After another six month break, Olympic dressage champions Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro returned to the show ring looking fresh and fruity and taking the CDIO Grand Prix victory with 82.191% at the 2013 CDIO Rotterdam on Thursday 20 June 2013. In the lead up to the 2013 European Dressage Championships in Denmark, riders plan each competition strategically in order to hold the best cards in hand
, when Herning starts. Valegro proved he has not lost the winner's touch but the pair looked far from being fine-tuned and will have a tough time beating current World Cup Champion Damon Hill based on the form Valegro showed in Rotterdam.
The 2013 CDIO Rotterdam was the first summer show in which some of the heavy-weight combinations duelled each other for the first time before Herning. The judges' panel assigned to assess the CDIO Grand Prix featured no less than four O-judges - Francis Verbeek, Susan Hoevenaars, Leif Tornblad and Andrew Gardner, completed with a second Dutch I-jiudge Mariette Sanders.
All five judges agreed on Charlotte Dujardin's first place in the ranking, which also carried Great Britain to the Nations' Cup victory. Dujardin and Valegro (by Negro x Gershwin) produced a lovely ride with many highlights such as the trot and canter extensions, the well suspended trot half passes, the uphill and ground covering tempi changes and the overall harmony and friendly expression the ride had. The extended walk could have had more overtrack, the collected was quite short but regular. There was a minimal loss of rhythm in the first piaffe, the second was wonderful but the transition to passage had a double beat behind. The pirouettes were nice and quiet but in the left one there was a loss of energy. Also in the final piaffe there was a loss of impulsion and the horse became slightly crooked to the right.
Throughout the test the contact with the bit was steady and quiet, but Dujardin kept a very firm connection with the left snaffle, which wasn't so appealing. The entire test was elegant and harmonious but lacked the energy and expression which makes Damon Hill shine more brightly at the moment.
"I'm really happy with my ride. There were a few bits and pieces in there. I have to sharpen him," Dujardin commented. The British Olympic champion is confident about Herning even though rumours of a potential sale of Valegro keep floating round. "I'm excited for Herning and for every chance we have. I'm hopeful for a team gold medal and an individual medal. I'm going there to bring back gold."
The Dutch and Austrian PR machines are turning full blast to promote World Champion Edward Gal and his Austrian owned Undercover (by Ferro x Donnerhall), but despite the horse's many fortés (e.g. his always active and brilliantly quick hind leg) it is unable to achieve proper swing over the back and a looseness in the body with which Valegro and Damon Hill are brimming. However, judges' and crowds' favourite Gal continues to score almost as high as his rivals.
Edward is an absolute master at getting the most out of his horse and his ability to cloak the weak spots without losing points. The always mediocre extended trot is ridden in a slower tempo for more expression, but Undercover never achieves proper overtrack. Still the movement scores a 7.1 to a 7.5. The halt for rein back was not square, yet the trot half passes were lightfooted and absolutely beautiful. The first piaffe-passage was quick off the ground but could have been more relaxed. The extended walk scored a 7.0 but the collected walk was on the verge of becoming lateral. The second piaffe-passage was very controlled and rhythmical, which earned them a 9.6. The two tempi changes were very correct, but the ones lacked ground cover (they were finished on the diagonal by X) and the horse made a mistake. While the extended canter is explosive and powerful, Undercover hops off the ground instead of cantering properly over the back in a clear 3-beat rhythm. The pirouettes are tiny but totally lacklustre because the black gelding barely gets airborn with the frontquarters (score 8.2 - 8.3). The last extended trot was the best one and the final centerline was clean and proper. The horse was not entirely mobile in the end halt, wriggling his right hind foot while Edward saluted. The duo scored 79.660% and led Team The Netherlands to a second place in the Nations' Cup.
"Edward rode a super strong test, despite the mistake in the one tempi's," said Dutch team trainer Wim Ernes. "That mistake was caused because we agreed he would try to ride the changes a bit bigger. It worked but that's why there was a small mistake."
Swedish Tinne Vilhelmson and Antonia Ax:son Johnson's Hanoverian bred Don Auriello (by Don Davidoff x White Star) finished third with 75.766%. The duo are eye-candy to watch even though the dark bay gelding underwhelms with his trailing hind leg in the passage. The trot extensions were gorgeous as well as the half passes. In the rein back Vilhelmson only seemed to ride four steps instead of the required five. The second piaffe was elegant. The canter work looked soft and sweet with lovely pirouettes and uphill tempi changes.
Carl Hester deliberately chose to ride his new number one horse, Dances with Wolves, in the smaller 3* CDI tour and not the CDIO leg of the Rotterdam competition. For the Nations' Cup he saddled Gemma Appleton's liver chestnut PSI auction horse Fine Time (by Florestan). The ponyesque stallion is a cute ride, but not a world beater. The trot work is limited in scope and ground cover but Hester rode the horse very delicately and made it look quite effortless. The piaffe was not entirely regular but the passage work was nice. The transitions from passage to piaffe went via a halt and the transition from passage to canter was difficult. In the tempi changes Fine Time does not jump through as well with his left hind leg. The final extended trot could have been more even. Hester scored 71.532% to place fourth.
"Bruno is an older gentleman's horse," Hester joked about Fine Time. "He's very reliable. Dances with Wolves is the team horse, but it's nice to know I have a safe horse to go with it. This was only his fourth Grand Prix."
The top five was completed by Brit Gareth Hughes on Jane Brewin's Danish bred Stenkjers Nadonna (by Donnerschlag). The liver chestnut mare is lightfooted and lady like in the trot and passage, but the piaffe could be more confident and powerful. In the canter she became a bit limited in her scope. She lost swing in the back in the extended canter. The sensitive mare struggles with the Rotterdam atmosphere and lost the regularity in some passage steps, even though she's gifted in that movement. The got 70.149% from the judges.
Hughes was pleased with the progress he made. "Last year she didn't handle the atmosphere really well. Now we wer 4% higher," he commented.
Patrick van der Meer and the Dutch bred gelding Uzzo (by Lancet) were sixth with 69.766%. This combination made its Grand Prix debut a year ago and were one of Holland's strongest upcoming Grand Prix pairs, achieving mid seventy percentage scores in the spring of 2012. With the pressure to make it the Olympics the 12-year old got overcooked by the end of the season and started to struggle with some of the movements. In Rotterdam this issue hasn't been entirely solved yet. Uzzo showed a fantastic extended trot and passage but he constantly went behind the vertical and struggled with the rhythm in the piaffe. Tension built up in the canter work and the ones were tense and tight in the neck. The horse also broke into canter in the final passage, which made the score drop to a 69.766%.
Hans Peter Minderhoud saddled the Dutch licensed stallion Tango (by Jazz x Contango) for Rotterdam and finished seventh. The liver chestnut stallion tilted his head to the left throughout the test and stalled in all three piaffes. The trot half passes had good energy and flow and the passage is always lovely with nice knee action and activity from behind. Tango loses his expression and 3-beat rhythm in the canter. While his tempi changes are correct, there is limited shoulder freedom. The combination earned 69.681%.
Danish ex-patriot Lars Petersen flew Marcia Pepper's 15-year old Danish mare Mariett (by Come Back II x Sidney) across the Atlantic for a summer campaign in Europe. After competing at the 2013 Danish Championships two weeks ago, Petersen did his first CDI in Rotterdam. Despite her age, the mare has not yet reached her full potential. The piaffe and passage are very expressive but still quite unbalanced. In piaffe she should lower her croup more. Unfortunately Mariett opens her mouth regularly and the contact could be more steady. The two tempi's had scope but there was a mistake in the ones. They finished 8th on a 69.234%.
Big absentees in Rotterdam were Dutch anchors Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival, just like last year. In 2012 Parzival became unsound right after the 2012 World Cup Finals and this year he was operated on for arrhythmia in the same period. For two consecutive years he will get a by from Dutch team qualifiers and will be selected based on merit without having to compete. With two more months to go, the Dutch team is optimistic that there is a good chance that Parzival to be fit and ready for the Herning.
Text and Photos by Astrid Appels - No Reproduction Allowed
Eurodressage photographer Astrid Appels took photos of all combinations competing at the CDIO Rotterdam. Contact us if you are interested in prints of your photos!
Related Links
Scores 2013 CDIO Rotterdam
British Win Nations Cup at 2013 CDIO Rotterdam, but Dutch Stay Top of League Table