At the top level of the sport, more and more dressage horses are reaching the heights. Multiple breathtaking performances impressed as the ECCO FEI World Championships got under way with the first day of the Blue Hors Dressage Grand Prix in front of an enthusiastic crowd—though some might say it was too enthusiastic.
The fans in Herning, Denmark, were so into what they were seeing that they couldn’t wait until the final salute from some of the entries they favored. They started clapping for Great Britain’s Gareth Hughes on Classic Briolinca as the Dutchbred mare passaged into what was supposed to be her final halt, but the noise-sensitive 16-year-old got distracted.
Britain’s Gareth Hughes goes down that infamous center line moments before the audience began clapping.
“The poor judge at C just sort of shook his head. There’s nothing you can do,” said the good-natured veteran rider.
“If I have to forgive her for not halting at the end, then I can at least give her that,” he continued, noting she did her tempi changes “like a metronome” and got four 9’s for her second pirouette to receive a score of 75.978 percent that has Britain standing fifth in the team competition with medals awarded tomorrow.
The team standings are a bit deceptive, though, because they are based on the best score from each nation. Only two riders from each four-member team competed this afternoon and evening. (Exceptions are Norway, Australia, Japan, Ireland and New Zealand, with three riders, but they are not in contention for awards.)
Then when it came to Denmark’s own Carina Cassøe Krüth, the spectators really couldn’t control themselves. They loved her black mare, Heiline’s Danciera, and put their palms together loudly in appreciation, but she was able to get 9’s for that difficult final halt.
Her mark of 76.863 percent awarded a lovely passage from the Danish warmblood, though she leaned a bit on her rider’s hand in the piaffe. Denmark is favored to win the gold, and it is third in the team rankings today with Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, a candidate for individual gold, coming on the second day of Grand Prix tomorrow.
The Netherlands’ top rider, Dinja van Liere, stands first and has put her country in the top spot for now with 78.214 percent on Hermes, a Dutchbred stallion who is a willing partner to his rider. He is active without being extreme, and if one wanted to pick something that needed improvement, it was a transition into canter where he pulled his rider into the gait.
She wore a tailcoat in the bright orange that is her country’s traditional color, matched by flags and jackets in the same hue among Dutch partisans in the stands. And I admired the orange stripes at the top of her boots.
“I was very happy but I had my doubts finishing; was it good enough, was it good?” she said after her test.
Dinja van Liere leads the championship for the Netherlands on Hermes.
“But then the audience started clapping and I felt really happy. Hermes gave me a really good feeling, even if I was nervous. He is so talented with piaffe and passage even if we today had a few things that of course can be improved.”
Unlike the case with Classic Briolinca, the applause was a plus for her mount.
“Hermes is a clown. He likes the applause and he knows it’s for him,” said Dinja.
However, it all depends when the applause takes place. Turns out that when he enters the arena, he doesn’t like to hear it.
“But when he finishes, he thinks, `Of course this is for me, because I’m the best!'”
Germany, usually favored to take dressage titles, is without world number one Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl, who is pregnant, but she was ably represented by her brother, Benjamin, on Famoso OLD.
The Oldenburg earned 77.03 percent to put Germany second at this point. While he wasn’t square in his first halt, his rider’s elegant style and the classic frame in which he kept his horse carried him from there and served him well.
Forgive yourself if you’re not familiar with Benjamin. He’s ranked number 117 on the FEI dressage list with Famoso. He was second in the 4-star Grand Prix Special in Aachen and prior to that, he had victories in Hungary, which isn’t part of the 5-star European circuit. But Benjamin upheld the family honor admirably today.
Benjamin Werndl and Famoso Old.
The first German rider into the ring was Ingrid Klimke, a competitor you probably know as an eventer. But the daughter of Reiner Klimke, who dominated the sport in the 1980s, would have made her late father proud. She was marked at 75.683 percent, which was the drop score today. But tomorrow, who knows? The same competence she has shown so often in her other discipline came through today with Franzikus, a personable Hanoverian.
“Sometimes I have been just a passenger, but today, we were really one and I was in the driver’s seat,” beamed Ingrid.
Sweden is fourth, just ahead of Britain, on Juliette Ramel’s 76.164 percent with Buriel KH. I remember how impressed I was with him four years ago when the dressage championships were part of the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, N.C. He has a reputation for running away. It happened at Aachen, where he lost his bridle during the bit check, and in Herning, when he was scared by a lightning storm.
This is the moment at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games when Sweden’s Buriel first caught my eye. (Photo © 2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
Today he was on better behavior, but the clapping got to him and he walked through the final halt. It was what a traffic cop might call a rolling stop.
I can hear you asking, “So what happened to the U.S.?” Let me sum it up this way: It wasn’t a good day.
The U.S. is eighth of 17 teams, although that likely will change tomorrow, when the squad’s top riders appear.
Stephen Peters on Suppenkasper and anchor Adrienne Lyle with Salvino will have to make up for a score of 62.258 percent as Ashley Holzer’s ride, Valentine resisted in piaffe to the point of rearing. She stands last in 43d place.
“She’s never seen a venue like this,” said Ashley, who noted the mare was nervous when she came into the arena.
The problem “totally caught me off guard. She’s never done any antics like this. As disappointed as I am, horses are not machines, she got scared and confused,” Ashley said.
Katie Duerrhammer and Quartett. (U.S. Equestrian/Shannon Brinkman)
On the bright side, Katie Duerrhammer made her championship team debut with Quartett and collected 70.839 percent to stand 11th.
Salvino’s owner Betsy Juliano watching the action in Herning with Adrienne Lyle, Katie Duerrhammer’s trainer, and Debbie McDonald, Adrienne’s mentor.
“I am super proud to be the path-finder for the U.S. team,” she said, noting it is her first championship.
Katie, who is coached by Adrienne Lyle, added, “The arena feels amazing, so beautiful. We really did a solid trot tour; this is where my horse shines. I am from Denver, Colo., in the mountains, so Herning is very different, but I really love the cold here, it is fantastic.”
One of the things I love about championships is seeing horses and riders who haven’t been in the limelight yet.
I really enjoyed the performance of the plucky PRE gray stallion Quincallo de Indalo, ridden by Alejandro Sánchez del Barco of Spain to put his nation sixth on 72.842 percent. He is eighth individually.
The sympatico between horse and rider really stood out, and the stallion was correct in so many ways that his effort was a joy to watch.
Quincallo de Indalo and Alejandro Sánchez del Barco making their mark for Spain.
As I said yesterday, it’s interesting to see how the sport is progressing in countries that one doesn’t usually associate with dressage.
Shruti Vora of India loved being at the championships and stands 37th on Denightron with 64.534 percent.
“I am happy with the horse; he did his best,” she said, noting her stallion is a Danish Warmblood bred in India who came to Denmark for his international debut.
“I trained him from the beginning, and we learned together. And a message for all enthusiastic young riders in India: It takes a lot of sacrifice, but you can do it! I am grateful to all, especially my horse. And coming to Herning is like coming to a horse-Mecca.”
She definitely has the right attitude. I hope she inspires others in her country to give it a try, along with those from other nations outside the discipline’s main stream for the moment.
Link to intermediate individual results
Link to intermediate team results
