Germany’s Kristina Bröring-Sprehe (GER) and Desperados FRH, team silver medalists at the London 2012 Olympic Games, have taken over the world Dressage number one slot, relegating British duo Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro.
Bröring-Sprehe (29) and the 15-year-old Hannoverian stallion Desperados FRH have jumped to the top of the FEI World Dressage Rankings for the first time in their career, breaking the 30-month reign of Dujardin and Valegro.
Bröring-Sprehe, who also secured team gold and individual bronze at the World Equestrian Games™ 2014 with Desperados FRH, represented Dressage athletes around the world last November when International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach visited the FEI’s Headquarters in Lausanne (SUI), the Olympic capital.
Knowing how important gender equality is to the Olympic movement, she told Thomas Bach how proud she was to be a female Olympic athlete.
“Equestrian is the only Olympic sport where men and women compete against each other for medals in all the disciplines,” she said at the time. “It’s only when you get a bit older that you realise just how special this is, and it’s one of the many reasons why equestrian sport is so popular with women of all ages.”
Bröring-Sprehe and Desperados FRH now have a 68-point lead over Dujardin and Valegro, with fellow German and four-time team gold Olympic medallist Isabell Werth in third place with Don Johnson FRH on 2,428 points.
Neither Sprehe nor Dujardin have competed their horses since the 2015 European Championships in August, but Kristina showed more in the spring. She has 12 test in the time window of which 8 count, while Charlotte has only 7 tests.
Top 20 - Ranking based on scores up to 31 January 2016
- 1. (2) Kristina Broring Sprehe - Desperados - 2729
- 2. (1) Charlotte Dujardin - Valegro - 2661
- 3. (3) Isabell Werth - Don Johnson - 2428
- 4. (4) Beatriz Ferrer-Salat - Delgado - 2379
- 5. (5) Jessica von Bredow Werndl - Unee BB - 2364
- 6. (7) Steffen Peters - Legolas - 2358
- 7. (8) Tinne Vilhelmson - Don Auriello - 2303
- 8. (12) Edward Gal - Voice - 2288
- 9. (6) Hans Peter Minderhoud - Johnson - 2285
- 10. (11) Hans Peter Minderhoud - Flirt - 2281
- 11. (9) Carl Hester - Nip Tuck - 2256
- 12. (10) Patrik Kittel - Deja - 2255
- 13. (13) Diederik van Silfhout - Arlando - 2244
- 14. (14) Inessa Merkulova - Mistrer X - 2189
- 15. (15) Laura Graves - Verdades - 2189
- 16. (16) Edward Gal - Undercover - 2183
- 17. (20) Patrik Kittel - Scandic - 2174
- 18. (23) Steffen Peters - Rosamunde - 2156
- 19. (17) Isabell Werth - El Santo - 2129
- 20. (8) Fabienne Lutkemeier - D'Agostino - 2121
Complete ranking here.
Photo © Astrid Appels
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