No doubt the Louisdor Cup series, formerly known as Medien Cup for developing Grand Prix horse, has evolved into an important link between the traditional Nürnberger Burgpokal at small tour level and the international Grand Prix. Horses like El Santo NRW, Dablino and Diva Royal won the Final before going on to become German team horses and make themselves a name internationally.
The ever increasing popularity of this series shows in an ever-growing number of starters. At the 2013 CDI Hagen there were 23 horses competing in the usual warm-up class at Inter II-level to move on to the qualifier itself which is the Short Grand Prix. As the CDI Hagen is a renowned and much loved international dressage show many riders use the opportunity not only to show their brand new Grand Prix stars, but to give their upcoming horses at this level ring practise as well.
After a convincing win in the warm-up class on Thursday Ingrid Klimke had to face strong opposition from Isabell Werth in the qualifier on Saturday afternoon. A year ago Klimke's Dresden Mann, a 9-year-old Westfalian by Dresemann x Florestan, had won the Prix St. Georges at the very same place and now returned to Hagen with two victories in his very first Grand Prix classes in January in his pocket. In the few months since then he has made tremendous progress which showed in particular in the extended trots.
Having won the warm-up with a convincing ride, the former licensed stallion was again spot-on in the qualifier, though "Alfi" couldn't entirely reach the same fascination like two days earlier. The first extended trot was full of energy and expression with the gelding's hind-legs clearly stepping under and visibly lifting the withers in front. In this movement Klimke had worked wonders as only a few months ago the horse still tended to rush and become hasty to compensate his good, but not extraordinary trot. The trot half passes were very smooth and light-footed on both leads and in exemplary self-carriage which makes one wonder why one judge only awarded a 7 for it. In the passage the clearly blood-influenced Dresden Mann takes full advantage of his natural elegance and light-footedness and also of his clear joy to present himself. Although the passage earned him high marks, one still has the feeling the Westfalian has even more to show in this movement in the future. The same is valid for the nicely settled and rhythmical piaffes of which the second was visibly travelling forwards, something still accepted from these inexperienced Grand Prix newbies. The extended walk is another movement Alfi has made progress since his appearance in the Nürnberger Burgpokal Final in December 2012. Now the horse is really relaxed, showing sufficient stretching and his full abilities which means one hoof of overtrack. After a good collected walk, the canter half-passes were well bent and in complete balance. Both canter pirouettes were quite nice, but the gelding slightly lost the rhythm at the end of the second one. The flying changes were both faultless and sparkled with exuberance, but during the one-time-changes which were finished quite early Dresden Mann was slightly bent to the left and came a bit deep towards the end. The final centre line again showed that the horse's forté is to be found in the piaffe-passage-movements. Alfi apparently finds it very easy to come from passage into piaffe like a metronome, but struggles a bit to coming out again; clearly is a matter of strength the horse needs to develop further in the course of his first Grand Prix season. His next show will be the CDI Wiesbaden. In general it is amazing how much sit this horse is able to show with hind fetlocks formed very straight and standing high above the ground. Apart from the quality of the movements itself, the self-carriage and bit contact were once again exemplary throughout their ride.
With 76.41% Ingrid Klimke and Dresden Mann secured an early qualification to return to Festhalle in Frankfurt in December to take part in the Louisdor Cup final.
Klimke, whose seat and position were rewarded with a 9 three times, was ecstatic about her horse's development. „As a young horse Alfi was a macho and there were a few wild escapades. When he was seven his owners and I decided after careful consideration to geld him because I had the feeling he could reach Grand Prix-level. This was my responsibility then. Now he focuses much better, but has kept his presence," a happy Klimke told Christoph Hess, who commented each ride.
If it had been only about natural abilities, Isabell Werth's mare Bella Rose (by Belissimo x Cacir AA) would have won. The chestnut Westfalian with the bright mane and tail is a talent rarely to be seen even among this pool of blooming youngsters. Very elegant and blessed with an extraordinary mechanic in the basic gaits, this mare left more than just a few mouths open. Although Bella Rose, like all Werth's top horses owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze, is 9 now she does not have much experience in the show-ring because Werth took it slowly with her, even though she quite regularly schooled the mare at CDI shows last year.
In Hagen the pair was third in the warm-up class in which a few little hiccups hindered them to place higher. On Saturday the sensitive mare seemed more used to the atmosphere and stayed with her rider throughout the test. In the first extended trot she wowed the crowds with her enormous hind-leg acitivity and shoulder-freedom, but even though it earned them high marks it could have been a bit more relaxed. The trot half-passes are more or less the hallmark of all of Werth's horses, but Bella Rose seems to exceed all of Werth's international horses in a breathtaking way. Whereas El Santo's piaffe had given his rider much a headache over the past years, Bella Rose can only make Isabell Werth beam. The mare clearly finds these so difficult movements like piaffe and passage child's play. In both she has a very clear rhythm. The suspension in passage is remarkable and in time Bella Rose will surely step a bit more under with her hind-legs. In the piaffe she has much push-off and is already staying in place. The lowering of the haunches resulting in a visibly lowered croup will surely only be a matter of time and of gaining more strength. In the extended trot Bella Rose didn't seem to be relaxed from the first step and the horse continued with a collected walk in which she appeared very free in the position of her head and not honestly on the bit. The extended canter has the potential to score a ten with an unbelievable uphill tendency and hind-legs stepping extremely under the centre of gravity. In Hagen Werth didn't seem to be able to take full risk as the mare was slightly tense. In the pirouettes the horse needs to take more weight on her hind-legs to score higher. The 2-time-changes were the weak spot in this ride with Bella Rose struggling to find her rhythm at the beginning and then swaying very visibly. The one-times were much better in comparison and expressive, but not free from tension. They were finished a bit early with Isabell patting her mare happily. The final centre-line again revealed the mare's potential in general and in the pi-pa-movements in particular.
A score of 74,977% meant a well deserved second place for Isabell Werth who was moved to tears in her interview with Christoph Hess afterwards. "With this horse all is a dream. I could cry because I am so happy. This horse has a great lightness and elasticity and so much dignity. I never had a horse with so much dignity. We built her up very slowly and I am sure she will be grateful for this," Werth said without stopping to praise Bella Rosa.
Brigitte Wittig rode her home-bred Breitling-son Balmoral W to a remarkable third place after a sixth in the warm up test. Both had already been successful last year at CDI's and this is the gelding's last year in the Louisdor Cup series as he turns 10 in 2013. Wittig and the Westfalian were first starters on Saturday afternoon. The gelding, in Japanese ownership, showed a very diligent first extended trot with a slighty constrained shoulder. The trot half-passes were precisely ridden and very smoothly executed, although the horse could cross a bit wider. In the passage the dark bay with the friendly face shows enough suspension and works actively from behind, but now and then still is not 100% even in the rhythm behind. The first piaffe was forwards with the hind-legs not taking enough weight to score higher. In the extended walk Balmoral W stretched very nicely without making this an affair of chewing the reins out of the hand and he showed at least sufficient overtrack. Even though the horse was presented in good self-carriage and with a fine bit contact throughout the ride, in the extended canter there was little extension of the frame. The canter pirouettes suffered a bit from the fact that Balmoral W does not sit very deep on his haunches. The harmonious gelding's forté are undoubtedly the flying changes which look like an easy affair. The 2-times were nicely uphill with good forward impulsion and the one-times even outclassed them but the Westfalian unfortunately made a mistake after X. He made a bit up for it with his final centre line showing his best piaffe of the whole ride which was in place and in good rhythm.
A score of 70,233% was the reward not only for a pleasing ride, but also for the breeding and training success the Wittig family has. Brigitte Wittig, whose husband Wolfram watched from the sidelins and was seen riding the younger Bertoli W for training purposes at Hagen, was very content with the horse. "Piaffe and passage are his strong spots. I am very content with him, we are on the right way."
The same can be said about other horses placing highly at Hagen. Rudolf Zeilinger, who once was a World Cup finalist with the Hanoverian Livinjo many years ago and in the meantime is the (Danish) national coach longest in service, surprisingly returned in the saddle with two horses, the Württemberger Infinio CE and the Holsteiner Crescendo. After his bereiter Daniel Bachmann left for Denmark, Zeilinger made a come back to the competition circuit. Whereas the latter was 5th in the warm-up class, the Indigo-son Infinio CE placed 2nd. Zeilinger rode the bay gelding in the qualifier and although they could not repeat their runner-up position, their 4th place proved the quality and talent of this horse.
Behind Zeilinger Nadine Capellmann, fourth in the warm-up, finished in fifth position with Dark Dynamic, a horse quite living up to his name. Capellmann had only acquired the black Hanoverian (by De Vino x Hohenstein) last year and obviously has quickly clicked.
Germany already seems to have an enviable pool of Grand Prix horses as such, but the Louisdor Cup qualifier in Hagen has revealed that there are even more to come in near future; horses which not only stamp the international circuit, but which would be a strong addition to the already strong national team. The next Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are only three years away and one shouldn't be surprised to see one or the other horse in the dressage arena there, which first shone in Hagen in the spring of 2013.
By Silke Rottermann for Eurodressage.com
Photos © Astrid Appels
Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2013 CDI Hagen