- Text © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition)
- Photos © Anett Somogyvari
Germany's Helen Erbe experienced the wonders of medal magnet Carlos FRH and concluded her run at the 2023 European Under 25 Championships with a kur gold medal on Sunday afternoon 16 July 2023.
After team gold and individual bronze, Erbe picked up a second gold medal in the freestyle, while Felicitas Hendricks got silver and Marten Luiten bronze.
The Kur to Music featured 18 pairs and took place in hot and heavy weather at Stable Unikornis in Pilisjaszfalu, a small hamlet north of Budapest. The yard is owned by Arie Yom-Tov who has saved the FEI's biscuit on numerous occasions hosting the European Youth Championships in 2020, the European Children and Under 25 Championships in 2022, and now again the Young Riders and U25 Euros in 2023.
Medal Magnet Carlos
Elder sister Hannah Erbe began by winning individual and team test gold at the 2015 European Junior Championships in Vidauban, in 2016 it was triple junior gold in Oliva Nova. In 2017 it was triple gold at the European Young Riders Championships in Roosendaal. In 2020 Hannah got Under 25 team gold but was individually 5th. Helen took over in 2022 and she rode him to Under 25 team gold medal and 9th individually at the Euros in Budapest, this year they returned to Hungary for team gold, individual bronze and kur gold.
They received a personal best score of 80,410% from judges Alban Tissot, Annette Fransén Iacobaéus, Henning Lehrmann, Elisabeth Max-Theurer, and Clive Halsall. Four judges had the pair first, only German judge Lehrmann saw them third.
"I have no words for my unbelievable Carl," said a thrilled Helen. "Never before has a horse fought for me so much. I'm full of love and gratitude for the many incredibly beautiful moments Carlos has given us. He is one of a kind."
No Shame in Silver
The German team newcomer rode to Motown tunes, including Shirley & Company's Shame Shame Shame but finished with some INXS. Her floorplan highlight the strong points of her 12-year old Oldenburg Drombusch (by Destano x Dimaggio). They had a very nice start with piaffes on the spot and in rhythm and very regular passage work. The piaffe was not big, but correct. There were passage half passes, piaffe pirouettes and turns. The horse broke into canter on the short side and again in the extended trot, which probably kept them from winning. Drombusch is not the biggest walker but executed the collected and extended correctly. Also through the canter work the horse presented a steady picture, always quiet in the contact. The tempi changes were straight; but some seemed a bit short behind to the right. It was a very thought through test.
She scored a personal best of 79,105% with individual marks going from 77.625% (Tissot) to 82.125% (Lehrmann).
Luiten Gets Bronze
Willeke Bos' 13-year old KWPN mare Fynona (by Ampere x Gribaldi) is not the biggest mover, but has a very strong canter tour and Luiten rides her with such precision. The half passes were sweeping, the trot extensions were some of the best the horse showed all week and the extended walk featured nice active marching and was clear in the rhythm. There was plenty of difficulty in the canter half pass-double pirouette sequence, but there was a mistake in the one tempi line, which he fixed on the joker line. The two's were correct but the rider was swinging heavily in the saddle, not so pretty (7.5 - 8.0). Fynona's weak spot is the passage: it's a slowed down trot, not really showing the proper engagement for collection. Two of the piaffes were performed on the track for support, one was a nice piaffe turn at X at the end of the ride. The end halt was not square (scored 7 and 8s, one judge had it at 6.5).
They were rewarded with 78.510%, with marks between 77 and 79 percent.
Danes in the Top 5
Riding to non-descript beating drums at the start of her freestyle, the tunes moved to more meaningful sounds when the lyrics "You Are the Music in Me" from High School Musical came out of the speaker. Thea's15-year old KWPN bred Dionisos (by Spielberg x Sir Sinclair) is a piaffe-passage machine, showing some of the best pi-pi work at this competition. Lots of piaffe on the spot, piaffe fans, piaffe pirouettes, etc. The collected walk was good (to piano music), the extended did not have enough overtrack. In the canter the horse appeared a bit flat and was being chased into the first extension. The tempi changes were straight, but the there mistakes on the joker line. Thea received 76.990% but three judges had her on 75% and Lehrmann on 80.75% (2nd).
From Hungary to Austria
The 2023 European Junior and Young Riders Championships came to a conclusion on Sunday afternoon with the two freestyle finals. Unfortunately there weren't that many people left to root and cheer for the best riders as many of those who did not make it through to Sunday began their exodus home on Saturday, leaving a rather empty feeling and lac of cameraderie at the show grounds.
The 2024 European Young Riders and Under 25 Championships have been allocated to St. Margarethen in Austria, so that will be the meeting place next year... if all goes well with the organisation.
- Text © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition)
- Photos © Anett Somogyvari
Related Links
Scores: 2023 European Young Rider / Under 25 Championships
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2023 European Young Riders/Under 25 Championships