Dufour to Ride New Kur in Gothenburg, Seeking World Cup Wild Card

Dressage

Denmark

Denmark's Cathrine Dufour, the team silver and double individual bronze medal winner at the 2017 European Championships, will be premiering a new freestyle to music at the 2018 CDI-W Gothenburg this weekend. She has also disclosed that she is seeking a wild card for the 2018 World Cup Finals if Gothenburg goes well.

Dufour and her 15-year old Danish warmblood Atterupgaards Cassidy (by Caprimond x Donnerhall) are ranked fifth on the FEI World Dressage Ranking. In January she split from her coach of 15 years, Rune Willum, and is now working Danish team trainer Nathalie Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein and has trained by Kyra Kyrklund on an occasional basis.

Dufour has not been aiming for the World Cup circuit and only competed at the CDI-W Herning this winter because it is in her home country Denmark. She is now heading for nearby Gothenburg in Sweden

"It's the first time in 15 years with a new coach and team, so I consider this more a training trip with Nathalie, so we can feel each other out," Dufour told Ridehesten.

Dufour will also premier a brand new freestyle in Gothenburg, designed by a Danish girl from SFC music, who was also closely involved with the original family that owned Cassidy before Dufour bought him. Her previous Kur was also by SFC and Cathrine used to it for exactly one year, debuting to it at the 2016 CDI Stockholm and last using it at the 2017 CDI Stockholm.

For her new music, Cathrine has also changed the floorplan and upped the degree of difficulty to 9.81.

"The new one is a bit more modern; very fresh and we’re trying to kind of tell a story about reaching the stars. There’s a bit of vocal in it as well," Cathrine told Eurodressage.

Dufour did not ride enough World Cup Qualifiers to be eligible to compete at the 2018 World Cup Finals in Paris in April, but she will be requesting one of the two wild cards available. Her goal this year is the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon and wanted to spare Cassidy from chasing points at all the World Cup qualifiers in Europe this winter.

"If I get a top ranking (in Gothenburg), I will request a wild card. I'm high on the World Ranking, so maybe there's a chance," Dufour told Ridehesten.