Strandby and Valerie B Make a Second Push for Power by Winning 6-YO Preliminary Test at the 2024 WCYH

- Text © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition)  
-- Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!

Danish duo Anne-Mette Strandby Hansen and Valerie B have made their second push for power by winning the 6-year old preliminary test at the 2024 World Championships for young dressage horses in Ermelo (NED) on Thursday 5 August 2024. 

Last year the duo also won the 5-year old preliminary test and ended up with a "medalless" fourth place in the Finals. This year the pair intends to erase those tracks and keep a steady course towards the gold in the finals on Sunday.

Valerie Back on Track

Bred by Peer and Karin Guldbrandsen and owned by Danish horse dealer Andreas Helgstrand, the bay mare Valerie B (by Revolution x Zack) was not sold unlike her stable mate, 5-year old World Champion Quinn G, who is now owned and ridden by British Olympian Fiona Bigwood. Therefore, Strandby retained the ride on Valerie B and this year got re-selected on the Danish team for Ermelo 2024.

They were the third pair to go in the preliminary test on an overcast Thursday morning. They immediately had the judges' panel on their side as they posted the high score of the day: 9.08 points, a mark unbeaten, not even by Quinn G. Judges Knut Danzberg, Patricia Wolters, Juan Carlos Campos, and Bernard Maurel were thrilled with the performance as they awarded the brigh bay 8.8 for walk, 9.5 for trot, 9 for canter, 8.7 for submission and 9.4 for general impression. 

Strandby rode very cadenced  trot work that was not hurried with two lovely diagonals of medium and extended trot. In the half pass right she dropped a bit on the forehand. The rein back had big steps but she rushed in it. The walk was very relaxed but there was hardly any difference between the medium and extended walk. In canter Valerie nose dived a bit and despite being very engaged in her legs, she got croup high. The ground quality in the canter is good. The first flying change was ok but "green", while the second appeared crooked. Strandby presented the mare well but the horse could have shown more collection and more weight taking behind for her age. 

Germans Eyeing the Prize

Places two and four went to German team riders with Tokyo Olympian Dorothee Schneider giving a master class in proper young horse riding. Schneider brought along Maik Kanitzky's Hanoverian stallion Segantini (by Secret x Fidermark) and showed her fellow competitors and the crowd what classical dressage training really looks like.  The chunky stallion, who is bred by Christine Feichtinger, is not the most quick behind nor athletic but he is so properly schooled and was ridden from movement to movement, with bending in the corners, elastic in the contact and not sprinting like most flying machines in the test, who showed no hint of a working nor collected trot or canter. The halt for rein back was textbook, the flying changes secure and established, the walk correct. Overall the training of the horse outshone the ground quality of this stallion and it will be exciting to see what the pair will bring to the table on Sunday. The judges scored Segantini 8.5 for walk, 8.7 for trot, 8.8 for canter, 9.4 for submission and 9.2 for general impression. This averages 8.92 points for second place. 

Interesting to note is that of the 43 horses competing in the 6-year old division, no less than 10 were sired by breeding sensation Secret. 

In fourth place was Stefan Wolff on Jutta Hildebrandt's Westfalian gelding Elliot the Dancer (by Escolar x Vitalis). Bred by Leo Hermanns, the chestnut boasts incredible freedom in the shoulder and produced very elegant half passes, but in the shoulder in right he was running and in the rein back he dragged his feet a bit. The extended walk has two hooves overtrack and with a very clear V-moment in the rhythm. The canter is uphill with big strides, but the flying changes were a bit wild and forced with the horse more climbing that elastically changing lead through his whole body. He scored 8.80 for fourth place with 9 for trot, 8 for walk, 9.2 for canter, 8.8 for submission (?) and 9 for general impression. 

Swiss Sensation

A literally small sensation came from Swiss pair Charlotta Rogerson and the KWPN bred mare Nice Touch W (by Dettori x Florencio). As penultimate pair to go into the arena on a sunny and suddenly hot Thursday afternoon, the smallish looking, shiny black mare impressed with quick and electric trot work that had good cadence but which should be a bit more uphill oriented with a carrying hindleg. The trot extensions were big. The extended walk was active and marching with a clear distinction between the medium and extended walk.  The canter had good uphill striding, the first flying change could have had the hindleg a bit more under, but overall the work produced was solid.

The 26-year old Rogerson, who came through the system and rode for Team Switzerland first on ponies, then junior/young riders/under 25 and now as a senior Grand Prix rider, is no Ermelo debutant. In 2023 she rode the WCYH for the first time on L'Amour (by Grand Galaxy Win x San Remo) and this year brought the KWPN ster mare Nice Touch W, which is bred by H. van der Werff. 

Rogerson surprised herself with a third place finish on a total of 8.82 points. She was all smiles when it was announced that the juges rewarded her talented mare with 8.3 for walk, 8.8 for trot, 9 for canter, 8.8 for submission and 9.2 for perspective. It was interesting to see a perspective/general impression score higher than any of the marks given for gaits or submission (which is usually not the case).

Quinn G in Pursuit

Fiona Bigwood piloted her 2023 World Champion Quinn G (by Quaterhit x Fassbinder) to a fourth place, tying with Elliot the Dancer on 8.80 points.

The talented chestnut mare has been in training with Carl Hester this season, who debuted her at the start of May in Hickstead to whopping scores of 9.84 and 9.70. Then the plan was struck for Charlotte Dujardin to ride her at the WCYH and at the start of July she took her to the Team GB qualifier in Hartpury where they scored 9.68. However, due to Dujardin's suspension there was only one option left, for Fiona to ride the mare herself for Team Denmark. Based on a video submission, the Danes automatically said yes to the titleist and it led to Rio Olympian Bigwood making her WCYH debut in Ermelo.

Coached on the scene by Andreas Helgstrand, the duo went down the centerline right before noon. Bred by Helene Geervliet, Quinn G has really bulked in muscle and looks like a Grand Prix horse in the making. With her nice knee action she is very expressive in trot, ground covering, engaged from behind but she was quite seeking in the contact today and not always staying supple over the back. The right half vote needed more bending and in the first medium trot she hollowed the back a bit. The second extended trot was much better, albeit a little running. The halt for rein back was good. The extended walk had plenty of overstep, relaxation, and good clarity of rhythm. In canter she is expressive, showed two good flying changes, but the transition downward to trot was not fluent.

Also with Quinn the general impression score was higher than the four other marks. Quinn got 9 for walk, 8.5 for trot and canter, 8.8 for submission and 9.2 for general impression/perspective.

Ones to Watch

While the 6-year old division probably had less of those impressive pairs than in the 5-year old class, there were plenty of good horses to be spotted. 

Bart Veeze did a fine job on Rom Vermunt & Bruver's KWPN bred Nero (by Ferguson x Totilas) with particular highlights in the trot work. He rode the traversal movements  very smoothly, with much cadence and in balance. In the trot extensions there was a slight loss of rhythm and the hindlegs could move more under. The halt for rein back was super, the walk was mega but the second flying change appeared short behind. They placed 6th with 8.64 points and got 9.4 for walk, 8.6 for trot, 8.3 for canter, 8.4 for submission and 8.5 for general impression. Nero is bred by Singaporean Titan Wilaras, who has completely exited from the European dressage scene despite incredible breeding success.

Finnish Merita Hagren and Andreas Helgstrand's Danish bred Alkaline (by Secret x Zalmiak Firfod) tied in 6th place on 8.64 points. The trot work is very springy and elastic with nice extensions and also in canter the horse has much scope and ground cover. In the half pass right the horse needed to show more collection and both the rein back and second flying change were crooked. He got 8.5 for walk, 8.6 for trot, 8.8 for canter, 8.5 for submission and 8.8 for general impression. 

Swedish Anna Svanberg used to be a regular at the WCYH, having competed a string of horses (Gicea, Hermes, Deja, Tabasco, Bellman, Diva, Belisko, Revolution, Mississipi, ) at WCYH between 2006 and 2015. After 2016 she totally disappeared from the international scene and today in Ermelo she made her long-awaited come back after eight years of absence. Svanberg brought along Kerso Equestrian's and her own Swedish  warmblood Vidar (by Total Hope x Dalwhinnie), bred by Helixad AB. The black is not the most eye catching horse but has a trainable trot, a walk with a very clear rhythm and he showed obedient flying changes. In canter the horse could have more uphill tendency and elasticity, but Svanberg did a good job as the judges were impression and rewarded the ride with 8.52 points for 8th place. Vidar got 7.9 for trot, 9.2 for walk, 8.3 for canter, 8.5 for submission and 8.7 for perspective. 

German Laura Strobel showed some excellent riding on Elisabeth Max-Theurer's Westfalian stallion Imperial (by Ibiza x Davignon), bred by Alfons Baumann. Not surprisingly a former student and assistant of Dorothee Schneider, Strobel had her stallion in such a lovely soft and supple contact, particularly in trot. In canter he became a bit more fidgety and his rider had to pull all the tools out of the box to make it look easy. He scored 8.46 points for 10th place. 

Definitely one to watch was the Ferrari engined Füchtel's High Light, a super charged Oldenburg mare by Floriscount x Damon Hill, bred and owned by the Von Merveldt family. Under Patricia Seddig this liver chestnut pocket rocket showed springy, ground covering trot work with excellent cadence, a very good walk, and engaged canter work, but overall she was quite tense throughout her body for the scores to go any higher than 8.46 points (8 for walk, 8.8 for trot and canter, 8 for submission and 8.7 for general impression). 

Furthermore...

Charlotte Fry rode a very improved Nalegro (by Painted Black x Negro) to a 12th place and a direct spot into the finals with 8.34 points. The black stallion had a much better self carriage and Fry controlled the tempo well. The contact with the bit could be softer still as the stallion ground his teeth more towards the end of the test. 

German Stefanie Viehoff-Wolf had to work quite hard today on Bernadette Brune's Hanoverian stallion San to Alati (by Secret x Belissimo M) to keep him in a regular and steady trot rhythm. While she really rode the horse from letter to letter, it looked a bit less effortless than what we are used of them. They got 8.28 points for 13th place. 

British WCYH newcomer Dannie Morgan did a good job on the AES registered gelding Fever Tree (by Foundation x Dayano) with nice, forward trot work, a very nice extension that showed real lengthening, good relaxation in walk even though the overstep was not that big. Overall the horse could be a bit more supple in the contact. They got 8.28 for 13th place. 

Dutch Femke de Laat  and Marco te Brake's KWPN stallion Nashville SW (by Secret x Jazz) had the odds in their favour as the 2024 Pavo Cup winners struggled today in Ermelo with several breaks in the trot, a rather hollow back in the trot extension and an uberstreichen that was just lifting the reins up (and not releasing the contact as required). This well-known trick in the book was applied by many riders but seemed to go unnoticed by the judges panel. Nashville is definitely a high quality horse but today did not bring his A-game to the floor. They still got an 8.18 total score (with 8.0 for submission).

French Jessica Michel-Botton always brings beautiful, correct riding to the WCYH and this year it was no different on the French bred Hanoverian Thor de Hus (by Toto Jr x Don Juan de Hus) with whom she scored 8.14 points for 17th place. Spaniard Fernando Esteban Ruiz rode the Pawluk family's Polish bred Bombastik (by Escolar x Benetton Dream) to 8.12 points. The small bright bay gelding has very ground covering gaits and much freedom in the shoulder, but there was a break in the rhythm in the half pass and he could lower the croup a bit more in canter. They placed 19th.

- Text and Photos © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition)  

Eurodressage is taking photos of (pretty much) all competitors in Ermelo. No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!

Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses