Sanneke Rothenberger made it into triple gold at the 2016 European Under 25 Championships at Hof Kasselmann in Hagen, Germany, on Sunday 19 June 2016. The Bad Homburg based German rider added kur gold to her tally after winning team and individual gold the days before. German Florine Kiembaum captured her second silver of the weekend, while Austrian Diana Porsche added some variety to the podium and captured bronze.
The 2016 European Under 25 Championships were perfectly organized by Team Kasselmann even though the weather was not as complient as hoped for in June and a crowd lacked. Still the event had all the features of a European Championship: set in a big sport stadium, top footing that stayed good despite tons of rain, a high level of riding, a proper medal ceremony supported by the rooting and cheering of those who had joined the riders in Hagen.
Show organizer Ullrich Kasselmann was totally satisfied with the performances and the outcome of the event. "I am happy and proud that the FEI has asked us to host the European Championship. We saw championships that radiated a lot of sympathy, and athletes who presented amazing performances. I am convinced that we will see some of the participants again at future Olympic Games."
The Kur to Music finals on Sunday were judged by Fouarge (NED), Ringmark (SWE), Eisenhardt (GER), Maknami (RUS) and Foy (USA) and their scores systematically went up as the best riders started at the end of the day in a grouped reverse order.
Sanneke Rothenberger and her 15-year old Oldenburg Deveraux OLD (by De Niro x Rohdiamant) was the clear favourite for Kur gold after having won the team Inter II test and individual Short Grand Prix and she fulfiled the expectations. The 23-year old rode beautiful trot half passes with good crossing of the legs and also in the canter half passes her black gelding covered much ground. Deveraux tends to lose the collection and compactness in the frame a bit in passage and Rothenberger visibly half-halted to keep him together. The contact with the bridle is light though. The first piaffe was on the forehand, the other piaffes were better in rhythm, but the transitions into piaffe are very much stop-and-go. Deveraux' weak side in the walk, in which the horse stays clear in rhythm but lacks ground cover. The tempi changes were all correct, also the ones on the curved ine, and the left double pirouette was outstanding. Rothenberger finished with a piaffe fan that was good in rhythm, even though the horse got deep. Her score of 80.450% for her Lord of the Rings freestyle ride was a generous one. It put her in the lead but the difference with the second placed pair was a bit too much.
"I was more nervous today than otherwise,” said Rothenberger who accepted her 21st gold medal today, 16 at European Championships and five at German Championships. Rothenberger is riding two Grand Prix level horses while she focuses on achieving her Masters degree at business college. "I am simply totally grateful – for my horse, my supporters and the fantastic conditions at this exceptional show."
German Florine Kienbaum and her 12-year old Hanoverian gelding Doktor Schiwago (by Don Frederico x Weltruhm) opted for quite different music, darker metal based tunes which did not really give a happy but at least it was something different from the majority of bad synthesizer back ground music the others rode to. The piaffe and passage are not the most spectacular but they stand out with superb regularity. The tall, long legged gelding, who is nick named "mini," ocassionally dropped behind the vertical. The trot half passes lacked suppleness and swing. The right pirouette was small but in one the horse lost some self carriage. Kienbaum's test stood out by its incredibly high degree of technical difficulty with piaffe quarter turns and correct tempi changes on curved lines as well as a line with a smooth transition from two to one tempi changes on a curved line. They scored 77.175% for a second silver.
"I was completely relaxed. I had already achieved everything I wanted yesterday and on Friday,” said Kienbaum who is a sports and event management student. "I chose a more rocking music and I am riding a big, impressive horse, it actually fits well."
The 20-year old Diana Porsche and the 13-year old Oldenburg gelding Di Sandro (by De Niro x Sandro) were the last to go and benefited from that advantageous starting time. Di Sandro probably has some of the best piaffe-passage of all horses that competed in Hagen on the weekend, but he wasn't the freshest or the quickest on Sunday. Riding to esoterical chanting music, Porsche produced a correct and safe ride. Overall it lacked energy and pezzazz and her tall gelding dropped behind the vertical on multiple occasions. The trot half passes were short, the extensions lacked lengthening and ground cover, but the piaffe and passage were always regular and rhythmical, and the straight one tempi changes on the centerline were a highlight. The two tempi's were well executed and the canter half passes clean. Porsche finished her ride with an extended trot transitioning into a piaffe pirouette. They scored 76.000% for bronze.
Porsche has been riding Di Sandro since December 2014, after her coach at the time, Dieter Laugks, found her dark bay gelding and Diana's parents literally gave it as a Christmas parents. The bronze medal was the icing on the cake. "My goal was reaching the freestyle final. I have never competed in a final before," said a beaming Porsche, who lives in Vienna, Austria.
German Nadine Husenbeth and her 17-year old Westfalian mare Florida (by Fidermark x Grosso Z) placed fourth and just missed out on a medal. The compact chestnut mare has a very beautiful side silhouette in passage and piaffe, but in front you can clearly see she goes wide in piaffe and swings. In the collected walk she gets stiff legged, but in the extended she showed wonderful relaxation and ground cover. Florida constantly swooshes her tail but is very co-operative to her rider and on the aids. The pair showed much routine at Grand Prix level (they have been competing in the senior division) and their mileage and experience showed. A mistake in the two tempi changes and a larger left pirouette tampered with the score. They finished on 75.175%
Stephanie Kooijman became the highest scoring Dutch rider at the European Under 25 Championships. She finished fifth in the freestyle with 74.950%. Kooijman was one of at least three riders who had borrowed freestyle music from senior Grand Prix riders. Kooijman's 13-year old Dutch warmblood Winston (by OO Seven x Cocktail) showed strong trot extensions (slightly rushed) and half passes, despite a small hesitation in the exit from the half pass right. The passage is not the most engaged from behind, but was regular. In the piaffe Winston ran out of steam and lost impulsion. The extended canter had good energy but there was a mistake in the two tempi's. The extended walk is limited in ground cover. The second set of two tempi's were nicely uphill. There was a small miscommunication in the final transition from canter to trot.
Text & Photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED
Eurodressage's Astrid Appels is on the scene in Hagen taking photos of as many riders as she could. Contact us if you are interested in prints or digital files for your social media use.
Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2016 European Under 25 Championships