The dressage selection committee of the German Equestrian Federation made a few surprising moves in their nomination of the German team for the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, U.S.A., on 12 - 15 September 2018.
Not only did they agree to select Isabell Werth's personal preference for Tryon, the 14-year old Westfalian mare Bella Rose (by Belissimo M x Cacir AA), over the higher scoring and proven gold medal winner Weihegold, who is the 2017 European Champion and 2018 World Cup winner.
Furthermore, Helen Langehanenberg and Louise Leatherdale's Hanoverian licensed stallion Damsey (by Dressage Royal x Ritual), were pushed into the reserve position despite being the third highest scoring German combination this 2018 show season. Instead the committee preferred routinier Dorothee Schneider on Sammy Davis Jr and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on her rising star Dalera BB.
A quick look at the most recent Grand Prix scores achieved by these three pairs at international competitions show the following: Damsey scored 77.034 (Aachen), 78.044 (Neumunster) and three days ago 77.100 at the national observation show in Munster. Sammy Davis got 75.916 (Aachen), 76.00 (Munich), 75.311 (WCF), and 76.739 (Neumunster), while Dalera scored 76.848 (Aachen), 74.109 (Munich), 72.652 (Hagen), and 75.065 (Ebreichsdorf).
Eurodressage interviewed German team trainer Monica Theodorescu about the decision making process for team selection.
"Bella Rose (was chosen) as the first horse for Isabell Werth because our feelings are that the form of Bella Rose is strongly rising so that Isabell can show the full potential of the mare at WEG," Monica explained.
When it comes to the preference of Schneider and Von Bredow over Langehanenberg, Monica added that "our preference lay on the two younger horses, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dalera BB, with bigger perspectives for future championships."
Photo © Astrid Appels
Related Links
German Team Selected for 2018 World Equestrian Games
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2018 World Equestrian Games