Mario von Depka and Axel Windeler's Hanoverian licensed stallion Don Martillo was able to keep a firm hold on the number one spot in the 5-year old Preliminary Test after the class concluded with group two at the 2017 World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo, The Netherlands, on Friday morning 4 August 2017. In a final twist at the end of the class, Hesselhoj Donkey Boy edged out Ferrari for second place.
Don't Ever Do This Again!
For incomprehensible reasons, the Ermelo show organizers split the participants of the 5 and 6-year old preliminary tests into two groups, spreading the warm up test and qualifier for the finals out over the first and second day of competition at the World Championships. Not only was it unfair to the riders with this unlevel field of play (different weather conditions, a new day a fresh mind, more difficult comparison between horses), it was also less fun for the spectators who did not experience as sensational a build-up with the entire test on one day. Furthermore, those spectators who chose to focus on the 6-year old horses in the afternoon in ring two, missed out completely on all the action in the 7-year old division that took place in the main stadium.
Already after two days, the 2017 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses will go down in the books as the highest quality competition ever seen since the Championships' inauguration in 1999. We have been told that the 7-year old division is fabulous with many fantastic horses, but Eurodressage has not seen any of those so far as we decided to focus on the original core of the competition: the 5 and 6-year olds.
After the preliminary test one can be sure that the 2017 edition of the 5-year old division is the best ever experienced. No less than 6 horses scored 9.0 or higher, which is unprecedented. One has to admit that aside from the world class quality in Ermelo, the judges did drive themselves into a cul-de-sac by giving Ferrari stellar marks on day one and leaving little room for more for other exceptional horses, not to mention the finals where the spectators will virtually expect the first 10.5 to be decorated with the ways things are going!
The Bar was High
Judges Dietrich Plewa, Isabel Judet, Eddy de Wolff, and Andrew Gardner were certainly in a good mood, and that also continued on Friday with more brilliant horses entering the ring.
The morning session kicked off with the Hungarian Barnabas Gemes on the Hungarian bred Jamiroquai (by Johnson x Alabardos) doing a more than decent job (7.76) followed by the super talented Danish warmblood stallion Atterupgaards Botticelli (by Benetton Dream x Caprimond) under Selina Solberg Vittinghus. The liver chestnut has brilliant gaits and is a very impressive appearance, but his trot was overcollected, in walk he dropped in the contact and in canter he got butt high (7.52 points). The horse lacked forward tendency throughout and the cheeky, muscled macho was not honest in the contact, pulling naughtily on the reins. He will get a new chance in the consolation finals.
One lovely horse followed after another. Jeanna Hogberg presented the very functional Swedish mare Astoria (by Sir Donnerhall II x Quaterback) she was a bit weeble wobble with her head and body in trot, but in canter the hindleg was very well engaged (8.36 points). The mare beautifully stretched into the contact when she was given the rein. Young Swedish Ida-Linn Lundholm did a wonderful job on Jan Brink's Hanoverian stallion Dragon Welt (by Dancier x Weltmeyer). The chestnut could not defy his grandsire's DNA with his typical, cadenced hindleg usage in the trot extensions. The stallion showed exemplary bending in the corners and on the curved lines, something that was missing with many horses! The canter work was engaged from behind, but could have had more uphill tendency (8.38 points).
Matchball
The first horse of the day to take one's breath away was Johann Hinnemann and Thomas Voss' Oldenburg gelding Matchball OLD (by Millennium x De Niro). Brilliantly presented by Stefanie Wolf, the willowy black gelding was always soft and light in the contact and so incredibly obedient and willing to work. The trot had much suspension and rhythm with a well working hindleg. The extended walk had two hooves overstep but was not the biggest in stride length. The canter was huge with much airtime although on the right lead Matchball lost some elasticity. The 7.9 for walk, 9.2 for trot and canter, 9.5 for submission and 9.2 for general impression were definitely in place. The pair finished sixth with a total of 9.0 points.
Right after Matchball another German pair entered the arena, German Under 25 rider Nadine Husenbeth on the feminine, black Hanoverian mare Faviola (by Foundation x Weltmeyer). While Husenbeth certainly did a lovely job presenting this graceful mover in an elegant way, the mare stayed a bit too horizontal in the trot work with a hindleg never truly pushing and moving under the body, taking weight. The walk was very well ridden with much overstep. In canter Faviola showed an active hindleg but there needed to be more uphill tendency. Two small niggles (a break into canter from trot and the end halt not immobile) were small errors. The judges liked it a bit more than we did and were generous with their points: 8.9 for trot, 9 for walk, 8.5 for canter, 8.2 for submission and 8.8 for general impression. They finished 8th with 8.68 points.
A third German combination followed Faviola and they were yet another display a beautiful, harmonious riding. German Olympian Dorothee Schneider is known for her expert skills in training young horses up the levels and horse after horse she convinces judges and crowds with her classical, correct riding. Aboard Silke Pelzer's Oldenburg mare Sisters Act OLD von Rosencarré (by Sandro Hit x Royal Diamond), Schneider executed a fantastic ride that easily could have scored higher than the 8.72 they got! The dappled bay mare had much cadence in trot with gorgeous suspension and lightfootedness in the forehand. The mare was soft in the contact and exemplary in the frame. The trot extensions were prim and proper, but maybe a bit hasty. The walk was huge, with a very good V-moment showing in the clear 4-beat rhythm. The canter was nice, maybe not the biggest in stride length and the counter canter right lacked some elasticity, but the pair finished the test with a strong giving and taking of the rein. Overall Sisters Act is not as powerful from behind as Don Martillo, but when it comes to rideability and training they are equals. The judges scored the mare 9.5 for trot, 8.5 for walk, 8 for canter and 8.8 for submission and general impression.
And Then Come Donkey Boy
Coming close to the end of the class with six more pairs to go, the Danish licensed stallion Hesselhojs Donkey Boy brought the judges straight to cloud nine. Owned by Norwegian Kristin Andresen, the bright bay was presented by Jan Moller Christensen. The compact stallion has legs miles long, yet slightly paddles in front. The side silhouette is finger licking good though. His hindleg is quick and active and although the horse kept a flowing rhythm on the curved lines he lacked self carriage. In the trot extensions he covered massive ground but the right hind leg stepped out from under the body. In canter Donkey Boy had his legs flying and he attentively listened to his rider's aids. Hesselhoj Donkey Boy was really a true 5-year old, showing great promise but still lacking that final strength from behind and self carriage.
The judges rewarded the sympathetic bay with 9.7 for trot, 9.8 for walk, 9.5 for canter and submission and 9.7 for general impression. The total of 9.64% was in line with the point extravaganza that started on Thursday and there was no other way if the panel wanted to maintain a consistent line. Donkey Boy landed second place, edging out Andreas Helgstrand and Ferrari for third.
A Mon Avis
The last big whopper expected in the arena was Spanish Severo Jurado Lopez on Andreas Helgstrand's Hanoverian licensed stallion D'Avie (by Don Juan de Hus x Londonderry x Walt Disney I). The story of D'Avie is an interesting one: at the 2014 Hanoverian Stallion Licensing the chestnut was the auction price highlight selling to Helgstrand for 620,000 euro. Two months later German Arlette Jasper-Kohl bought a half share in the horse and the stallion moved to Germany in 2015. He was pulled from breeding when his semen quality proved to be insufficient the first year and then never sparked the interest of the breeders afterwards when the quality improved again. In April 2017 Helgstrand obtained full ownership of the stallion again with the intention of presenting him in Ermelo and selling the horse.
Under Helgstrand's most celebrated stable jockey Severo Jurado Lopez, D'Avie was expected to be one of the hot contenders in Ermelo. The gorgeous stallion with his beautiful face and neck was quite spooky though, shying on the centerline at X and again near E. In trot D'Avie has a very elegant frontleg and produced extensions that were climbing. The extended walk was outstanding. The canter was off the ground, but lacked stretch in the ribcage in the lengthenings and sometimes lost the clarity in the 3-beat rhythm. D'Avie took off in the extended canter left and changed behind, the simple change was hesitant and also in the giving and taking of the rein, the horse did not sufficiently stretch forward-downward.
In my opinion, the judges dropped the ball when they scored this pair. D'Avie got 9.5 for trot, 8.8 for walk, 9.7 for canter (we liked the trot much more!) 8.5 for submission (this raises eyebrows with all the mistakes in the test) and 9.2 for general impression. Jurado Lopez and D'Avie totaled 9.14 points to finish fifth. The Hanoverian is definitely a high quality horse, but it was not his day.
The top 12 ranked horses, which scored 8.4 or more, have qualified for the Finals on Sunday 6 August. Three more pairs, the three highest scoring combinations in the consolation finals on Saturday, will be added to that list. The 5-year old Finals are certainly promising to be historic ones!
Text and Photos by Astrid Appels - No Reproduction Allowed
Eurodressage's Astrid Appels is on the scene taking photos at the 2017 World Young Horse Championships - If you are interested in prints or digital files for your social media, email us.
Related Links
Scores 2017 World Young Horse Championships
Eurodressage coverage of the 2017 World Young Horse Championships