The Dutch dressage team was victorious at that nation’s 5-star home show in Rotterdam, enjoying a margin of more than two percentage points over Denmark. Led by Dinja van Liere with the best score of the class on Hermes N.O.P. (77.8910), the Dutch earned a total of 222.392. They had supporting performances rom Edward Gal on Glock’s Total U.S. (73.196) and Emmelie Scholtens aboard Indian Rock (71.305). Edward’s horse is a son of his most famous mount, the sensational Totilas.
Dinja van Liere on Hermes N.O.P. (FEI Photo)
The Danes’ score was 220.349 to 219.435 for Germany. Isabell Werth enjoyed the top finish for the latter, earning 76.935 on Wendy de Fontaine, back from a small injury. The horse previously was ridden by Andreas Helgstrand of Denmark, who handed her over after he was barred from his country’s Olympic team following a scandal involving undercover TV coverage of training techniques at his stables.
The U.S. total of 194.848 included a disappointing mark of 59.044 from Ashley Holzer and Hansel, who had big resistance in the first piaffe, and fell out of the canter in their second pirouette. The horse’s tense state was reflected in his busy mouth.
They were a last-minute addition to the list of horse/rider combinations being considered for the U.S. Olympic team. That squad will be named next week after other contenders ride at Schafhofs dressage festival in Germany. Steffen Peters, who has led the standings from the start, is skipping that observation event and riding as an individual at Aachen next month.
At Rotterdam, Katherine Bateson Chandler on Dinja’s former ride, Haute Couture, had a score of 67.848 percent. The best of the U.S. contingent was Kevin Kohmann, who made his World Cup Finals debut in April but was not named as a contender for the Olympic team. His mark was 67.956 on Duenensee. The U.S. could not take advantage of a drop score because the team had only three members.
There apparently is a real homeside advantage at the venue. The Dutch have won four out of five of the last Nations Cups in Rotterdam, and lost only three times in the last 11 years.
Dutch chef d’equipe Patrick van der Meer commented about his team’s performance, “It’s always nice to win, but to win here in Rotterdam is very special. It was really nice. We also had some tests with some unexpected results. There were some mistakes, there was some tension, but at the end, especially Dinja—she lifted us all up. We won, and that’s super.”
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