While the most important action took place in the CDIO 5* division, the 4* tour at the CDIO Aachen had plenty of interesting canapés to make for a delicious dressage class to watch.
For the 2022 World Champions Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale (by Lord Leatherdale x Negro) Aachen was only their second show of the year. Gert-Jan van Olst's KWPN stallion has a full book of mares with breeding duties as his main priority in spring, but the absence of one of the Big Five on the show circuit is also a pity, but an understandable strategic move to save the best for where it matters: Paris.
The 4* Grand Prix kicked off the Aachen extravaganza on Wednesday afternoon 3 July 2024 right after a Prix St Georges class which did not follow the Aachen traditional format. In the past only Aachen Grand Prix riders were allowed to bring their small tour horses alongside a few Aachen "favourites". Now the field was more open which resulted in a mixed bag of rides.
Glamourdale High Scorer of Aachen
Dutch based British Olympian Charlotte Fry became the highest scoring rider of Aachen. Not Werth in the 5* tour, but Lottie in the 4* Grand Prix cracked the magical 80% barrier with a Grand Prix test that will make them competitive for the medals in Versailles.
Lottie rode the prize giving on EspecialAs first to go in the Grand Prix, Fry started the class with a bang. The 13-year old stallion showed progress in his more established piaffes that were on the spot and better balanced. The first piaffe still had a bit of backstep with the right hind, the second was not the biggest but nice and even, just like the one at X. The trot extensions had plenty of overtrack but he was quite held in the frame instead of showing lengthening with the nose coming out (sure the stride was lengthened). The half passes had a lovely rhythm. In the extended walk he was hurried and got slightly short-long in front (6.0 - 7.5). The collected walk was okayish (7.5 - 8.0). The ride had many highlights, but the horse did not always look comfortable in the contact with a trembling lip and open mouth. The canter work is the horse's forté with spectacular two tempi changes, good ones, small pirouettes and a sweeping zig zag. The extended canter is explosive and uphill (9.4 average). The stallion is very powerful and on the final centerline he has not lost a bit of gas. He scored 80.978%. The judges were slightly divided with 79.674% (Ringmark) as low score and 83.152% (Wust) as high score.
"“We wanted to see where we stand. There is still room for improvement, but we are on the right track with regards to Paris and now we know where we can fine tune a few aspects," Fry commented after her ride. Bring on Paris!
Second Horses
Isabell Werth and QuantazIsabell Werth's number one Quantaz, a 14-year old Brandenburger by Quaterback x Hohenstein, owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze and Victoria Max-Theurer, has been relegated to the second spot in her barn after downward trending scores this 2024 show season. Wendy has taken over the torch but the bay remains competitive at top level. The most decorated rider in the world continues to get her scores from the judges even when a test shows some flaws. In the Grand Prix Quantaz was again fidgety in the mouth, showing tongue on the left sometimes and he was flexed to the right in the piaffe and passage. The right hindleg trailed in passage at times. The end halt was not on the bit (6.5 - 7.5) and the extended walk short-long in front (5 - 7). The second piaffe was the best one, the two tempi changes and extended canter were very well ridden. The pirouette left was the best one of the two. They finished second xith 75.543% with the five judges (Wust, Torrente, Baarup, Ringmark, Wessels) fairly in unison.
Frederic Wandres on Duke of BritainlFrederic Wandres also brought his "second horse" Duke of Britain to Aachen to prove he can make a back-up to Bluetooth. The 17-year old Hanoverian gelding (by Dimaggio x Rubinstein) has a lot of miles in his legs and it shows. He gives a weary impression, even though he's so willing to work for his rider. The right trot half pass was the more fluent one. The trot extensions were correct. Duke came into the arena after Glamourdale and the difference between power (Glammy) an elegance (Duke) was obvious. In passage the horse did not show the required engagement and power from behind, but the piaffes were really sitting, rhythmical and on the spot. There were mistakes in both the ones and twos. In the extended walk Duke was marching through the body in clear rhythm. They scored 73.913% with marks ranging from 71.304% to 75.543%.
Grit
Two years ago Sönke Rothenberger and the Danish warmblood Kjaerholms Fendi (by Franklin x Diamond) were the rising starts in Germany and caused a sensation by scoring in the high seventies in their first year at Grand Prix. Unfortunately, the pair has not been able to reproduce an ease and effortless that was prevalent in 2022 in the coming years. It's hard to describe but it looks like there is some insecurity between the two and it often leads to mistakes in the test.
Sönke Rothenberger and FendiFendi is one of the most gifted Grand Prix horses around, but the pieces of the puzzle are not (yet) falling into place. After scoring kur bronze at the German Nationals the pair could have been up for German Olympic team consideration if they were stellar in Aachen and that pressure seemed to have its effect as Sönke rode the horse with more grit than usually. He rode with flat hands (instead of fists with the thumb as highest spot). The first piaffe had good sit but was tense and hurried. The extended walk had plenty of overtrack and the horse was clearly marching but he was rushed. The second piaffe was too forward and there was a loss of rhythm in the transition. The two tempi changes were very nice, the extended canter and zig zag good, straight ones although they swerved off the diagonal. The pirouettes were small. The canter work was high quality but there was a hiccup in the transition down to trot (4 - 6-. The final centerline was well ridden and overall the horse looked the most put together in a while, but the problems in the second piaffe cost them dearly. They scored 73.891% for fourth place.
Striking Gold
Julio Mendoza on Jewel's GoldstrikelU.S. based Ecuadorean Julio Mendoza Loor made his Aachen debut aboard the 13-year old KWPN gelding Jewel's Goldstrike (by Bretton Woods x Scandic). He took over the chestnut from previous owner Eliane Cordia-van Reesema who did not click with the horse. Goldstrike has become his career maker. In 2023 they won the Pan American Games and secured a ticket to the Olympics. Goldstrike has not always been the most consistent. He was the shooting star in Florida in 2023, at one point scoring 74.413% in the Grand Prix but also got eliminated (for blood) once. After an impressive triple victory at the Pan Ams, the 2024 season has been a bit up and down, not always clinching that previously scored 73-74% anymore with a GP ride in Ocala at 68.913% and at their first euro show in Le Mans it was 70.391%.
Fortunately in Aachen they were upward trending again and got 72.500% (and they won Saturday night's Kur with 78.920% with a catchy freestyle that had the crowd stomping). Coming back to the Grand Prix, Goldstrike is a talented mover with a very rhythmical piaffe-passage that makes them score. There was a loss of evenness in the half pass left and also the first trot extension needed to be more regular in the rhythm. The first piaffe was super; the passage elastic. The extended walk had two hooves overtrack, the collected walk could have been smoother. The second passage looked a bit mechanic. The zig zag was correct, there was a mistake in the ones, and the left pirouette was the better one of the two. The pair finished with a very energetic, fluent final centerline.
Hit and Miss
Steffen Peters and SuppenkasperFor experienced U.S. Olympian Steffen Peters the 2024 show season has also been a roller coaster with some hits and some misses. The California based Peters and Akiko Yamazaki's 16-year old gelding (by Spielberg x Krack C) competed in three shows in Del Mar at the start of 2024 with Grand Prix mares of 75.522%, 71.978, and 72.391%. In the second Del Mar show they dropped to 69.489% in the Special (the last time they scored in the sixties was in the special at the 2018 WEG in Tryon). Peters travelled to Europe as the number one ranked rider on the U.S. Olympic team short list and after a confidence building 72.869% score at the CDI Hagen they were nominated on the team and did not have to do a second show.
They were invited to Aachen, but their Grand Prix did not go to plan and with 68.131% and a 19th place, tongues were wagging that his team spot could be in jeopardy. The halt at entry was not immobile, nor was the horse settled in the rein back. In the passage he goes very wide in front and also in piaffe he bops his head, indicating a lack of balance. The horse is very engaged from behind, almost overachieving. The points really dropped when Suppenkasper jogged twice in the extended walk. In canter they picked up points again with lovely two tempi changes. In the zig zag he dropped behind the vertical. It was a challenging ride for Peters who could not get the horse in the right balance on the final centerline. His lower score made him decide to switch from the Special to the Kur in which he got 76.430% to finish third.
Maxima Bella
Lithuanian born Polish rider Sandra Sysojeva made her Aachen debut on the 8-year old (!) Oldenburg mare Maxima Bella (by Millennium x Christ). Over the past 5.5 months they have done 7 (!) CDI's to claim the number one spot on the Polish Olympic team with the highest scores of all riders. They showed in Kalen, Wroclaw, Gosciszow, Hagen, Parnu, Riga, and Aachen. They train with Dominika Krasko-Bialik.
Sysojeva warming up Maxima BellaThe avid dressage fan remembers the mare from the 2021 World Championships where she did not show the required correctness in training, relaxation and over the back movement, but threw a flashy frontleg and had too much tension as a 5-year old. The judges gave a signal with their 66.200 points in the preliminary test. The pair competed in two CDI's in 2022 (Brno, Bialy Las) in the 6-year old division and then skipped the small tour to compete at Grand Prix level in 2024. The black has muscled up big time but, in my humble opinion, could look a bit more "athletic" in her body shape (don't mean to do equine bodyshaming). Aside from her looks with her big neck and round hindquarters, the mare is very keen to work and gives it her all, each ride.
In the Aachen Grand Prix she disclosed her youth and greenness at Grand Prix by not yet being consistent in carrying herself and keeping the poll as the highest point. She dropped behind the vertical in the half passes, tempi changes and zig zag. In the extended trot the overstep is not always generous, although Sysojeva rides it with a nice calmness. The hectic movement that the mare had in Verden is gone. She looks more settled and at peace. In passage she really picks up her feet and is smooth in the rhythm but in the piaffes she does not truly piaffe and sit, instead she passages on the spot. Because there is not that much sit, the transitions in and out are of course easier. The two's were correct, the ones okay but could be more ground covering. In the pirouette right she changed behind and had a double beat, losing points right there. The zig zag itself was well ridden. In the final centerline the passage was expressive but she got wide behind in the piaffe. Overall Maxima Bella is a very interesting horse to watch for the future.
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