After the pleasant season start in Odense in Denmark one month ago, now in the Globe in Stockholm the second World Cup™ Qualifier Dressage was held. Scandinavia is extremely enthusiastic in welcoming equestrian sports.
Dutch Adelinde Cornelissen entered her first World Cup™ Qualifier and she surprised the crowd with two wonderful tests. To her own surprise she did not only win the WC qualifier but also won her very first car!
“I don’t know what is coming over me. Everybody is greatly admiring me, I drove my lap of honour in my very first car and had to hurry for radio, the press conference and telephonic interviews. And remember I am a very ‘new professional!”, the 29 year old Dutch said who only made the decision to leave her job as a teacher at high school last March.
Cornelissen was the Dutch reserve for the Olympic Games in Hong Kong and was the promising runner up in Aachen last summer after Isabell Werth. One week ago at the CDI3* Maastricht, Adelinde Cornelissen entered the competition winning two tests as well.
In Stockholm Grand Prix judge Katrina Wüst (GER) said: “This pair is a seldom seen mixture of very high quality and what we say in Germany ‘Losgelassenheit’, looseness and relaxation.” The piaffe and passage of Parzival are amazing and he has highlights in his extensions and half passes.
In the Freestyle chairman Katrina Wüst made her choice for Anky van Grunsven. “The technical things of Adelinde were the best, however I like the artistic quality of the Tango Freestyle of Anky van Grunsven more. It all fits like a T”, Katrina Wüst commented, who as a judge is also a member of the Dressage Task Force which will come up with new plans and ideas for dressage. Katrina Wüst prefers not to say much about this challenge as the Task Force will only come together for the first time in January.
Adelinde herself also agrees she needs improving her Freestyle. She said: “I am so happy with the constant and steady performances of Parzival. I am happy Parzival likes to cooperate with me so well and to show himself at his best. However I do know I have to work on a more difficult freestyle now. But I will not complain. In Stockholm Parzival surprised me as he frightened a bit after I had raised my hand to have the music started. This gave me a tough job in the start but I have simply tried to make the best of it, also in the end when the audience accompanied my passage clapping to the final halt and I had to participate on fleeing reactions of Parzival. A stunning 80%, I would not have dreamed of this score!”
Anky van Grunsven and her stallion Painted Black became the runner up. The stallion is easily distracted and gives his rider not always an easy time. In the Freestyle he did a good job, although mistakes in both the one tempi changes and two tempi changes did take some points.
The Stockholm audience was offered a very high quality by not only the Dutch but also their own star Jan Brink. Emotions rose high when all understood that this would be the very last time that the Swedish powerhouse stallion Briar would appear together with his rider Jan Brink. It went very well and the emotional Swedes cheered for the third placed pair. Brink plans a farewell trip with next year’s 18 year old Briar and an emotional goodbye to the world at the World Cup Final in Las Vegas 2009. Swedish judge Gustav Svalling complimented the pair: “To be still this good at this age is exceptional. He still can compete with the best.”
Another pair that rose to the expectations was the Olympic bronze medallist Heike Kemmer showing the very well moving Royal Rubin. She rode the Freestyle of Bonaparte which fitted Royal Rubin very well. He showed exceptional good extensions in both trot and canter, however could use some improvements in the piaffe. “I am sure he will learn this when he can better dose his energy”, judge Svalling commented.
Back to the 2009 World Cup Index