All was done and prepared for Totilas at the 2011 CDI Hagen -- massive tribunes which stayed half empty as well as the adoption of the theme "Horses and Dreams meets Germany" to glorify the coming of the gold medal winning black stallion to Germany -- but his absence was hardly missed. The Grand Prix for Special on Friday afternoon 6 May 2011 featured 25 riders of which 11 scored above 70%. The quality of riding was so incredibly high that the class was simply finger licking good.
It gave spectactors an incredible boost of inspiration of what is to come the rest of the season. Based on what was seen at Hagen, it is very easy to make the bold statement that Great Britain will win team gold at this year's European Dressage Championships in Rotterdam!
Laura Bechtolsheimer and her 16-year old fresh and fit looking Danish warmblood gelding Mistral Hojris (by Michellino x Ibsen) performed at their first outdoor show of the season and first competition since the World Cup Qualifier in London in December 2010. The triple WEG silver medallist is one of three combinations in the world currently able to score round 80% in the Grand Prix. Were Laura B and Alf ready to repeat that feat at Germany's season-opener? Sure!
The bright chestnut is a power horse which reflects in his massive trot extensions, scopey half passes and superbly rhythmical piaffes and passages. He can get a bit strong in the bridle at times and at the beginning of the test Laura half halted quite visibly but the contact became quieter further along the ride. In the extended walk he had two to three hooves overstep but was slightly distracted by the surroundings. The rhythm in the second piaffe and passage was crystal clear for which they deservedly scored 10s. The canter work was bold and big: very good zig zag, ground covering tempi changes. In the ones the aids should have been more subtle though. Two tiny and well jumped trademark pirouettes finished off the wonderful canter tour. The judges were unanimous in allocating the first place to this British pair with a score of 81.489%
“For his first show of the year it couldn’t have gone better.” Laura told British Dressage, “We are both just getting back into it and as the season goes on I’ll put more and more power into it.” Scoring tens for piaffe and transitions to passage Laura explained, “Alf’s tests will always be good for top marks and it’s nice to be in a position where I can ask for more from him when I need it.”
Balkenhol and Dablino Go Up a Notch
Who is Germany's highest scoring rider at the moment? Isabell Werth with her string of seven Grand Prix horses or young stars such as Anabel Balkenhol, or other absentees Christoph Koschel and Matthias Alexander Rath?
In Hagen Anabel Balkenhol brought herself to the fore as a force to be reckoned with and she presented her hypersensitive, spooky Hanoverian Dablino (by De Niro) in an admirable way.
Since Kentucky the level of this pair went up a notch. The rhythm and energy in the trot work was great. Flowing half passes, wonderful extensions. The first piaffe was too forward, the second piaffe-passage was lovely. Dablino's piaffe could have been a bit bigger in general but it was regular in rhythm. Even the walk, Dablino's weak point, had improved. With one to two hooves overstep and a clearer rhythm, the chestnut got 7s and 8s for the gait. The tempi changes were super in ground cover, the pirouettes were small, the zig zag well regulated. They scored a massive 76.723% to finish second.
"I was very happy with the grand prix," Balkenhol told Eurodressage. "Dablino was more relaxed during the whole show. Much better in the walk, piaffe is getting better and the canter work was great. I had a lot of fun in the Grand Prix. It felt that I could relax and I even had to laugh at the end because it was so much fun!!!"
Britain is Chasing for Gold
The British dominance in Hagen was completed by a top three finish from Carl Hester on Sasha Stewart's Dutch warmblood stallion Uthopia (by Metall x Inspekteur).
The ponyesque black stallion has a phenomenal extended trot with incredible bounce and ground cover. The first piaffe was sweet but 5 meters before the centerline. The extended walk could have been more ground covering and active. The second piaffe-passage was lovely, especially because of the buoyant suspension, but Uthopia should engage the hindlegs more under the body in passage and could even sit more in piaffe to put those 9s on the scoreboard. The canter work needs extra work to get everything solidified, but the potential is certainly there. The extended canter was impressive but the tempi changes lacked straightness in the body as the hindquarters swung too much from left to right. Carl had a mistake in the one tempi's which made him lose valuable points. The pirouettes were small but there could have a bit more lift in the forehand. At all times Carl had a soft contact with the bit but the black could stay more steadily at the vertical. The pair posted a score of 75.426% and were the shooting stars of the day.
There were several new experiences for me at this show!" Carl told British Dressage, "Uthopia is an exciting prospect for both breeding and as a team horse. I have had him from four years old and he has always been an Olympic prospect for me, ours is a long partnership that is paying off."
Hester and his student Charlotte Dujardin have already become the show stoppers of the 2011 season with their horses Uthopia and Valegro. Both have proven to be able to score round 75% in the Grand Prix and, if all goes well, both could make the European team gold connection with anchor Laura Bechtolsheimer at the 2011 Europeans. The 10-year old Uthopia is a super talented, elastic horse but still a bit green in the test, the 11-year old Valegro (by Negro) already looks more settled and probably is the more "complete" Grand Prix horse of the two at the moment. It's a pity Dujardin did not show him in Hagen, but chose to ride in Saumur last week (where they won the Grand Prix Special and were second in the Grand Prix).
Charlotte Dujardin and the 11-year old Westfalian Fernandez (by Florestan x Weinberg) scored 71.085% in Hagen and finished seventh in the Grand Prix. Her horse had some good energy going in trot. The half passes were big, the two tempi's straight and covering the entire diagonal, the pirouettes small. The horse has a regular rhythm in passage and piaffe, but the rider hollowd her back and leans a bit too much forward in the saddle in piaffe. In collected walk Fernandez should have kept his back a bit more supple to keep a better rhythm. Nevertheless, the test was very solid and of good quality.
Charlotte's mentor Carl Hester commented, "they are an elegant combination and both still in their first year of international grand prix. Charlotte's rise is amazing and she hasn't scored below 70% at this level - there's still alot more to come from them."
Scandinavians Good for Great Style
Swedish Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven made her European Grand Prix CDI debut with Don Auriello. The combination gained some show experience in Florida this winter, but Hagen was the first CDI for this pair on European soil. The long legged Hanoverian gelding (by Don Davidoff x White Star) is a familiar face as he competed in the Bundeschampionate, World Young Horse Championships and Medien Cup with former rider and owner Birgit Wellhausen-Henschke.
Under Vilhelmson the 9-year old gelding developed into a promising horse which showed off a brilliant extended walk and good one tempi changes. The young star still needs to gain more power and strength in the hindquarters as the passage missed collection and the two tempi's lacked straightness. The horse was constantly light in the bridle and had the poll as highest point. They scored 73.128% to finish fourth.
Danish Sune Hansen has set his sights on riding the Oldenburg licensed stallion Blue Hors Romanov (by Rubin Royal x Grundstein II) at the Europeans. The 11-year old dark bay stallion has been schooling the upper level movements for a few years but now he finally turned into a solid Grand Prix horse. He was sweet and soft in the contact but regularly came a bit deep. The passage is lovely and superb in rhythm. The extended walk was decent but in the collected walk Romanov became too quick and lost the clarity in rhythm. The pirouettes were good but there was a slight hiccup in the flying change at X. The two tempi's should have been straighter and the one's more ground covering. Hansen and Romanov are a lovely pair with room for much growth. They ranked sixth with 71.128%.
Germans Climbing the Ladder
Monica Theodorescu and Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff's Baden Wurttemberger bred Whisper (by Welt Hit I x Weltstar) made their long awaited come back after a period of injury and personal loss of her mother. Monica was certainly going for it as she asked for much engagement and activity from her horse. The trot work was dynamic and forward. In the first passage he twitched to the spur aid and the piaffes were small. The extended walk was good, in the collected he paced. The zig zag was the highlight of the test, but the horse changed lead in one of the pirouettes. All the movements were certainly there in the test, but the ride lacked some refinement and routine. They got 71.915% to rank fifth.
Young rider gone senior Fabienne Lutkemeier made a flawless transition to Grand Prix level aboard her small tour World Record holder D'Agostino (by De Niro x Shogun xx). The horse has an extravagant front leg in trot AND tracks up well from behind. The piaffe lacked some roundness because it appears as if the chestnut gelding is braking with his front legs in the movement. In passage he's regular and rhythmical though the hocks could flex a bit more, especially the right one. The apex of their test were the super straight two tempi changes for which judge Eric Lette at B gave them a well earned 9. The combination totalled 70.915 to place 8th.
Nadine Capellmann and the new star in her life, Girasol (by Gribaldi x Landioso), take it one step at the time, despite the fact that much is expected from them. The Aachen based rider played it quite safe in the Grand Prix which made their lack of routine obvious. The extended trot and extended canter were conservative, the trot half passes huge. The first piaffe hesitant but the passage had good elevation. The transitions to and from piaffe and passage are not without hitches but both movements are brimming with potential. The two tempi's were fantastic. The rider had slight difficulty with the onset of the right pirouette. They got 70.660% from the judges to place 9th.
Hubertus Schmidt saddled several new horses in Hagen, including Jochem Arl's 9-year old Dutch warmblood gelding Valentino G (by Ferro x Damiro) which was previously trained and competed by Laura Stigler. The trot extensions and half passes were very nice and the passage was regular, but the dark bay gelding struggles in piaffe. He had a hard time finding the rhythm or got crooked in the body, hollowing the back. The tempi changes were wonderful but in the zig zag to the right the hindquarters always preceded the forehand. They posted a score of 70.447% to place 10th.
Trussell Back in Europe
The last rider to score above 70% was from a different continent: North America. Australian born Canadian Belinda Trussell is back in Europe for the third year in a row to train with her longtime coach and mentor Christilot Boylen-Hansen until June. Aboard her 11-year old Saxonian Anton (by Anteus x Melit xx) Trussell did what she is good at: riding a clean test with a horse that is always soft in the bridle. The piaffe and passage were elegant, but could have more expression and power. The trot extensions were strong and the pirouettes decent. If one looks at Trussell's individual score sheet, one notices that she scores 7's on almost every single movement. With 70.085 % she completed the top 11.
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