Dutch Adelinde Cornelissen no doubt has proven to be the rising star of dressage at the Olympia Horse Show in London. After her win two weeks ago in Stockholm she now settled for the win in London.
“The best thing was I just got to ride my test, without the spookiness I spurred a little bit yesterday in Grand Prix. Parzival was amazing and from the first step I knew he was going to give his best”, Adelinde said.
To give his best was an understatement for her test which scored 80,75%. Parzival has an amazing talent for piaffe and passage as well as the extensions. Judge Jenny Loriston-Clarke interrupted at the press conference and said: “It was just so exciting, this dressage night! I have been giving nines and eights and many of them! To see such good rides and such well showing horses, what a pleasure to watch and to judge! Well done riders, everyone!”
Asked whether she would be the future rider to challenge the queens of dressage Anky van Grunsven and Isabell Werth, Adelinde Cornelissen said: “Anky and Isabell are something special, they are the top with different horses. Of course I will try to get their scores, but it is not an aim as such.” Adelinde Cornelissen also said that educating Parcival just reminds her at her former profession as a teacher: “Kids or horses are not that different after all...”
Olympian Hans Peter Minderhoud became the runner up with a very well ridden Freestyle showing all capacity of his energetic mare Nadine. “A crowded and exciting indoor arena might not be her favourite place to be, however she was as relaxed and obedient as could be”, Hans Peter said.
Exciting it was, with a field of competitors showing the British, Dutch, French and Belgian national champion, a debuting rider in the World Cup and two riders debuting with a new Freestyle.
The first to ride a brand new Freestyle was British anchor Richard Davison. Sir Elton John composed his new Freestyle which was orchestrated by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. The well classed ambassador of British dressage scored 73,250% with his relatively unexperienced horse Artemis who did his first ever international Grand Prix outing in this London WC™ Qualifier.
The second rider with a new Freestyle was Kyra Kyrklund. Aboard Max she showed a new theme called ‘bitter sweet dream’. Her music done by Michael Conn, the brother of the owner of her horse Max, made use of a technique of dj’s called “mash up” mixing two different themes together in the end. All went well and Kyrklund and Max were awarded with the third place. Kyra Kyrklund does not especially have the WC Final in Las Vegas in mind, but will ride some nice qualifiers like Amsterdam and ‘s-Hertogenbosch in Europe instead as she feels the trip will take much of her horse.
Brazilian rider Renata Rabello Costa debuted in a World Cup Qualifier, an incredible and challenging experience which made her dream for more. Unfortunately her trainer Leida Collins-Strijk had not a good experience in London as her horse On Top was too tense so that she gave up in the kur.
The electricity of the show like the London Olympia Horseshow with a full house is something that not all horses can cope with. “But let’s be happy with this enthusiasm and find ways to cope with it. I have had horses that were very sound sensitive. When I started to show the only ones in the audience where a couple of relatives! To entertain audiences like this is really what we want nowadays”, Kyra Kyrklund commented.
The chairman of the judges Katharina Wüst agreed: “I feel that the best trained and very supple horses that are really through can cope with this electric atmosphere. Something we all like.”
The next WC™ Qualifier will be even sooner at the end of this week in the Frankfurter Festhallen in Frankfurt, Germany. German shooting star Helen Langenhanenberg unfortunately had to withdraw as her horse is suffering from a cold. The fourth WC Qualifier of the western European League in Frankfurt will be combined with the special World Cup Final for Young Riders, which will be at Sunday morning too.
Photos copyrighted: Caroline Finch
Related Links
Scores 2008 CDI-W London
Impressive First Start First Win for Adelinde Cornelissen in Stockholm
Back to the 2009 World Cup Index
