Edward Gal and Voice Take Out CDI Tour at 2013 CDIO Rotterdam

Shows

2013 CDIO Rotterdam

Edward Gal and his new number two Grand Prix horse Voice (by De Niro x Rohdiamant) took out the CDI tour winning the Grand Prix and Special at the 2013 CDIO Rotterdam on 20 - 23 June 2013. Posting a 75.277% in the Grand Prix and a 77.063% in the Special, Gal twice outscored Charlotte Dujardin on Carl Hester's Uthopia.

In the Grand Prix Special Edward Gal presented a Voice which had improved vastly since his international GP debut one month ago. The stallion was much more focused on the job and while his mouth was no longer gaping wide open, it was now tightly shut but with the tongue constantly showing on the left side throughout the test. The trot extensions were ground covering but rushed, the half passes were lovely and the first passage very solid. Gal made a very visible, rough half halt with the right rein before the half pass to the right. The extended walk had good overtrack but the nose could be a little bit more out. The passage had nice suspension but in piaffe Voice never takes the weight on the hindquarters and shows no sit at all. Instead he just rhythmically pulls his hocks high, out behind the body. The transition from passage to canter was difficult. The one tempi were good but could still be straighter, in the extended canter the horse looked sour and did not lengthen the frame despite good energy and ground cover. The pirouette left was small, the right one started a bit hurried. The passage on the final centreline was strong, but the exit from the piaffe a bit unbalanced. Overall Voice showed several lovely Grand Prix movements but there is still quite a lot of fine tuning to do and the contact remains to be a major issue.

Charlotte Dujardin on Uthopia Charlotte Dujardin and Uthopia competed at their second competition together this 2013 show season and achieved the FEI Minimum Eligibility Standard of two 64% + scores from O-judges at two different events. Dujardin has been campaigning both Valegro and Uthopia this season. In case one of them gets sold Dujardin would still have a ride at the European Championships in Herning in August. Hester has chosen to profile Dances with Wolves as his team horse for this year to support the owner of several of his horses, Aram Gregory.

Dujardin presents Uthopia sharper to the aids and more electric, which improves the overall silhouette.The petite black stallion looked fresher and Charlotte makes him work harder in the ring than Carl. The Metall offspring was always soft and steady in the contact and foaming nicely. Overall his Special rider was very harmonious with super smooth and regular transitions from passage to the trot extensions and back but in canter Dujarding lost her control and made several mistakes. She lost the clarity in the collected walk before the first piaffe, which had much sit but travelled forward. In the second piaffe there should have been more impulsion despite its regularity. The two tempi's were completely mistake ridden and in the one's she rode too many changes. The extended canter was conservative and the pirouette left was dangerously tiny. The final centerline was ok. Dujardin scored 72.979% far behind Gal and Voice.

Carl Hester and Dances with Wolves Carl Hester and Aram Gregory's Oldenburg gelding Dances with Wolves (by Donnerschwee) finished third . The tall liver chestnut gelding has been getting consistent 73-75% scores at small CDI's in Vidauban and Compiegne, but at his first big show with tough competition the gelding dropped to a 71.851% in the Grand Prix and 72.250% in the Special. Hester started out with beautiful trot extensions in the Special, softly floating half passes, but passage without enough engagement from behind. In the extended walk there were one to two hooves overtrack but the tall gelding should stride more freely in the shoulder. The first piaffe did not begin from collected walk but from a halt but the gelding nicely took the weight on the hind legs. The tempi changes were clean, the first pirouette was tiny but Carl lost the impulsion before the one tempi on the centerline. On the final centerline Dances with Wolves spooked hard and made a 180° turn before the piaffe at X.

Thomas Sigtenbjerggaard on Nintendo Danish Thomas Sigtenbjerggaard and the Kasprzak family's Dutch bred Nintendo (by Negro) ranked fourth with 71.313%. The dark bay stallion hurried in the trot extensions instead of lengthening the stride and frame with balance and in self carriage. The passage has amazing potential with great lift and suspension but several steps were irregular and rushed. The piaffe is downhill and on the forehand, but has a good rhythm. The two tempi had good ground cover and in the ones there was much energy. There was a loss of balance in the big left pirouette, the right one was a bit earthbound.

Danielle Heijkoop and her Gribaldi offspring Siro are working hard at potentially capturing a place on the Dutch team for Herning. In Rotterdam she got 71.064% in the Grand Prix and finished fifth in the Special. The B-team listed Heijkoop achieved the highest Grand Prix score of all Dutch A-team riders in Rotterdam except for Gal and Undercover. The dark bay, long legged gelding started with a nice trot extension, but there could have been more crossing from behind in the half passes. The passage is elegantly off the ground and regular but the horse goes behind the vertical. There was a minor loss of rhythm in the left trot extension. The piaffe-passage combination was very good with lots of rhythm and bounce, but the horse was continuously behind the vertical. The pirouettes were a bit lack lustre but the tempi changes were very nice.

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!