Dufour og unge Vividus QRE på blot 8 år, sejrede i begge afdelinger af touren, hvilket tydeligt rørte Cathrine, der ikke har været med i topsporten siden Vamos Amigos rejste hjem til familien Pidgley efter VM i Herning 2022.
Unge håb til fremtidens store sport
Det var ikke kun Cathrine der medbragte en særdeles spændende ung Grand Prix hest, der forhåbentlig kan sikre hende en plads på holdet, når Danmark i fremtiden skal ride om store mesterskabstitler.
Nanna Merrald fremviste 10årige Blue Hors Zack afkommet, Blue Hors Znickers, der i første afdeling af touren blev nummer 3, mens hun i anden afdeling blev nummer 2. Også en virkelig lovende hest for Nanna i fremtiden.
Daniel BachmannAndersen havde medbragt den smukke sorte 10årige hoppe Daytona og blev på tourens første dag nummer 2, og på andendagen blev parret nummer 3.
Carina Cassøe Krüth var som 4. medlem af de fantastiske 4 fra det guldvindende hold ved VM i Herning, til start med den blot 8årige Koblenz ST, og red sig til en 4. og en 5. plads i de to afdelinger.
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.
Dutch Louis Koninckx is far from an unknown quantity in show jumping. He has designed courses for the biggest championships and has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve with each course.
His resume as a course designer includes the 2019 European Championships in Rotterdam and the 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg. In addition, Louis was a technical delegate at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.
Around 12 months have been spent finding a suitable theme and designing obstacles for this World Championship on Danish soil.
The theme is based on Danish design and culture, and the obstacles reflect both the Marguerite, several of Hans Christian Andersen’s adventurers, and Louis’ own favorite jump, Nyhavn.
The World Championships focus on sustainability, which is why the new obstacles will be distributed to Danish riding clubs after the championships, where they will live on for many years.
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)
The award – a memorial silver plate and 25.000,- DKK – was presented by HRH Princess Benedikte, Lis Hartels grandchild Nicole Siesbye Surh and Vice President Carsten Lorentzen from The Danish Friends of Dressage Association Carsten Lorentzen said about Nathalie:
The Danish Friends of Dressage Association has the great pleasure of presenting the ‘2022 Lis Hartel Memorial Award’ to Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, in honour of her achievements in and promotion of dressage riding and good horsemanship.
Nathalie has attained worldwide respect for her achievements and sportsmanship. With many years of experience as international dressage rider, Nathalie won several Danish Championships and helped secure the team bronze medal at the Olympics Games in Hong Kong in 2008, Denmark’s first Olympic team medal. She also achieved great success in training her homebred horses up to international Grand Prix level.
As a board member of the International Dressage Riders Club, Nathalie has always actively supported riders and advocated for the welfare of horses. While training the Danish dressage team, she combined her in-depth knowledge and experience in dressage, and devoted her energy in providing reliable and trustworthy support to the riders.
A sincere advocate for well-educated horses, she stays true to her principle of “getting there, slowly”. Founded on a well-thought-out plan she always gives young and upcoming horses time to develop and mature, thus laying the foundation for a “happy athlete”.
It is fair to say that Nathalie has had a very positive influence on the success of Danish Dressage and has earned respect world-wide, as well as in Denmark. Many congratulations with this year’s 2022 Lis Hartels Memorial Award.
About The Danish Friends of Dressage Association
The association was founded in 2007 by HRH Princess Benedikte and aims to support Danish dressage at all levels. Every year, the Lis Hartels Memorial Award is given to a person who has made an extraordinary contribution to Danish dressage.
35 nations are gathered in the jumping championships today. 22 of them are participating in the team competition. The team competition medals are given on Friday, while the individual final is on Sunday.
Today all the jumpers have trained in the Stutteri Ask Stadium, where they got the chance to jump on a course with 8 fences, among other the water jump and a double. They were not forced to ride all the jumps, so some of the riders only took a few. Most of the horses looked in top shape and it will for sure be exciting to see who will become the new world champions in this discipline.
The home nation performed super in the training, but the competition is hard with favourite nations like Sweden and Germany looking good – and in jumping everything can happen. So, keep your eyes open for the coming days of jumping.
The British team, including Scott Brash, looked like they are in perfect shape. Photo: Herning2022/Annika Knudsen Lorentsen
The first rider in the competition is from Mexico, the host nation is riding as team number 20, while it is Sweden who is finishing as the last team out of 22 teams participating. Besides the teams there are some individual riders participating in the championship and in total 103 riders are participating in the championships. The Danish national coach Bo K. Møller is happy about the draw:
“We are glad that we do not have to ride as number one, but if it had been the reality, we had kept our head high. Starting as number 20 gives us more peace, so all the Danish riders can watch some riders compete before going to the warmup themselves. We are feeling ready for tomorrow and all the Danish horses jumped very well at the familiarisation today.”
Emil Hallundbæk with Chalisco from the Danish team. Photo: Herning2022/Annika Knudsen Lorentsen
The team starting order:
1.Mexico
2. Spanien
I3. Irland
4. Belgien
5. Australien
6. Tyskland
7. Holland
8. Columbia
9. Norge
10. Storbritannien
11. Frankrig
12. Brasilien
13. Italien
14. Canada
15. Israel
16. Østrig
17. Argentina
18. Schweiz
19. Japan
20. Danmark
21. USA
22. Sverige
The full starting list with individual riders for tomorrow’s speed competition HERE
Charlotte Fry and her amazing ride Glamourdale enchanted judges and the audience at the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning and won the gold medal in Grand Prix Special.
A new generation of stars emerges at Herning2022, and they have young talented horses to develop even further. The Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Grand Prix Special Championship
showed 29 combinations giving their best to reach the freestyle and final medal possibilities on Wednesday evening under floodlight.
Daniel Bachmann Andersen
Best of the best in a tight competition filled with suspense and drama was Charlotte “Lottie” Fry on the black stallion Glamourdale. She beat silver winning Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour in a tight battle where perhaps a tiny misstep in canter cost the Danish home-rider the top podium position. Dutch rider Dinja van Liere kept control of the reins of her elegant stallion Hermés, whom she claims is a bit of a clown from time to time.
As the competition of the Grand Prix Special unfolded, many combinations came through producing even better rides than in the team competition. A bit of the tension from the pressure of representing a team had gone away and the combinations could really show off their qualities in the more demanding program that is the Grand Prix Special.
The claim on the top positions started out with German team debutante Benjamin Werndl that did a fabulous ride with his Famoso OLD scoring 78.237 percent. Charlotte Dujardin followed up with a very excited and eager Imhotep but could not quite get ahead of Benjamin Werndl. The stadium got really heated when a lovely lady in orange tails entered on a beautiful stallion. Dinja van Liere and Hermes held it together and scored 79.407 percent, a personal best. Still, the amazon used powerful language in a bit of annoyance, she has dreamt of 80 percent for a long time and will surely achieve it given time. Straight after her entered the rider with the highest score in the team competition, Danish rider Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on her energetic Vamos Amigos. They really showed off a fluent, harmonious, and elegant test, but a tiny tempi fault cost a little, giving them a score of 81.322 percent. Would it be sufficient to win?
Young Charlotte Fry on approved breeding stallion Glamourdale came in meeting the cheer for Cathrine from the crowd in Stutteri Ask Stadium in stride. They produced a flawless test, improving on their weak points with so much promise for the future. The crowd followed her every canter step in awe sending her off to powerful cheering in the last halt. When she left the stadium meeting Die Queen Isabell Werth in the ring the queen shared a high-five with young “Lottie” on her way out, true sportsmanship in full view. Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale scored 82.508 percent and took over the lead securing a top podium place. Isabell Werth and DSP Quantaz delivered their best ride to date, but the percentage did not suffice for a podium place. British gold, Danish silver, and a Dutch bronze medal in the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Grand Prix Special Championship.
Dinja van Liere and Hermés. Photo: Herning2022/Hippofoto.be Dirk Caremans
It has been an amazing day in Jyske Bank Boxen with fantastic vaulting at the world championships. The finals for the individual vaulters were on for both the women and men. And boy, did they deliver. 35 ladies and 16 men was all dressed up to rock the arena with their beautiful and creative freestyles.
The new queen of vaulting We knew she was good, coming to Herning as the world’s number 1. Manon Moutinho from France. Through three fantastic rounds she kept her cool and delivered on the highest level possible earning her a very well-deserved gold medal. “I haven’t realised yet, that I won! It is amazing! Today I had to work a bit more in the arena, because my horse was a bit more nervous. But I’m so happy with her, she did a great job. And I’m so happy with all my rounds!” the gold medalist said after her win with her horse Saitiri and the overall score of 8.963.
Julia Wagner from Germany took the silver medal with 8.529 at her first international championship. “I can’t believe it. It’s amazing. It was a little shaky today, and I had a bit of luck. But it has been a really good competition for me, so I’m happy”.
Bronze for the host nation For the Danes in Boxen it was a fantastic experience watching the Danish vaulter Sheena Bendixen win the bronze medal in her final competition as a vaulter and the tears would not stop flowing. “My beginning was not so good, but I fought with everything I had and came back. I’m so proud and so happy”.
WAUW Lambert In the men’s competition we witnessed artistry at work. The reigning world champion, Lambert Leclezio, went into the arena as the last vaulter knowing he had the gold in sight. Jannik Heiland from Germany had delivered a fantastic new freestyle taking the second place in the competition with 9.100. And Lamberts countryman, Quentin Jabet, did a 9.032 in his freestyle, putting all the pressure on the sympathetic Frenchman running into the arena. But Lambert showed no signs of pressure in his freestyle with his horse Estado working beautifully underneath him. “The horse was so good and has been good in all the rounds. So I was more confident going into the last round with less stress. I took my time and just enjoyed it. We have worked so hard, and I’m very happy. It was amazing”, Lambert said scoring an amazing 9.567 giving him a total score of 9.399.
Silver for France and Bronze for Germany Quentin Jabet looks very much like the new heir to the throne of vaulting with three lovely rounds at this championship. “I’m here in Herning with a whole new team and this was our first championship together, and today we just worked so well together, so I’m so, so happy with our performance, and happy about the silver medal!”, a very happy Quentin said after scoring a total of 8.837.
For Jannik Heiland everything was open going into the final round with five of the male vaulters having a score of 8.5 with them from the first two rounds. But he showed us a stunning freestyle with an exciting theme getting an overall score of 8.833. “My round today went very well. I wasn’t nervous going in. I really like my theme and the music, so I just wanted to enjoy it, on my once in a lifetime horse, Dark Beluga. It’s been fantastic”, the proud bronze medalist concluded.
