The 2012 CDI Mechelen kicked off with a small Prix St Georges class early Thursday morning 27 December 2012. German Helen Langehanenberg and the 8-year old Oldenburg stallion Rohjuwel (by Rohdiamant) surfaced at the top with a 72.237% score. Belgian Larissa Pauluis finished in second place with 70.842%.
The Mechelen indoor arena always poses a challenge to sensitive horses with its noisy surrroundings and the crowds close to the ring. The Prix St Georges was judged by an experienced panel, including Van Daele (BEL), Svalling (SWE), Holler (GER), Leyman (BEL), and Saleh (FRA), but the riding posed quite a problem to the judges as the scores were all over the place.
Langehanenberg presented her green S-level horse with much style. The chunky Rohjuwel is a sympathatic horse, but he lacks lightfootedness and is naturally not an uphill horse. Langehanenberg kept her aids subtle and the contact light even though the dark bay stallion needed to be much more electric from behind and carrying the weight. The trot work was smooth and flowing, the extended walk big. The flying changes between the canter half passes was unbalanced and in the tempi changes the horse loses its forward-go. Stlll, Helen made no major mistakes and the presentation was nice. They scored 72.237% with 76.579% as high score (Leyman) and 69.605% as low score (Saleh).
Belgian Larrisa Pauluis, who is quite pregnant and probably rode her last CDI competition for the time being, had a successful ride aboard Eric Jacquemet's refined looking 10-year old German stallion Lully (by Likoto xx x Weltmeyer). The bright bay gelding showed a good trot but hollowed his back pushing his neck high. The extended walk was outstanding but the walk pirouette to the right lost flow. The canter work was quite conservative and safe with no major issues, though there was one double beat in the canter pirouette left. The duo scored 70.842% with 68.947% as low score (Holler) and 73.158% as high score (Svalling).
Patrick van der Meer and his very talented 9-year old Dutch bred stallion Karolus van Wittenstein (by Krack C) showed much promise in the test but there were some polish issues. The halt at entry was not square, the collected trot appeared too passagey and the half halting was far from subtle. Nonetheless the chestnut stallion, who is quite small for his tall rider, showed fantastic trot half passes and extensions. The extended walk had good energy, but the transition to canter went wrong. As impressive as Karolus was in trot, in canter he lost his self carriage and stuck to his rider's leg, lacking impulsion especially in the four tempi's. The three tempi changes were good and the canter pirouette to the right was nice. The end halt was unbalanced with the horse standing wide behind and stretched with the legs. The pair scored 70.605% in total with 67.500% as low score (Saleh) and a very generous 74.079% high score (Van Daele).
French judge Saleh might have appeared quite conservative with his points in the Grand Prix, but in the Prix St Georges he often hit the nail on the head with his strict judging. Huge score discrepancies were to be recorded with numerous combinations. Belgian Philippe Jorissen and his Rhinelander bred mare Agneta (by Abanos) finished fourth with 68.605% but his scores ranged from 63.684% to 70.526%. The very talented, athletic mare proves a challenge to the eye as she is constantly uneven behind in the lateral movements and bends in trot, but becomes more even in the trot extensions. The canter work she executes flawlessly. The fifth placed rider was Adelinde Cornelissen aboard her 12-year old Dutch mare Tiara (by Jazz x Gardeoffizier), which was quite strong in the bridle and unsteady in the contact. She became quick in the tempo and lost her balance in the trot work on the left lead, but showed a lovely second trot extension. The mare jogged in the collected walk before the transition to canter. Cornelissen stayed very focused on her black mare and was able to ride faultfree tempi changes. Tiara was strong in the mouth in the left canter pirouette, the right one is very good. Adelinde scored 68.368% but her marks veered from 64.737 (Svalling) to 70.526% (Leyman).
Belgian Grand Prix rider Stefan van Ingelgem and the 8-year old Oldenburg Rousseau's Topas (by Rousseau x Rohdiamant) made their international small tour debut in Mechelen. The stallion was previously competed by Simon Missiaen, for instance at the 2011 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, but owner Carlo Vanhove relocated the horse with a different trainer to prepare it for FEI level. The new combination was good in trot but the horse paced heavily in the collected walk. Also the tempi changes were very crooked and swinging from left to ride on the diagonal. The judges gave them a 64.000 % score in total with a 67.763% high score (Van Daele) and a 60.921% low score (Saleh).
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - No Reproduction Allowed
Related Links
Scores: 2012 CDI Mechelen
Damon Hill Edges Out Parzival in 2012 CDI Mechelen Grand Prix
Langehanenberg and Damon Hill Win 2012 CDI Mechelen Grand Prix
