Germany claimed its first victory in the dressage at the2007 CHIO Aachen. Isabell Werth won the Grand Prix CDI, sponsored by Havens Horse Feed, with the 11-year-old Hanoverian Warum Nicht. Her score: 74.042 percent.
“I was a bit worried about how he would react in the dressage arena, because the wind and rain sometimes makes the horses nervous. Warum Nicht was a bit spooky, but was well manageable and I was very content,” explained the rider from Rheinberg after competing.
Achieving a score of 71.25 percent, the Dutch rider Anky van Grunsven, who had saddled the 10-year-old stallion Painted Black, took second place.
“I was satisfied overall, but the first piaffe and pirouette weren’t that good though. This is due to the fact that he hasn’t had that much experience, because he hasn’t competed in many Grand Prix competitions yet because of my pregnancy,“ reported the Freestyle World Champion of 2006. Her black, Dutch-bred horse descends from the Trakehner stallion Gribaldi.
Hubertus Schmidt/GER ranked third with the Oldenburg Don Primero son, Dow Jones. The pair was awarded 70.75 percent for their performance.
“I have been riding this horse for one and a half years. His owner is Japanese and his rider now wants to try and qualify herself for the Olympic Games,” stated the rider from Borchen-Etteln, Westphalia.
The Australian rider, Kristy Oatley, who trains with Karin Rehbein at the Grönwohldhof Stud near Hamburg, finished fourth. She scored 68.867 percent with the 12-year-old stallion Quando Quando – her 2006 World Championship horse.
Source: Aachen PR
Photos (c) - Barbara Schnell
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