The 35th FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final kicks off this evening in Leipzig (GER) with America’s Anna Buffini and her 15-year-old mare FRH Davinia la Douce first to go in the Short Grand Prix.
The draw for the starting order took place yesterday afternoon and it was recently-crowned Olympic and European champions, Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB, who got the best of it when drawn last of the 17 starters from 12 countries.
Defending champions, Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD, will start in twelfth position.
The coveted series title will be decided in Saturday night’s Freestyle.
Facts and Figures
Germany’s Isabell Werth and the 17-year-old mare Weihegold OLD will be defending the title they won together in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
In total Werth has won five FEI Dressage World Cup™ titles, her first recorded in 1992 riding Fabienne and her second posted in 2007 with Warum Nicht.
If victorious at the 2022 Final, Werth will become the first four-in-a-row champion of this prestigious series and Weihegold will be the first horse to win on four consecutive occasions.
After a sparkling career, Weihegold OLD will be officially retired after Saturday’s Freestyle title-decider.
The first competition at the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2022 in Leipzig (GER) is the Short Grand Prix which will take place tomorrow, Thursday 7 April, starting at 18.30 local time.
The oldest horses in the competition are Aquamarine ridden by Dominican Republic’s Yvonne Losos de Muniz, Atterupgaards Orthilia ridden by Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Isabelle Werth’s Weihegold who are all 17 years of age.
The youngest rider at this year’s Final is Spain’s Juan Matute Guimon who is 24.
The first FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final took place in ’s-Hertogenbosch (NED) in 1986 and the first winner was Denmark’s Anne-Goethe Jensen riding Marzog.
The Finals of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ were cancelled in both 2018 and 2019 due to the pandemic.
The German contingent at this year’s Final includes Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB who swept all before them at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and at the FEI Dressage European Championships in 2022.
-- by Louise Parkes for the FEI
Photos © Lizz Gregg - Dirk Caremans - Petra Kerschbaum
Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2022 World Cup Finals