After a hot June month, the summer in Europe has been particularly "European" and the last fortnight it's been all about rain. This has made every dressage and young horse sport lover clench his teeth with the 2023 World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo happening this week.
It's not cold but the more than frequent rain showers are a nuisance. However let's stay optimistic. It's probably going to be better than feared.
I arrived at the KNHS / KWPN headquarters in Ermelo just past 4 PM, a little late as the horse inspection was already in full swing. In the main arena the familiarisation had started and it was the turn of the 6-year olds. I watched some of the riders, chatted with people to get an update of what had been happening earlier in the day and picked up that some of the 5-year olds were already being cooked in the oven with lots of passage and piaffe being asked. Can't wait to see how natural that result will look like tomorrow.
The majority of the schooling looked calm and collected, fortunately, and I had a lovely afternoon snapping some fun shots.
Enjoy ! Tomorrow the real work begins
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Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the World Championships Young Dressage Horses