everything I tried he said I’m not doing it like that, I’m doing it like this. Disappointed? Of course I’m disappointed but at least it’s personal, it’s the kur. I’m not that fussed about it right now. I’ve got the Grand Prix and the Special to deal with. That’s my priority. I might go and do some World Cups, get him used to things, but he’s young. Not everything goes to plan as we know. Going along with the week we’ve had, I’m not really surprised, and I’m not really that bothered. Nothing could be worse than what it was at the start of the week. My horse was really hot and unrideable. Big deal. At least he still piaffed really well where as before when he was nervous he would freak out.”
However, the Brit is very excited for the team going into an Olympic year, “From a team point of view it’s been a brilliant week, discarding the fact that we didn’t get a medal. It’s been an exciting week with Lottie and Gareth contributing such huge scores for the team. That has to be the most exciting thing about the week and the fact that we would have been a very easy silver and not that far off the gold. And the low obviously what happened to Charlotte and my little setback in the kur! With the Olympics, you’ve got to have four great horses and riders and that’s the best thing about this week. We have four great horses and riders and they all came together this week at a championships. It’s a positive.”
Who said dressage was boring? This week proved not only that anything can happen, but the sport is pushing new highs. When 80% was the aim score for a medal, in the Grand Prix you’d have to say it’s now 85% and 90% for the music. The Europeans proved a good test of emotional strength of the riders and whether the combinations can handle the hot weather and big environment, which it will doubtless be in Tokyo. Add the American team to the mix and you won’t want to miss the Games next year.
