Glamourdale Dazzles in Prix St Georges at 2019 CDIO Aachen

The 2019 edition of the CDIO Aachen kicked off on Wednesday afternoon 17 July 2019 with the Prix St Georges.  British Charlotte Fry and her 2018 World Young Horse Champion Glamourdale dazzled and won the class with a whopping 77.971%.

The Dutch based Fry steered the 8-year old KWPN stallion Glamourdale (by Lord Leatherdale x Negro) with confidence through the Prix St Georges programme. The black stallion is a true powerhouse with a ferrari engine behind and three exceptional basic gaits. He is consistently uphill in trot and canter, always powerfully engaged from behind and he has a clear 4-beat in the extended walk. He  easily takes the weight on the hindquarters and showed very promising half pirouettes, a stellar extended canter and scopey tempi changes. The only point of critique for their test is that the horse needs to be more relaxed and supple in the contact. His trembling lower lip reveals that it is all a bit exciting and daunting, after all, for such a young star.

Fry is the head competition rider at Van Olst Horses in Den Hout, The Netherlands, and coached by Anne van Olst. Although she is petite, the 2018 European Under 25 Champion is fearless. After the prize giving ceremony the stallion stood relaxed for the official handshake and trophy moment, but in the lap of honour he grabbed the opportunity and bolted out of the arena. It took another 60 meters in the warm up ring to bring the black back under control. The groom caught him and he was immediately relaxed again while Fry kept on smiling. 

And there were more big smiles in the Prix St Georges. Dutch Joyce Heuitink and her 8-year old KWPN gelding Gaudi Vita (by Apache x Welt Hit II) clocked a very good round that earned them 72.471% and a second place. Joyce's  smaller but very expressive gelding was incredibly consistent and cadenced in the trot work and nicely uphill through the canter movements. The horse could be lighter in the contact with less hold on the curb, but overall it was a top test. 

Hubertus Schmidt has a serious iron in the fire in American Nancy Gooding's 7-year old Oldenburg stallion Denoix (by Destano x Pik Noir). The pair already impressed three months ago at the CDI Hagen where this very young and green liver chestnut was thrown into the deep end and competed in the international small tour division instead of the national developing PSG horse class. The supple and strong mover impressed in Hagen as well as in Aachen, although he is still not secure in his self carriage, which showed in his swinging hindquarters in the changes and him running out of steam at the end of the test. They posted 70.588% for third place. 

Matthias Bouten and Toni and Marina Meggle's 9-year old Trakehner stallion Grimani (by Gribaldi x Monteverdi) slotted in fourth. The black is a very refined, graceful mover with his long legs and handsome looks. He could be a bit more through the body and swings the hindquarters to the right in the tempi changes, but there is a lot of promise in that tank. They received 70.382%.

Kirsten Biermann and the sympathetic 15-year old KWPN gelding Zwetcher have been on a very light show schedule. After competing on the German team at the 2015 European Young Riders Championships the pair disappeared from the international scene, only to return in 2018. The 2019 CDIO Aachen is only their fourth international in two years time. They landed fifth place in Aachen with 70.324%.

Text and photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED

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Eurodressage Coverage of the 2019 CDIO Aachen