The German young riders' team is off to a strong start as two of its four riders, who competed on the first day of the 2010 European Young Riders Championships at Schafhof, tied on first place with 71,895%. The Netherlands provisionally ranks second, Denmark third.
German junior turned Young Rider Louisa Lüttgen was the last to go on the first day of competition and equalled the score of her team mate Stella Charlott Roth. Aboard her 13-year old Hanoverian gelding Habitus (by Hohenstein x Weltmeyer) Luttgen showed perfect relaxation in combination with engaged, uphill work. The huge canter pirouettes were the weakpoint of the test but Louisa made up for that by showing an excellent extended walk and riding a horse which was always light in the bridle.
Stella Charlott Roth and the big black mare Diva Royal (by Don Frederico x Warkant) stood out with their groundcovering and suspended trot extensions. The mare had a bit of a tail swoosh going and she could have been lighter in the connection, but she made good tempi changes and had an extended walk with three hooves overtrack (even though the rhythm can still be improved).
Danish Camilla Orloff, who is trained by Finnish Mikaela Lindh, finished third aboard her Dutch mare Utah (by Olivi x Vulcaan). The chestnut has super expressive movements with much knee action, but she appeared tense and Orloff seemed to ride with a heavy hand. In canter the mare lost her clear 3-beat rhythm and stiffened slightly in the topline. The trot work was nevertheless energetic and forward. They scored 69.474%
Dutch Robin Beekink and her thoroughbred looking Pablo (by Drossan x Sandro) also had much tension in their test despite the brisk trot work with much lift in the knee. The dark bay gelding stalled in the walk pirouette left, but performed a very good right one. The tempi's every three strides were very straight and the pirouettes were good. They got 68.789% from the panel of judges.
Dutch Michelle van Lanen was unable to impress sufficiently with her 20-year old Dutch warmblood Incredible (by Voltaire). The trotwork was hasty and looked ponyesque in its speedy rhythm that lacked self carriage and power from behind. In the collected walk he almost paced though the extended walk had good overtrack. The rider was quite explicit with her leg aids and her heels were constantly tapping against the side of the horse. The drop dead gorgeous black stallion is a real poster boy but it was a pity to see that his mouth was dull and had no foam. Van Lanen pushed her points back in the air with good canter work. The flying changes every four strides were very nice. The judges differed considerably in their assessment of this ride in particular. German Katrina Wust scored it a royal 71.315% whereas Danish Susanne Baarup kept it more realistic at a 66.842%.
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - No Reproduction allowed
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