German Sanneke Rothenberger became the individual gold medal winner at the inaugural European Under 25 Championships at Hof Kasselmann in Hagen, Germany, on Saturday 18 June 2016. German Florine Kienbaum and Spanish Juan Matute Guimon earned silver and bronze.
The 22-year old Sanneke Rothenberger cashed her 15th European Championship medal in her career after winning team gold at the Euro Under 25s yesterday. The seasoned Grand Prix rider has been competing in the senior division but was allowed to drop back to the Under 25 group as she has not yet ridden a senior continental Championship for Germany.
The indivudual championship and medals were decided by the Short Grand Prix, which was judged by Janet Foy (USA), Ghislain Fouarge (NED), Irina Maknami (RUS), Magnus Ringmark (SWE), and Evi Eisenhardt (GER). The European Under 25 Championships are celebrating their inaugural first edition, perfectly hosted, organized and trend set by Ullrich Kasselmann. With 41 riders from 12 nations the Championships are a major success from the start even though riders today had to brave numerous rain showers, which did not dampen the spirits.
Sanneke Rothenberger saddled her number one Grand Prix horse Deveraux OLD, a 15-year old Oldenburg gelding by De Niro x Rohdiamant. The pair stood out with its very controlled, quiet work. The trot extensions were expressive, the half passes floating even though the horse slightly tilted the head. The passage was very regular but the black could stay more closed in the frame. In the piaffe he gets very narrow at the base and still leans much on the forehand, but Rothenberger never lost her cool and quietly worked through the more difficult movements for the horse. The walk is the weak point. In the collected he almost gets lateral and in the extended there could be more overtrack, but Sanneke rode every step as carefully as possible. The transitions into piaffe are a bit too much stop and go, but then the tempi changes and extended canter were outstanding, even though there was a hiccup in the one tempi's. On the final centreline the transition from canter to trot was too abrupt and the collected failed a bit in the final stretch of passage, but overall the test was very pleasing to the eye and stood out by meticulous riding.
The judges were unanimous in their verdict and rewarded Rothenberger the winning score of 75.977% with marks ranging from 73.372% to 77.442%.
"My feelings today are impossible to describe," said Rothenberger. "I already won individual and team gold in the junior and young rider division with 'Devil' – now also in the under 25, which definitively confirms the quality of this fantastic horse. I was a bit annoyed about myself, the mistake in the one tempo change was my responsibility.”
German Florine Kienbaum captured the silver with her 73.116% earning ride on the 12-year old Hanoverian Doktor Schiwago (by Don Frederico x Weltruhm). While the judges' marks were all closely together, her placings ranged from second to sixth place, which is a testimony to the high level of competition that took place in Hagen today with a strong top group of riders rivaling each other.
Kienbaum and her long legged black gelding produced lovely trot extensions and very rhythmical piaffe-passage work, even though the horse lost elasticity in the half passes. Kienbaum's test was very solid throughout with well ridden pirouettes and tempi changes, good differentiation between the collected and extended giats. The horse relaxed well in the extended walk. Only on the final centerline Doktor Schiwago ran out of steam in the final bit of passage.
"The whole show was so exciting. I am incredibly proud," said the 23-year old Florine. “There was a lot of tension during the team competition yesterday, and I chose the safe option. Today I wanted to improve our performance."
One year after becoming the 2015 European Junior Kur Champion, Florida based Spania Juan Matute Guimon grabbed the individual bronze at the European Under 25 Championships. Matute dropped from senior Grand Prix level to Under 25 with his top ride Don Diego, another Don Frederico offspring making his mark in Hagen. Owned by Yeguada de Ymas, Don Diego is a 13-year old Hanoverian with quite some miles to his record. In the Intermediaire II he was a bit lacklustre, but Matute had him fresher and sharper in the Short Grand Prix. The horse is very consistent in the bridle, even though the contact with the curb could be lighter. The trot work was very accurate, the passage regular even though the black could be a bit more engaged from behind. In the piaffe he struggles to stay on the spot. The first piaffe was very economical in the amount of steps and in the second he crept forward a bit. Don Diego produces lovely canter pirouettes but double beat in the collected canter at the onset of each of them. The tempi changes were ground covering. Matute scored 72.558% for bronze.
"I am very proud and grateful," said the 18-year old Matute. "I fully enjoyed the fantastic feeling and atmosphere here in the stadium. Tomorrow I will ride my freestyle to music of Michael Jackson – you can count on me."
Austrian Diana Porsche and her 13-year old Oldenburg bred Di Sandro (by De Niro x Sandro) were the pair showing some of the best piaffe-passage work of the day. The gelding is very rhythmical and showed very smooth transitions, even though he dropped behind the vertical in the final passage centerline. The trot work lacked some elasticity and ground cover and the extensions the dark bay was slightly hurried. Porsche, who switched coaches from Dieter Laugks to Leida Strijk at the end of the Florida show season last April, was very quiet in the saddle on her powerful gelding. Overall the horse could have been a bit quicker from behind in the canter tour. The pirouettes were small but lacked some impulsion. The tempi changes were very obedient. The pair scored 72.535% and were only a fraction of a point short of a medal.
Dutch Stephanie Kooijman rode a very commendable test aboard her 13-year old Dutch warmblood Winston (by OO Seven x Cocktail). The tall black gelding showed impressive trot extensions, but lost elasticity and scope in the half passes. Winston is not the most powerful behind and it shows in his lack of self carriage in passage and smaller steps in piaffe, but the horse showed great attitude and willingness to perform. He stayed regular in those movements. In the extended walk the nose could have been more out. Kooijman risked much in the canter extension and lost. The horse made two unscripted flying changes, which made her scores drop considerably. The tempi changes were correct but in the ones the horse changed shorter with the left hind. They finished on 72.256% and a fifth place.
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