Third Time's a Charm for Life Time FRH - Wins 7-YO Preliminary Test at 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!

Third time is a charm for German duo Charlott-Maria Schürmann and the Luxembourg owned Hanoverian stallion Life Time FRH. The pair won the preliminary test for 7-year olds in their third, consecutive year competing at the World Championships for young dressage horses in Ermelo, The Netherlands. 

Schürmann and Claude Niedner's stallion Life Time (by Livaldon x Furstenball), bred by Johannes Hesselink, each time qualified for the Finals in the two previous years. They were 13th in 2022 and 9th in 2023. This year the handsome liver chestnut stallion seemed to have matured significantly and showed his quality by winning the 7-year old preliminary test for developing Prix St Georges horses. 

The class featured 44 combinations and filled the Friday programme at the 2024 WCYH in Ermelo (NED) on 6 September 2024.  With experienced, international judges Maarten Van der Heijden, Peter Storr, Lars Andersson, William Warren, and Thomas Lang sitting on the panel and assessing both the ground qualities of the horses as well as the technical execution of the test, the 7-year old division brought a difference style of competition to the KWPN headquarters as more training, skill and a degree of collection were now required than just flashy gaits ridden full throttle. 

Aboard Life Time, the former German youth team rider Charlotte Maria Schurmann presented a nice silhouette in trot with great fluency in the traversal movements and plenty of overtrack in the extended trot. The half-halting should have been more subtle and in the trot and canter half pass to the right the stallion dropped in the poll. He showed great ability to collect and sit in the canter half pirouettes, produced a good walk, and uphill flying  changes that should be straighter, particularly in the four tempi's. The judges rewarded Life Time the high score of the day with 81.175%. He got 9 for walk, 8.5 for trot, 9 for canter and submission and 8.8 for general impression. 

Very closely on his heels was German pair Evelyn Eger aboard Hof Kasselmann and Christiane Bergmann's Oldenburg gelding Global Power (by Grey Flanell x Don Frederic). The black gelding, bred by Paul Schockemöhle, showed a very powerful extended trot and sweeping half passes, in which he dropped in the poll though. The collected walk was rather tense but the rhythm got better in the extended walk. The flying changes looked very secure, the left half pirouette could have had a bit more weight taking behind. The extended canter was uphill. The highlight of the test were probably the outstanding halts at entry as well as the final one. They scored 81.099% with 7 for walk, 9.5 for trot, 10 for canter, 8.5 for submission and 9 for perspective. 

Dutch Hans Peter Minderhoud and the Glock company's KWPN bred Massimo (by Toto Jr x Bretton Woods), bred by M. Van Cortenberghe, landed third place with 80.675%. Three horses cracked that 80% marker today. Massimo looked extremely established in the Prix St Georges work with forward, balanced trot work, a nice extension and fluent traversal movements. In the walk the horse slightly tilted to the right. The left extended canter was uphill, even though Massimo's hindleg stays a little straight and does not (yet) appear as really weight carrying. The four-tempi changes went smooth, maybe a bit crooked to the right, but overall it was a test that flowed and the horse seemed to cope well with the challenge demanded. He got 8.8 for walk, 9 for trot, 8.8 for canter, 8.2 for submission and 9 for general impression. 

Dutch Thamar Zweistra and the KWPN registered Mr Magnum (by Expression x Valdez), bred by A. Ter Haar and owned by Stal Hexagon in partnership with Perry Boogaard, placed fourth on 79.704%. The rather smallish bay stallion did not look very stalliony, but shone by the fact that he smoothly executed the test as if it was peanuts for him. Mr Magnum appears very advanced in the training, executed a wonderful left half pirouette, but got slightly stuck in the right one with both feet together.  He received 8.7 for walk, 9 for trot, 8.5 for canter, 8.7 for submission and 9 for general impression. 

Double silver WCYH medallist Vitalos (by Vitalis x De Niro) finished fifth with 79.341%. Under steady rider Leonie Richter, the Hanoverian stallion, bred by Josef Bramlage, delivered a lovely test. The gorgeous liver chestnut is exceptional in the forehand with much shoulder freedom; this is his strength but also his weakness as his walk underwhelmed today with peacocky steps in the collected walk and a good extended walk (still 7.8). In trot he impressed in the extensions, but lost the balanced and dropped behind the vertical in the right volte. He was ground covering in the half passes. In the canter he generates big, scopey strides, but gets croup high in the extended canter. Vitalos' canter on the right lead shows more separation in the hindlegs than on the left lead. The changes to the right appear bigger. Richter did a lovely job piloting this massive horse through the programme. They got 7.8 for walk, 9 for trot, 8.8 for canter 8.é for submission and 8.8 for general impression. 

Dutch Olympian Dinja van Liere steered the KWPN stallion Mauro (by Zonik x Negro), bred by the Greve family and owned by Reesink and Stud farm Turfhorst, to a 6th place. Van Liere had Mauro nicely in front of the leg and rode fluent traversal movements. He got too quick in the tempo in the extended trot. The quality of the walk coming out of the trot was not so good, but improved after a while. The left half pirouette was the better one. The flying changes were solid. He posted 78.997% with 7.3 for walk, 8.8 for trot, 9 for canter, 8.5 for submission and 8.7 for general impression. 

There were a few interesting horses today that warrant a little comment. 

German Marina Welbers did a lovely job aboard Ulrich Oserscheid's Oldenburg mare Vaida Girl (by Vitalis x Stedinger). Stamped by her sire, the long-legged liver chestnut mare was not the flashiest mover, but so willing and obedient. She was elastic in the contact, performed easy and straight flying changes. Welbers took over the ride on Vaida Girl in 2022 from Annika Rühl. Yay to the judges for rewarding a well trained and ridden horse: 77.886% (8th) with 8.3 for walk, è.8 for trot, 8 for canter, and 8.5 for submission and general impression. 

Danish Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Danish warmblood bred Santiano (by Sezuan x Romanov), bred by Straight Horse Aps and owned by Blue Hors, placed 9th with 76.806%. The trot was powerful and bouncy with a big extension, but there was no flexion in the corners. The collected walk was poor and clearly short-long behind and the transition from trot to walk was via the passage. Also the extended walk needed to be more through the body. The stallion showed a very good ability to collect in the transition from extended to collected canter and delivered nice, straight flying changes.  The canter got so over collected at times that he twice dropped out of the gait. The judges still considered the submission a 7.8 (??) and the walk 7. They were on the ball with a 9.5 for trot and 8 for canter. The general impression mark was 8.3.

American Rebecca Rigdon and the British bred Oldenburg gelding MSJ For VIPs (by Foundation x Vivaldi), bred by Emma Blundell and owned by Lauren Fisher,  had highs and lows in their ride. There were regularity issues in the trot, but the left extended canter was phenomenal, as were the nice four tempi changes. In walk, the horse got slow in the collected walk and not clear in the rhythm but improved in the extended walk. Overall For VIPs needs to stay more up in the poll. He scored 7.5 for walk, 9 for trot, 7.8 for canter and submission and 8.2 for general impression. They were 11th with 76.015%

Former World Champion Lyngbjergs St. Paris (by St. Schufro x Rockefeller) placed 12th today with 75.909% making it directly into the finals as last pair. Under Danish Victoria Vallentin, the feminine and elegant black mare is leggy and quick behind. The trot work was energetic but she hurried in the extension. The transition from walk to trot was via canter and she also dropped out of the canter after the last flying change at K. today she did not have the best overstep in the extended walk, but the extended canter left was nice. Her canter easily became four beat and overall St. Paris has not yet developed into a horse with carrying power from behind that can come up in the withers and poll. The silhouette remains too horizontal. She got 8 for walk, 8.5 for trot, 8.4 for canter, 8 for submission (?) and 8.5 for general impression. 

The 7-year old finals will be Sunday morning 8 September 2024. 

- 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