The 2016 World Cup Finals might not feature four of the world's biggest star riders. Beatriz Ferrer-Salat, Edward Gal and Charlotte Dujardin have announced that they are not competing at the Finals, which are set to take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 23 - 27 March 2016, and Isabell Werth's entry is still unsure. The excitement factor at the 2016 World Cup Finals will be heavily reduced with several title favourites being no-shows.
Isabell Werth topped the Western European League ranking and qualified for the finals with two horses: Don Johnson and her new exciting star Weihegold. Last week Isabell withdrew Don Johnson from the CDI-W 's Hertogenbosch as the Hanoverian sustained an injury in his stall. Werth has now confirmed to St. Georg that she will decide on the weekend whether Don Johnson is fit enough to go to the Finals.
Werth's higher scoring option Weihegold is definitely out for the Finals. Two weeks ago Weihegold was supposed to compete at the CDI Dortmund with Isabell's assistant trainer Beatrice Buchwald, but the pair scratched from Dortmund because the Oldenburg mare (by Don Schufro x Sandro Hit) sustained an infection. This airway infection has not yet sufficiently healed for the horse to compete in Gothenburg with Werth.
"Don Johnson is now in light training but all the issues with a twelve hour transport, foreign environment, foreign horses and of course the sportive effort only make sense if he's 100%," Werth told ST. Georg. "Weihegold was never an alternative. It was always clear that I would take Don Johnson," Werth surprisingly continued. "The outdoor season is priority."
The Dutch equestrian federation confirmed that Edward Gal will not be taking Voice (by De Niro) to Gothenburg. Right before the CDI-W 's Hertogenbosch last week, Gal fell off his horse at home and injured his wrist and back. He has not healed sufficiently to ride Voice in the World Cup Finals.
Beatriz Ferrer-Salat, who won kur bronze at the 2015 European Championships and the qualifier in Stuttgart, is not taking her 15-year old Westfalian gelding Delgado (by De Niro x Weltmeyer) to Gothenburg, and will be focusing on Rio instead.
"Gothenburg is over 2,500km away from Barcelona, the journey is too long," Ferrer-Salat told Eurodressage. "I want to save the horse for the Olympic Games."
Charlotte Dujardin had already announced at the beginning of the winter show season that she would not be seeking to defend her title on her number one Valegro. However, after competing Carl Hester's Uthopia (by Metall) at the World Cup qualifiers in London and Amsterdam, she was eligible to take the Dutch warmblood stallion to Gothenburg.
Horse and Hound confirmed that Dujardin will not be riding Uthopia in Sweden either, because of the ongoing legal issues concerning the ownership of the horse. British Dressage confirmed that these legal woes have once again put a spanner in the works of the stop-and-go show career of Uthopia since 2012.
"Due to the ongoing legal dispute around Uthopia’s ownership, the horse won’t be available to compete at the () World Cup dressage final in Gothenburg, and therefore Charlotte will be sadly unable to defend her title," said British Dressage.
Photo © Astrid Appels
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