The show goes on for the 2016 CDI Jerez de la Frontera, which is set in front of the Palace. Action continued in sunny Spain with the ZettaSportMusic Grand Prix, which was undeniably won by gentleman of the current dressage scene, Mr. Carl Hester, aboard Nip Tuck, the horse that changed from frog to prince.
Once again, Carl Hester gave a master class for anybody who wanted to watch on how to be sensitive enough to not waste a single point, achieving an average of 75.340% in doing so.Their halt and salute were straight away awarded 80%, demonstrating their work on aspects which many may consider insignificant. The rider is an example – indeed, the horse as well – of suppleness, flexibility, well demonstrated in his wonderful half passes and in the impeccable work in the collected gaits, specially were they count double. It amounted to a wonderful dressage lesson for whoever was able to watch what he was doing.
His pupil came in second. Charlotte Dujardin, winner of individual Golds at the Olympics, the WEG and the Europeans. Today, with her new horse Barolo (by Breitling G x Hitchcock), she obtained an average of 73.260%. If we think back, Spain must be the place to debut for her, as she did so many years ago with Valegro in the international competition. She was extremely happy today, as she told us after the test, and this time she can’t wait to compete on him in the Special on Sunday. We are looking forward to seeing them and who knows? We might be witnessing another brilliant beginning here; they are certainly showing their quality.
Behind her, in third place, was the Lusitano mare ridden by Gonzalo Carvalho. Batuta (by Quixote x Icaro) and her rider are on their way working for a spot on the Portuguese Olympic team. Their pairing is looking better and better; today, he offered a very good ride and was rewarded with a score of 71.820%, moving him nearer the path to Rio.
Carl Hester also took fourth place with Wanadoo (by Wolkenstein II x Cavalier), a horse with some roots in Spain as he was once owned by Juan Matute many years ago. However, he was bought by a pupil of Carl’s and now Carl himself is turning him into an absolutely top Grand Prix horse. Richard Davison with Bubblingh (by Lingh x Picandt), as they call him at home, came fifth in the ranking of this Grand Prix. The highest placing for a Spanish rider was eight position, which was achieved by Cristóbal Belmonte with Diavolo de Laubry (by Alibi de Laubry), who scored 65.980%; mistakes in their tempi changes and the flying changes cost them dearly.
Intermediate B
What a feeling it must be if one day you realize that the horse you ride, the one you were struggling with for a while, is suddenly showing all the amazing quality you believed was there and is doing it in the competition arena. All of a sudden, you become aware that you are the person riding this emerging star and providing huge enjoyment for fans and followers of the sport and the breed.
Would you be able to believe you were the lucky owner? Because one thing is sure: there are many people who would want to ride a horse like that. He is a gorgeous mover and seems to be a sweet character with a big heart. What’s more, today he was part of the winning combination. We are, of course, talking about Cristina Duran Vicens and her magnificent PRE Manchego ARB (by Gumiel x Ilustre VII). We all sensed that this horse was one of the few which could bring back former magic for all of us who truly love Spanish horses. He only needed one test to shine and it looks as if we witnessed that today.
He won the Intermediate A with 69.167%. This category acts as the hall of entry for the Grand Prix and his piaffe and passage were deemed worthy of some eights and sevens, while 7.5 scores were given for the flying changes. The combination performed a flawless, flowing, tension-free test; both components of the pairing seemed to be calm and relaxed and it looked as if it had “clicked” between the two of them. Manchego is a horse with the capacity to shine and he has the stuff of which the champions are made. They have a bright and promising future in front of them and are definitely a couple to keep an eye on.
The Intermediate B was the only test on this day of the completion in which the three top positions were all taken by Spanish horses presented by Spanish riders. In second place there was Fenol II, a son of great Evento, bred and owned by the Yeguada Militar and presented by Belén Bautista, the trainer and rider from the Royal School. This combination obtained an average of 65.317%. Third place was awarded to Claudio Castilla Ruiz with Icaro MG (by Denebolo x Legionario XIX), bred by Yeguada Candau and owned by MG Stud, and this combination, with a score of 65.198%, was close on the heels of Claudio and Icaro MG.
Youth Riders
Heading the podium in the junior riders' category was an outstanding young lady: Lisa Maria Linsenhoff made her debut in this class with a brand-new horse, Danönchen OLD, and what a lovely horse! What a nice young rider, though only 14 years old, she has risen swiftly in the category It is an impressive result for a debut performance; she rode with aplomb and achieved a total of 73.108%. Also with her pony Golden Girl as well she is doing very well. Second placed we find Jesús Sánchez Martín and Sir Chocolat with 68,964% and just behind the lusitano combination, young Carla de la Fuente with the chestnut Capitel (by Solar Pinhais ) a nine year old stallion that suites her very well.
If you missed the start of the show, here are more results on the opening day. The first day of competition in the second CDI3* Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art has kicked off, under bright sunshine, with many performances of the future stars in front of the Palace in Jerez. The Young Horse classes up to the Intermediate A took centre stage on Thursday. A promising second week with some new faces has begun, as thermometer levels slowly rise.
The Prix St.Georges had a unanimously chosen winner in María Caetano and Biso das Lezirias (by Solar Pinhais x Maravilha), bred by Companhia das Lezírias S.A and owned by Manuel Luis Goucha. The combination is climbing up the ranking in huge bounds. It is their third test and their third win in a row in this category. The Portuguese rider could not have been happier with the result. Maria is a hard worker, who is always performing with several PSL horses and getting great results.
The judges were unanimous in seeing her as the winner of the test, awarding her a score of 69.816%. She offered a very harmonious ride, which seemed effortless and flowing throughout the test. The ten-year-old stallion shows great potential for collected movements, as it was possible to appreciate when watching his nice pirouettes.
Second position was taken by last week’s double winner Matthias Alexander Rath with a score of 67.658%, riding Foundation (by Fidertanz x De Vito), an impressive eight-year-old stallion owned by Paul Schockemöhle and Matthias himself, an amazing horse as he stated himself, such good quality.
The first PRE combination was awarded third place. Napoleon (by Urdidor III x Indiano XLV), owned and bred by Yeguada Candau, was under the saddle of the Australian rider Anthony Lewis Pelling, in the nine-year-old stallion’s debut in the class. Together they achieved a score of 67.158%, thanks to the very technical and precise riding of Anthony Pelling.
JUAN GIL Family States Trophy
The morning started with the five-year-olds and the Juan Gil GIL Family States Trophy. With a couple of very talented young horses, in first place was a Spanish-owned Oldenburg stallion who took the lead. With an amazing average of over 85%, the bay stallion Salobre TR presented by young stud-farm owner Juan Manuel Acosta Ponce won the test. Outstanding trot quality, and also the canter and walk scoring over 8 points, placed the combination in winning position.
Another Oldenburger presented by Matthias Rath was the lovely mare Frangipani (by Furst Romancier x Wolkentanz). She delighted the crowd once again with her amazing walk, with overtrack and real suppleness, for which she received 9.4, taking the overall score to 81.400%. Another Spanish combination, consisting of Francisco Gil Ortiz and the PRE stallion from Yeguada Angostura, Kabul KP (by Martin x Empalagoso), took third.
Solera AUDI - Six Year Old Trophy, Jerez
There were only three participants but they offered good quality performances and more scores of over 80%, such as that achieved by the winner, Divina Royal (by Desperados x Royal Highness), a beautiful chestnut mare presented by Carlos Nieto. Second place went to Fenix do Tineo, the bay Lusitano stallion which is a young son of RUBI and was trained and presented by Portuguese rider María Caetano, with whom he achieved an average of 80%. Who knows, maybe we’ll see them at the next World Championships in Ermelo? Fenix and María, the combination from Finca de Tineo debuted last year at the first CDI3* at the Royal Equestrian School and we are thrilled to have them back with us.
The new category: Seven-Year-Old
This category is the new FEI test for seven-year-old horses which is up and running for the first time in 2016.Yesterday’s winner in this class and repeating his success from last week was Matthias Alexander Rath presenting his own Sir Picardi (Sir Donnerhall I x Don Picardi). This wonderful stallion, which is also jointly owned by Paul Schockemöhle, is an outstanding mover with great elasticity in all gaits. His average of 76.250% included a score of 83.800% for the movements.
The test has an interesting component, as it brings together two views of the judges about the horses: their assessment as usual from a technical perspective and their perception of the horse’s potential and talent.
In second position was a well-known combination, consisting of Summernight (by Swarovski x Caprimond) – owned by Yeguada Sola Nogales – and Jesús Fajardo Ortega. They scored 68.784%. The mare was last year’s champion in the six-year-old class at the Spanish National Championships. The first PRE, namely Israel X (by Evento x mpalagoso), was hot on her tail and obtained third place, with a total of 68.181% and ridden by Francisco Gil.
Intermediate A
Danish Samba King (by Sandro King ) was the winner of the class with an average of 68.704%. One fault in the piaffe cost him dearly, yet even so he was able to regain his position. The strong trote was one of the highlights of this performance.
Second position was obtained by Claudio Castilla with a PRE stallion ICARO MG (Denebolo x Icara V) scoring 66.109%. Claudio, who is originally from the Jerez region but is now based in Madrid, brought a couple of promising horses to the show this week, with his Lusitano Alcaide performing in the Grand Prix this afternoon. Another Spanish combination took third place: Cristina Durán and the PRE Manchego ARB (Gumiel x Helguera), who some might remember from the World Championships for Young Horses in 2012. This bay is an excellent mover which is now working towards Grand Prix and here scored an average of 65.463%.
Valegro is in Jerez but will not compete
Of course, everybody was and is waiting for Valegro and the disappointment is that the superstar will not be competing in Jerez. On this topic, Carl Hester stated, “He has been going through all the procedure as if he was to compete. And, yes, we passed the vet-check but we have decided to take that last bit of pressure off his back. Actually, we passed the trot up the first week as a training horse as well and he is doing better than ever and we are very happy to keep on training with him.”
He said that they were concerned that people had come to see Valegro and that they felt sorry about any disappointment caused by the decision, going on to add, “But we believe that any fan can understand a decision being based on his wellbeing. We hope all can enjoy him still in the training arena every day in Jerez... and now Barolo can get the full spotlight", he said, with a smile.
Thursday was a successful opening day for Iberian horses as lots of new combinations are emerging, in addition to three excellent Oldburger horses in the winning position. Excitingly, there are still two more days to enjoy at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art. We are back for the second CDI3*, once again with our sponsors and partners Zetta Sport Music, Dos Lunas Dressage, the Jerez City Council, El Diario de Jerez newspaper, the Jaracar Audi Jerez brand, the Juan Gil wineries, the fantastic Momento Andaluz catering service and the HACE Jerez & Spa.
The competition is broadcast live at http://www.topiberian.com/ every day. The results will be available in real time at http://scores.topiberian.com/. Bobby Fernández de Bobadilla will be providing the commentary for the broadcasts for those who are unable to be there in person. Looking forward to seeing you again soon!
Tomorrow, from 8.15 am the show will be on. And the ZettaSportMusic Grand Prix Kür will be in progress in the afternoon. Some big names taking part, including Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester, José Antonio García Mena, Anna Louise Ross and Gonçalo Carvalho, etc amongst others.
by Katharina Braren for Top Iberian
Related Links
Scores 2016 CDI Jerez de la Frontera
Rothenberger and Cosmo Win Again and Take ZettaSportMusic Grand Prix Special at 2016 CDI Jerez
Dancing in the Rain: Rothenberger and Cosmo Win 2016 CDI Jerez Zetta Sport Music Grand Prix