Matthias Rath and the 14-year old Dutch warmblood stallion made a clean sweep at the 2014 CDI Kapellen taking out their second victory in the Grand Prix Special on Saturday 24 May 2014. Their come back after a two year break was an excellent one, putting Rath in the running for German WEG team selection. If he wants to clear the deal, he'll have to compete at the mandatory qualifiers in Perl and Aachen in the next two months.
The Grand Prix Special at the 2014 CDI Kapellen was set in beautiful, sunny spring weather and a decent crowd gathered at the venue to witness the second ride of the star duo after a two-year year struggle with injury and health issues. The pair has returned in great shape and the Special was even better than the Grand Prix, even though there needs to be some major fine-tuning if they want to be a fair challenge to the world's best combinations of the moment.
The halt at entry was not square but scored 8.4 nonetheless. The trot extensions have much better overtrack than ever before, but they were all irregular in front with the stallion lifting the left front leg much higher than the right one. The judges could barely be bothered by it and scored the movement a 7.4. The passage was beautifully elevated, regular and bouncy. The combinations passage - extended trot - passage earned them 8.3. For the relaxed extended walk the judges put an average of 7.5 on the board. The first piaffe was well on the spot and very rhythmical but the horse opened the mouth a lot, the transitions were flawless. The second piaffe was the best one. While Totilas has much better length in the neck, the curb is constantly tilted horizontally in the mouth and the curb rein is tight. There was a booboo at the end of the canter half pass right (score 7.0 anyway), the two tempi changes were uphill and ground covering but the horse swung too much in the body. There was a big mistake at the start of the one tempi's. The pirouettes were small and well jumped. The final centerline was well ridden but the end halt was a lot behind the vertical. The German duo scored a total of 82.271% with marks ranging from 80.208% (Smeets) and 84.583% (Hamoud).
Belgian duo Jeroen Devroe and the Belgian warmblood Eres DL (by Sir Lui x Balzflug) obtained an A-team score by finishing second with 69.375%. The tall and more old fashioned looking 10-year old bay gelding has only done his 8th Grand Prix test and competition class in his life but over the weeks has proven to be more reliable and consistent after a brain freeze in the piaffe at the CDI Roosendaal two weeks ago. In Kapellen the duo stood out with its accuracy and fault free riding. The passage has much potential, the horse is regular in all movements, but the piaffe is still a bit small yet rhythmical. It needs a bit more articulation in each step.
Swedish Jennie Larsson and her Dutch warmblood stallion Zircoon Spring Flower should count themselves very lucky to finish third on the incredibly generous score of 69.271%. The talented bay stallion flew through the collected trot work at the beginning of the test. The horse was ridden in a medium trot on the short sides and in the trot half pass to the left, showing no collection whatsoever. He could also have been lighter in the bridle. The passage was nice. In the extended walk the horse had two hooves overtrack but was distracted and neighed. The horse got croup high in the transition out of the first piaffe, in the second piaffe he first reared, then stalled and kicked to the spur twice with his right hind leg. The two tempi changes were ground covering but he swayed in the hindquarters, the ones were better. The balance could improve in the pirouettes but they have potential. The final piaffe had a better rhythm but was ridden too forward. Larsson's marks ranged from 71.771% (Lopes) to 65.000% (Swenden).
Belgian Julie de Deken executed a very strong ride on her Hessian licensed stallion Lucky Dance (by Lucky Lionell) who has made vast improvement over the past few months, appearing better in the contact with more length in the neck and swing in the body. The passage-extended trot combinations were well ridden, the tempi changes uphill and ground covering. The piaffe is still quite hesitant but the potential was there. De Deken's "bete noir" exercise, the left pirouette, was well ridden. At the end of the test, the Belgian rider almost went off course beginning the final extended trot on the diagonal instead of on the track but she corrected herself in time. De Deken should have scored well above 69% but ended up on an average of 68.625% as Portuguese Lopes apparently saw a totally different test than his colleagues. He marked the ride with a puzzling 64.896%.
Another pair making giant leaps of improvement lately is the Belgian based French duo Ludovic Henry on the bay After You (by Abanos). Henry has been showing a better ability to stay focused on the ride and remain fault free. The passage is expressive but could still be a bit more collected in the frame. The tempi changes are big, the pirouettes have much jump and the piaffe needs a bit more expression. This duo completed the top five in the Special with 66.271%
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED
Eurodressage's Astrid Appels was on the scene taking photos of ALL riders at the CDI Kapellen. Contact us if you are interested in photo prints, collages or albums.
Related Links
Scores 2014 CDI Kapellen
Smooth Come Back for Rath and Totilas at 2014 CDI Kapellen
Totilas Buzz at the 2014 CDI Kapellen
Rath and Totilas to Make Show Come Back Tomorrow at 2014 CDI Kapellen
