Brit Fest in the 3* Tour at 2024 CDI Hagen "Horses & Dreams Meets Portugal"

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

It was a Brit fest on the first two days of competition in the 3* big tour at the 2024 CDI Hagen on 24 - 25 April 2024. "Horses & Dreams Meets Portugal" marks the 2024 edition of this international dressage competition at Hof Kasselmann, which has been held under this banner since 2006 and used to be the outdoor season opener in Germany before the Aachen Festival 4 Dressage came along in 2023.

With Olympic fever raging, two of Great Britain's stalwarts of dressage - Charlotte Dujardin and her trainer Carl Hester - travelled to Hof Kasselmann to collect some required MER scores on the European mainland in order to be eligible for British Olympic team selection.  Both riders each brought two horses, one of the 3* tour and one for the 4* division.

Alive and Kicking on a Roll

The 2024 CDI Hagen kicked off on Wednesday 24 April with the 3* Grand Prix and Dujardin received the high score of the class from the panel of judges, consisting of Magnus Ringmark, Eduard de Wolff van Westerrode, William Warren, Evi Eisenhardt, and Knut Danzberg.

Aboard her own, Carl Hester and Ulricke Bachinger's 10-year old Westfalian mare Alive and Kicking (by All at Once x Furst Piccolo), Dujardin rode a very dynamic Grand Prix test in which spritzy passage work, ground covering trot extensions and a good reinback. At the start of the test, the mare would insert a few mechanical trot steps in the corner and the mouth was quite restless with the tongue showing at times. The transitions in and out of piaffe were very smooth and in the piaffe the mare certainly showed a great ability to sit behind, but she is still unbalanced as the frontleg reaches far under the belly instead of vertically under the shoulder.. The extended walk was good even though she was a bit distracted (6.7). The collected walk was too free and lacked collection. In collected canter the mare often hurries and loses the self carriage but the tempi changes were straight and easy going. The last change in the zig zag looked laboured. The left pirouette was off the centerline and the right one had a loss of balance (7.7). The final centerline was beautifully ridden.  She posted 74.848% for the victory.

On Thursday morning, Dujardin went on repeat in the Grand Prix Special. This time the mouth was better although some grinding was to heard, but first part of the test lacked fluency in between the movements. While the passage and trot extensions were well executed, on the short side she often struggled with balance, self carriage and clear rhythm, appearing hurried and pushed. The left trot half pass was the best one. In the extended walk a longer stride is desired, but the had sufficient overtrack.  Dujardin rode her mare beautifully into the first piaffe. The first change of the two tempi's was short behind and there were several mistakes in the one tempi diagonal. The ones on the centerline worked out. The pirouettes were small. She ended up with a similar score of 74.170% for her second win.

The Return of En Vogue

Carl Hester made his come back with En Vouge, the 15-year old KWPN gelding (by Jazz x Contango) which he owns together with Dujardin, Lady Evans and Biddlecombe.  The dark bay was Carl's ride at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and European Championships, but only showed internationally once in 2022 and two times in 2023. Their last CDI stat was in July 2023 when they achieved a double victory at the CDI Hartpury.

Hester's riding is always a treat to watch, no matter on which horse. In the Grand Prix he began with riding some textbook travers before beginning the test. It was immediately obvious that Carl was riding this horse very carefully and not putting the pedal to the metal. The first trot extension only achieved overtrack after a few strides. Very controlled half passes followed. In the rein back En Vogue dragged his feet.  The second extension was better although he flicked his front feet. The passage after the first piaffe was more engaged. The piaffes used to be quite good, but today were more on the forehand and creeping forward. The extended walk, alas, was poor. There was barely a hoof overtrack and no real marching through the body (5.5 - 6?), The collected was very edgy in the clarity of rhythm (5 - 7?). Throughout the test, the horse was quiet in the contact and Carl's hand aids were extremely subtle. He presented a nice, unforced silhouette. The tempi changes were lovely, the zig zag very tidy. The left pirouette was nice but quite big, the right one better. En Vogue made an early flying change (4 - 7) before the aids after the extended canter. There was a rhythmical passage on the final centerliune, but a slight loss of engagement in the piaffe at X. Overall it was a nice, quiet, controlled test. They scored 72.761% for second place. 

In the Grand Prix Special Hester had the handbrake on and while this was again a pretty, peaceful test to watch, there were quite a few flaws, especially in the extended trots with clearly lacked any ground cover (scores between 6 and 7). En Vogue was grinding his teeth at times although he remained quiet in the contact. Also the passage could have had a bit more engagement and at times regularity. The extended walk had no overtrack at all (5 - 6) and the collected was lateral (4 - 6). The piaffes were carefully ridden with good transitions. The tempi changes were straight and well ridden, the extended canter controlled with a change early to the marker. The final centerline was very diligently ridden, but could have been a bit more up in the frame. Another second place with 72.170%

Lexner in Pursuit

Swedish Sofie Lexner has finally found a partner that really makes her competitive amongst the big boys. Aboard Christinelund's 11-year old KWPN mare Inoraline W (by Johnson and out of Scandic's dam by Amiral), Lexner scored a personal best in the Grand Prix with 72.435% to slot in third. 

In the Grand Prix Special. the spicy liver chestnut mare produced a very nice, lofty half pass to the left and much cadence in the passage with the legs really pulled up. In the extended walk she had enough overstep but could march even more through the body. In canter she got more tense and the striding became shorter, particularly in the canter half passes. There was an issue in the flying change after the extended canter and the two's could have covered more ground, but overall Inoraline showed incredible willingness and eager to perform. They scored 71.596% for their second third place.

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

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Related Link
Scores: 2024 CDI Hagen