Nanna Merrald og Blue Hors Don Olymbrio leverede her til aften en super tur i Grand Prix freestyle, ved World Cup stævnet i Stuttgart. Ridtet blev af dommerne belønnet med 82,965%. Alle dommere havde den tekniske del af bedømmelsen mellem 88 og 90%.
Andreas og Wendy
Den anden danske ekvipage i dagens Freestyle, Andereas Helgstrand og Queenparks Wendy sluttede som nummer 6, i et stærkt felt, med 79,560%.
Werth med endnu en sejr
Tyske Isabel Werth sejrede i Freestyle, ligesom hun gjorde i gårsdagens Grand Prix, med Emilio til hjemmebane publikummet i Stuttgarts store fornøjelse. 86,880% blev dagens ridt belønnet med.
Frem mod OL i Paris 2024, tegner det særdeles godt for Nanna Merrald, der hare hele 3 Grand Prix heste på absolutte top niveau, Blue Hors St. Schufro, hendes EM makker Blue Hors Zepter og Blue Hors Don Olymbrio.
Grand Prix klassen er netop afviklet ved FEI World Cup stævnet i franske Lyon. Her var Nanna Merrald og Blue Hors St. Schufro som eneste danske ekvipage til start.
Flot program i stærkt felt
Nanna og den smukke sorte hingst St. Schufro red idag et flot afbalanceret program, der af dommerne blev belønnet med 74,044% der gav dem en plads i toppen af klassen. Det danske par, blev kun overgået af tyske frederic Wandres og Bluetooth OLD, der sejrede med 77,043%. tredjepladsen gik idag til hollandske Emmelie Scholtens og Indian Rock med 73,304%.
Imorgen fredag, går det løs med FEI World Cup Kür i Lyon, hvor du igen kan følge Nanna og St. Schufro LIVE på www.clipmyhorse.tv. Klassen starter kl. 16:20.
FEIs verdensrangliste i dressur er opdateret med udgangen af oktober, og der er nu hele 7 danske ryttere i top 50, hvilket er særdeles positivt frem imod 2024, hvor der afholdes OL i Paris.
2 ryttere i top 10
Nanna Merrald holder sin flotte 3. plads på listen, og er kun overgået af nummer 1, tyske Jessica von Bredow Werndl og nummer 2 Engelske Charlotte Fry. Carina Cassøe Krüth er den anden danske rytter i top 10, selvom hun i denne omgang er faldet to pladser på listen, fra nummer 6 til nuværende nummer 8.
Flere danske ryttere på listen
De resterende 5 danske ryttere på top 50 listen er:
Nummer 11: Andreas Helgstrand (tidligere 11) Nummer 16: Daniel Bachmann Andersen (tidligere 13) Nummer 26: Lone Bang Zindorff (tidligere 46) Nummer 32: Anna Zibrandtsen (tidligere 55) Nummer 40: Anna Kasprzak (tidligere 36)
”Det er den bedste runde vi har haft hidtil,” indleder svenske Patrik Kittel efter sit ridt på Bohemian e. Bordeaux/Samarant, der tidligere har været redet af danske Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour i international topsport. Cathrine vandt World Cup kvalifikationen i Danmark i 2019 og 2020 netop på Bohemian, og Patrik har blot siddet på Bohemian i 2 måneder.
”Det er altid svært at overtage en hest fra en fantastisk rytter som Cathrine, og folk er hurtige til at brokke sig (over hvordan det går), men man skal huske på, jeg har kun haft ham i 2 måneder. Hun har haft ham siden han var ung,” indleder Patrik med et smil, og han fortsætter: ”Man må tage tiden til at lære hinanden at kende, og vokse sammen, men efter nu tre starter på ham er dagens ridt den absolut bedste runde, jeg har redet indtil nu”.
”Kan jeg fortsætte i denne stil, kommer han helt sikket til at få vældig flere og højere points. Jeg er mega fornøjet med ham, det er en fantastisk fin hest. Han veluddannet, rar og frem for alt utrolig sjov at ride, om det er hjemme i træning, i skoven – overalt.”
Patrik Kittels ridt på Bohemian blev fulgt af taktfaste klapsalver fra de mange tilskuere i Boxen. Foto: World Cup Herning
Cool at ride i Boxen
”Jeg elsker Boxen,” siger Patrik med eftertryk, det er cool at ride her! ”Publikum er altid fantastiske her, og så er speakeren virkelig herlig. Jeg nyder altid at ride i Danmark, og mærke også meget opbakning her. Så vi er top, top lykkelige, og nu er første start klaret, så er det næste som gælder – World Cup!” slutter Patrik Kittel.
Patrik Kittel kommer til start kl. 15.12 i FEI Dressage World Cup Grand Prix presented by Blue Hors med Touchdown e. Quaterback/Sack
To safeguard the welfare for the horses there is not only one, but two horse inspection at the World Championships in jumping – and today, the second took place ahead of tomorrow’s individual final.
Unfortunately for Yuri Mansur from Brazil his horse, the 15-years-old QH Alfons Santo Antonio by Aromats, did not pass. It means that he will not participate in tomorrow’s final. After yesterday’s round Mansur was placed 7, with a medal within range as he was placed with only 5.65 faults, while the 3rd best rider is placed with 3.35 faults.
The other 21 horses shown at today’s inspection passed and is therefore ready for the final tomorrow at 14.00.
In the lead is Swedish Henrik von Eckermann with King Edward by Edward with only 0.58 faults. He is sharply followed by his teammate Jens Fredricson with Markan Cosmopolit by Cohiba 1198 with 2.71 faults. Third best is Belgian Jérôme Guery with Quel Homme de Hus by Quidam de Revel.
Late night riding here in Herning and an amazing ending in the Agria FEI World Jumping Championship presented by Helgstrand for teams. The Swedish team secured the gold medal even before their last rider was going into the arena, so it was a safe spot for the anchor Peder Fredricson riding in Stutteri Ask Stadium tonight. He got 12 faults, but even if his result would have counted, it would have been a win for Sweden – and that says a lot – they were out of reach today. Adding the World Championship gold medal to last year’s gold medal from Olympics in Tokyo.
“This week went fantastic for us so far. A championship is always a roller-coaster, it goes up and down, and you are counting the faults, but I think even with Peder’s score we would have won, so I cannot complain”, the Swedish Chef d’Equipe Henrik Ankarcrona said. Besides Peder Fredricson, the Swedish team was Henrik von Eckermann, Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Jens Fredricson.
Second today was the Dutch team, who made their way to the podium with four good rounds today. Jos Lansink, who trains the Dutch team was really happy with today.
“I am very happy. When we were halfway through today, we thought that the qualifier for Paris was very far away, but after Jur’s round with 2 time faults, it looked better again and then when Harrie did a fantastic clear we had a chance to get a medal. That we finished second was a nice bonus”, he said. The top-5 from the team competition secured their spot for Paris. The Dutch team was Sanne Thijssen, Maiken van der Vleuten, Jur Vrieling and Harrie Smolders.
Third and thus bronze winners were the British team with 2 experienced riders and 2 younger riders participating. Ben Maher delivered 3-top performances so far, 22-years-old Joseph Stockdale finished off with a great round, 23-years-old Harry Charles did an amazing clear today and Scott Brash supported the team with amazing rounds both at day one and two. The British went all the way from a 6th place to the podium with their rounds today.
The Swedes ended with a score of 7.69 faults, the Dutch with 19.31 and the British with 22.66 faults after 3 rounds counting in the team championship. Getting a spot for Paris was beside the 3 medal takers Ireland and Germany.
In the individual championship it is also looking really good for Sweden, who sits on the two best positions going into the Agria Super Sunday, where the individual final will take place. It is Henrik von Eckermann with King Edward by Edward in the lead with only 0.58 faults in total. He is followed by his teammate Jens Fredricson and Markan Cosmopolit by Cohiba 1198 with 2.71 faults.
“It was amazing winning today, really good. My horse jumped amazing again today and I am looking forward to Sunday. The Swedish supporters are always amazing, we have a fantastic crowd with us”, Henrik von Eckermann said today.
In third position, going to the individual final is Belgian Jérôme Guery with the beautiful stallion Quel Homme de Hus by Quidam de Revel. He has 3.35 faults with him.
The top-5 individually is only separated with the faults equivalent 2 once fence down, so if the Swedes want to make sure to stay in top, they need to keep jumping high and deliver clear rounds. 25 riders are going into the individual final, and the currently number 25 has 11.38 faults, so it is so close. If a rider from the top-25 decides to not participate in the final the next rider in the ranking will be asked.
Lots of people were looking forward to watching Ben Maher in action with his super horse Explosion W by Chacco-Blue, who he won Olympic gold last year. A few days ahead of Herning2022, the British rider had to face the fact that Explosion was not ready.
“Explosion was not at his peak fitness, which it demands to ride a big championship, and therefore it was a last-minute decision to bring Faltic to Herning”, Maher says. Therefore, the 12-year-old Faltic HB by Baltic VDL is the one competing with the British rider here in Herning.
Even though it was Ben’s second choice, it turns out to be a great choice, because Faltic and Maher are among the best in the championship so far. The combination is after the first 2 rounds placed preliminary as number 6 individually, only 1.76 faults behind the leading combination from France.
“My horse jumped even better today. He gains confidence the more times he jumps in the same arena. Yesterday was a perfect round but a bit rushed, today we could ride like I wanted to. It was a difficult, but good course”, Maher said after his ride yesterday.
Later today, the British rider will compete along with 63 riders. At 21.00 CET it is time for the team final. The team final will also decide which 25 riders will get a spot in the individual final at Agria Super Sunday. The British team is preliminary placed number 6, but only once fence separates them from the 3rd best nation. A medal is just within reach for Maher both in the team competition and in the individual ranking.
“Even though the timing compared to the world championships Isn’t optimal, I’m incredibly excited,” Werndl told Dressursport Deutschland when she announced her pregnancy earlier this year.
While the competitions at the World Championships in Herning these days attract spectators and riders from all over the world – including Jessica’s brother Benjamin Werndl, who did very well in dressage – Jessica has had plenty to do at home.
She just announced that she has become a mother of a girl on Thursday morning.
“I just had time to watch Benjamin’s ride here at home, but pretty soon after that, things started happening,” she tells her many followers on Instagram.
There would not be World Championships in Herning without the volunteers. There are many tasks to solve, and the volunteers are ready. They are checking tickets; they collect quotes for the press from the riders and everything in between.
Herning2022’s mascot Henri has named the volunteer group, Henri’s Heroes, and together with his friend Hugo he gathered a big part of the group for a team photo.
The prize podium once again filled up with new rising stars on young extremely talented horses. The future of dressage looks bright as both riders and horses are very gifted for the sport of dressage. Gold to British rider Charlotte Fry, silver to home rider Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and bronze yet again to Dinja van Liere from the Netherlands.
Dressage supernovas danced under the full moon in floodlight in the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle Championship Wednesday evening. A clear sky and a warm summer breeze filled Stutteri Ask Stadium with expectations right from the start. Close to 10,000 spectators listened and watched fifteen combinations do a dressage dance to tunes of their own choosing. And the crowd was on fire right from the start, their support would lift up a number of combinations but also prove to be too much of a challenge for a chosen few.
Many riders performed at their very best level during the last class in dressage of ECCO FEI World Championship in Herning. In total 13 out of 15 combinations scored over 80 percent and that speaks volumes about the quality of the whole class.
Swedish rider Patrik Kittel and Danish Daniel Bachmann Andersen took their 10-year-old horses to new heights finishing on 7th and 8th place respectively. They even overtook Isabell Werth on DSP Quantaz performing to classic pop tunes, doing a piaffe pirouette to “It’s a heartache” by Bonnie Tyler and finishing om 10th place.
Adrienne Lyle and stallion Salvino looked sharper and sharper day by day and really rocked the Stutteri Ask Stadium enjoying the interaction with the crowd. Gareth Hughes made his best ride to date with Classic Briolinca and finished 5th in the freestyle, his best placing as an individual.
Benjamin Werndl has gained a lot of praise for his smooth harmonious riding and even if he ended up in what some refer to as the worst placing, being number 4, he and Famoso have enjoyed their first taste of senior championships and will aim for more.
Gold medallist Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale rode to a very crowd-pleasing potpourri of pop songs, rocking every step down the centre line. The black stallion has a canter with immense lift and airtime, showing off in extensions and tempi changes as well as piaffe and passage and trot extension – the list of quality movement never end. The judged rewarded their ride with 90.654 percent.
Dinja van Liere and Hermés were performing to the cheer of the crowd and the stallion was coping like a really experienced dressage horse showing of his talent and quality gaits. When reaching the finishing line, Dinja threw her fist in the air; We really did it. With 86,90 percent it was enough for yet another bronze medal.
Last to go was Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and her lovely pocket rocket Vamos Amigos. They rode their floorplan with really high difficulty to the theme from Les Misérables and showed their fluency, softness and perfect collection in movement by movement. The audience followed her last lines with rhythmic applause and if there had been a roof on the Stutteri Ask Stadium by her graceful last halt – it would have blown right off. A good ride, nearly perfect, 89.411 percent and a silver medal to bring home.
A supernova has risen in the sky in Herning, her name is Charlotte Fry and her steed is a black stallion named Glamourdale.
103 riders from 35 different nations and 22 team-nations started in the first competition of the championships, and what a competition. All the riders really did all they could to deliver a great round, and the reigning Olympic champions from Sweden ended doing best. With Henrik von Eckermann and Peder Fredricson delivering perfect clear rounds, and with Jens Fredricsons round added from the first part of the competition the Swedes once again manage to ride into the top of a championship.
“It was a really great start for the team, and we are in the lead position after today, but it is a long week so we will take one day at a time”, said Peder Fredricson, who is individual placed preliminary as number 4. The Swedes are for sure a top showjumping nation with a gold medal from Tokyo last year, a silver medal from the last world championships and lots of great results both individual and for teams.
It is also looking really good for the French team who is just behind the Swedes. Even though Kevin Staut was unlucky to fall of his horse during his ride, the team result ended up well. Just behind the French team we find Belgium, a very strong team where all four riders delivered almost perfect rounds today.
“I made my own plan since my horse has small strides, but today she had bigger strides than normal, so we went as fast as possible without going crazy fast”, Nicola Philippaerts said after his ride. He is the best placed Belgian rider after today, as number 7.
A Frenchman in the lead individually
It was not only the team results the riders were riding for today, because the competition is also a part of the individual championship. It was French Julien Epaillard who was the fastest today. With his horse Caracole de la Roque by Zandor Z he managed to stop the time at 79.08 seconds, just a bit faster than Scott Brash preliminary placed second and Martin Fuchs preliminary placed third.
“I had a good start and my horses felt super today. We had planned and I followed the plan, and my horse jumps everything with great scope. Sometimes she reacts to the audience, but she was felling super today”, Julien said after his ride.
British Scott Brash was also superfast today with his amazing gelding Hello Jefferson, who he finished 7 on at the Olympics last year. They were less than half a second below Epaillard and is therefore bringing only 0.23 faults into tomorrow’s competition. Within the fault-difference of one fence, 37 riders are placed, so everything can happen in the individual championship as well.
Emil Hallundbæk with Chalisco. Photo: Herning2022/Stefan Lafrentz
Home nation rode for a good start
It started out looking good for the home team starting with two clear rounds delivered by Lars Bak Andersen and Emil Hallundbæk. Unfortunately, Linnnea Ericsson-Carey had problems with the open water, and Andreas Schou had unluckily two fences down after such a great try around the course. The home nation is placed as number 16, but everything is open until after tomorrow, where we know for a fact if the home nation will get a spot in the top-10 final Friday. Emil Hallundbæk is best placed home rider with only 3.13 faults from today’s competition.
Lovely course
The course designer, Dutch Louis Konickx and his team of assistants, including the Dutch Quintin Maertens, did a great job building todays course. During the course, the riders had to jump three doubles, but no triple, as we often see in the championship courses. It was designed to make the riders ride forward and turn, exactly like a speed competition should work out. A lot of the riders gave their compliments for the building.
“It is a beautiful arena, and it was a great course today. The course designer did such a good job”, Brazil’s Pedro Veniss told today after finishing of a fast round with one rail down.
Tomorrow the team championships as well as the individual championship continuous. It is tomorrow we will find out which nations there will participate in the team final on Friday, which is open for the top-10 placed nations after tomorrow.
After two days with Horse Inspections and familiarisation, today it was finally time for the first Para Dressage competitions and medals at the ECCO FEI World Championships.
Grade I – the DJ took a historic gold medal for Latvia
Rihards Snikus rode a flawless test in front of enthusiastic fans cheering on after his test. He is a DJ in his civilian life and rode his King of Dance to an amazing score of 78.535 percent in a really tight battle, only separated by few points, with Italy’s star rider Sara Morganti on Royal Delight. The bronze was a dream come true for Irish rider Michael Murphy, coming out of the arena very pleased with his Cleverboy, doing good on his name.
The competition had ten riders over 70 percent, so it was a really competitive grade and class under blazing sun at the beautiful BB Arena where spectators were flowing in and out of the stands during the day.
Grade I
Orifarm Healthcare FEI World Para Dressage Individual Championship presented by Elsass Fonden
Prize podium with medals
Gold Rihards Snikus (LAT) with King of the Dance 14-year-old gelding by Kadius LS, 78.535 %
Silver Sara Morganti (ITA) with Royal Delight 17-year-old gelding by Royaldik, 78.393 %
Bronze Michael Murphy (IRL) with Cleverboy 15-year-old gelding by Vivaldi, 74.143 %
Judges presiding in Individual program for Grade I E – Katherine Lucheschi (ITA)
Several really experienced combinations entered in Grade II, and it was an extremely narrow battle for the top placings as less than one percent separated a bronze from a gold. Danish hope Katrine Kristiansen made all the wishes for a medal to the hosting nation come true.
Highly experienced and skilled multi medalist Pepo Puch from Austria took the lead with a good performance scoring over 75 percent. He was followed by fellow fierce competitor since many years Lee Pearson who really tried his heart out and nearly succeeded, just fractions behind in the scores.
The two seniors had to stand aside as Katrine Kristiansen put in a superb ride and overtook the lead. Pepo Puch said it all; “We need this fierce competition, it is sport”.
Grade II
Orifarm Healthcare FEI World Para Dressage Individual Championship presented by Elsass Fonden
Prize podium with medals
Gold Katrine Kristensen (DEN) with Goerklintgaards Quater 14-year-old gelding by Quaterback, 75.788 %
Silver Pepo Puch (AUT) with Sailor’s Blue 14-year-old gelding by Swarovski, 75.333 %
Bronze Lee Pearson (GBR) with Breezer 11-year-old gelding by Bacardi, 75.091 %
Judges presiding in Individual program for Grade II E: John Robinson (GBR)
Gold and silver went then Netherlands with multi-champion Sanne Voets on top position and championship debutante Demi Haerkens as runner-up. Rodolpho Riskalla from Brazil was really eager to bring a medal home for his championship hero of a horse Don Henrico as this will be a very emotional last championship for the dynamic duo.
The medalists performed fluent flawless tests with really good scores from the five judges, showing high-lever performances. In the grade some exciting new horses were presented by skilled riders and the coming days will be exciting for the team and individual competition.
Grade IV
Orifarm Healthcare FEI World Para Dressage Individual Championship presented by Elsass Fonden
Prize podium with medals
Gold Sanne Voets (NED) with Demantur RS2 N.O.P. 14-year-old gelding by Vivaldi, 76.750 %
Silver Demi Haerkens (NED) with EHL Daula 14-year-old mare by Gribaldi, 76.000 %
Bronze Don Henrico (BRA) with 19-year-old stallion by Don Frederico, 74.925 %
Judges presiding in Individual program for Grade IV E – Kjell Myhre (NOR)
