(Guest columnist of the week is Claartje van Andel, editor-in-chief of Dutch equestrian website Dressagedirect.com) The vehement dressage relation between The Netherlands and Germany has been rekindled in Aachen.
Unfortunately I regret to say due to unsportsmanlike behaviour of Germany. First the facts. The difference Holland-Germany was more than 35% over six tests in the Grand Prix and Special in the test formula of the CDIO tour in Aachen. The average score was 78,44% for Holland compared to 73,83% for Germany. The average for the third ranked nation, Great Britain, was 70,52%.
Last year, after the massive success of Holland at the European Championships in Windsor, Germany’s most decorated rider Isabell Werth remained calm and collected in the knowledge that she was not a member of the German team that had ‘only’ won bronze. This would be fixed straight away as soon as she would be back on the team. However, she noticed that it wasn’t that simple when she first met Totilas and Parzival at the 2010 World Cup Finals. There was more quality than she thought! What strikes me now is that some German riders and officials currently show incredibly rude behaviour, and that’s putting it nicely. They really show their true skin now and in a very unfitting, unsportsmanlike way. What a pity.
Isabell Werth is not the only one who is blatantly unsportsmanlike. In the short brake during the Aachen Kur to Music Finals on Sunday, German team trainer Holger Schmezer was lured to be interviewed because of Anabel Balkenhol had withdrawn. In the middle of the mighty Deutsche Bank stadium (where nobody had left their seat because it would have been impossible to return as the stadium was sold out) Schmezer said in the microphone that Isabell and Satchmo were in top shape and that he was hoping that the judges would score her accordingly. This can’t be possible? Totally unacceptable! What if that happened in Rotterdam: express in the middle of the arena during a short break that Anky should get more points, ladies and gentlemen of the jury! This is impossible and it would not be informative to the public.
During the final press conference after the Kur, Isabell looked extremely disinterested. Annoyed she was constantly looking round to anything but the gathered press and horse owners. As introduction press officer Helga Rau quipped that the Dutch victory in Aachen was maybe a band aid for Dutch for the lost soccer World Cup Finals. Aachen show director Frank Kemperman reciprocated: “May I remind you that the second place is still better than a third.”
Turning back to Isabell and Satchmo: they were indeed in better shape than before. Satchmo looked trained, lost some weight and was top fit. Sometimes he is presented in a hurried way and he lacked some self carriage and collection in Isabell’s forward way of riding. He left his hind legs behind in all extended gaits.
To be critical of oneself: that’s what you always have to be. It counts for everyone. I’m very happy that nobody of our winning team thought that s/he had arrived. All expressed their joy with their current accomplishments in the ring and sressed the possibilities for improvement. This would have been the only right attitude for Isabell in order for her to grow and see opportunities. Team trainer Sjef Janssen has a simple opinion: Isabell, talk to Anky. Her riding has not worsened, but her being judged has. Maybe there should be an alliance Isabell-Anky?
Talk about sportsmanship: Klaus Balkenhol, the champion of the counter attack against the so called “Dutch School”, stated that he has been watching the warm up ring and did not see anything extreme. Isn’t that weird. The good news of Isabell’s attitude is that she has proven again to be a true top sport athlete. If top athletes don’t care and only find themselves important than they won’t keep up a life in top sport. We will surely see her firing away again, but then hopefully in the right place: the show arena!
by Claartje van Andel
(Van Andel has a Masters degree in Linguistics at the University of Amsterdam and taught Dutch Language and Literature at Woerden College. She initially freelanced as equestrian journalist and is a certified trainer and judge for dressage and show jumping with the Dutch Equestrian Federation. As of 1992 she became a full-time equestrian journalist and published the book ‘The simplicity of dressage’, written in collaboration with Johann Hinnemann and Coby van Baalen. In 2005 she founded her website Dressagedirect.com, a results and news e-service dedicated to dressage worldwide provided in Dutch, German, Swedish and English.)
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