NEWS FROM THE FEI WORLD CUP™ DRESSAGE
Photo Caption: Anky
Van Grunsven (Ned) and Salinero won the opening leg of the FEI World Cup™
Dressage series in
FEI TV -
Further LIVE broadcasts from the FEI World Cup™ Dressage 2009-2010 are planned
from: Stockholm (SWE), 6 December 2009; Amsterdam (NED), 23 January 2010;
Gothenburg (SWE), 27 February 2010; s’Hertogenbsoch (NED), 27 March 2010.
ANKY WINS THE OPENING
LEG AT
Anky Van Grunsven, won the opening leg of the FEI World Cup™ Dressage series in
"The judges really enjoyed the riding we saw today" said Mr Roudier
afterwards. "Here, on the second day in
TENSE
Early-season uneasiness about returning indoors was clearly in evidence during
yesterday's Grand Prix in which many horses were tense and spooky. Two
riders retired during this competition, including
Van Grunsven's Dutch team-mate, Edward Gal, also thrilled spectators when
guiding the eye-catching and extravagant mare Sisther de Jeu into second
place. The 10 year old by Gribaldi had finished more than two full points
behind Salinero yesterday afternoon, but today was very much closer when
scoring 80.350. It is almost hard to believe it, but the man who already
rides arguably the most exciting dressage horse in the world, Moorlands
Totilas, seems to have found a female version of the sensational
stallion. There was no doubting Salinero's excellence in execution today,
but the power, elegance and obvious potential of Sisther de Jeu is breath-taking.
She filled the arena with energy, and her natural rhythm made the difficult
exercises look relatively easy.
"I was very happy with the ride" Gal said, knowing that the mare is
growing in confidence all the time. "When I tested the music with her
one year ago she flipped out, but she didn't today". And he clearly
feels there is a lot more to come from her. "Sisther de Jeu is a
very good horse, but she needs time to develop - more time than Totilas
did" he pointed out.
CALM
Monica Theodorescu and Whisper lined up in fourth place for
Unluckiest rider of the day was probably Katarzyna Milczarek who had only
executed three movements before the judging panel spotted a problem with her
horse, Edwador, who had bitten his tongue and was bleeding from the
mouth. After a quick check by Ground Jury President, Kurt
Christenson, the Polish rider withdrew her handsome grey stallion.
DUTCH DOMINANCE
This opening event of the 2009/2010 FEI World Cup™ Dressage season has again
highlighted the Dutch dominance of the sport and Ground Jury member, Jean
Michel Roudierm commented - “We judge by specific criteria in dressage, and
right now the Dutch are just better. The Dutch riders have very artistic performances
and their horses, such as Totilas, have brought attention to dressage.”
For many years, Anky Van Grunsven has held centre-stage, and she was pleased to
be doing that again today with her great performance from Salinero whose first
canter transition was untidy however. She said she was disappointed she
hadn't scored higher because "I felt that it went just as well as it did
during the European Championships where I received higher scores" but that
she knew Salinero "worked with me today". She is planning to
bring out Painted Black later in the season before deciding which horse to take
to the final in s'Hertogenbosch (Ned) next March.
There was no doubt in Edward Gal's mind who deserved to be the winner.
"Anky was the best today and that's why she won - that's how the sport
works, and that's how it should be" he said.
Gal is expected to bring out Totilas for the next leg of the FEI World Cup™
2009/2010 series takes place at
RESULT:
1, Salinero (Anky Van Grunsven) Ned 81.450; 2, Sisther de Jeu (Edward Gal) Ned
80.350; 3, Watermill Scandic hBC (Patrik Kittel) Swe 76.250; 4, Whisper (Monica
Theodorescu) Ger 74.700; 5, Exquis Escapado (Hans Peter Minderhoud) Ned 73.950;
6, Hinnerk (Hubertus Schmidt) Ger 72.450; 7, Triviant (Matthias Alexander Rath)
72.200; 8, Nartan (Jeannette Haazen) Ned 72.050; 9, Tnnenhof's Carabas (Andreas
helgstrand) Den 71.600; 10, Solos Care (Tinne Vilhelmson Silfven) Swe 70.800;
11, Ovation (Christa Laarakkers) Ned 70.250; 12, Gredstedgards Casmir (Sune
Hansen) Den 69.150; 13, Seduc (Anne Troensegaard) Den 65.700; 14, Chatham Park
Jac (Juliette Ramel) Swe 64.150; 14, Edwador (Ktarzyna Milczarek) Pol Retired.
STANDINGS:
After Round 1 of FEI World Cup™ Dressage 2009/2010 at
1. Anky Van Grunsven
- 20
2. Edward Gal
- 17
3. Patrik Kittel
- 15
4. Monica Theodorescu
- 13
5. Hans Peter Minderhoud
- 12
6. Hubertus Schmidt
- 11
7. Matthias Alexander Rath
- 10
8. Jeanette Haazen
- 9
9. Andreas Helgstrand
- 8
10. Tinne Vilhelmson
- 7
11. Christa Laarakkers
- 6
12. Sune Hansen
- 5
13. Anne Troensegaard
- 4
14. Juliette Ramel
- 3.
FACTS AND FIGURES:
Today's competition was the first of nine qualifiers in the Western European
League FEI World Cup™ Dressage series for 2009/2010.
4 Dutch riders competed, 3 from
15 horses qualified from Saturday's Grand Prix.
QUOTES:
Edward Gal - "Anky and I are competitors inside the arena, but we are good
colleagues outside and I am very happy with the scores I got from the judges
today".
Patrik Kittel - “The arena in Odense is a very nice place to ride because there
are two arenas you can ride whenever you like, unlike other places where the
arenas are occupied all the time.”
WEBSITE:
www.jbkhorseshows.dk
Western European League Calendar
2009/2010:
1
2 Lyon (FRA), 29 – 30 October
3
4
5
6 Mechelen (BEL), 26-27 December
7
8 Neumünster (GER), 20-21 February
9 Göteborg (SWE), 26-27 February
FINAL 's-Hertogenbosch (NED), 25-27 March
FEI World Cup™ Dressage,
the only worldwide series in this discipline, has entered its 25th season. The
series, created in 1985, comprises four leagues: Western European, Central
European, North American (including
Technical Note: The
FEI World Cup Dressage™ Champion does not earn points in his/her starts but is
automatically qualified to the next Final with two FEI World Cup™ Dressage
qualifiers completed. Riders not belonging to the Western European League (WEL)
or Central European League (CEL) cannot earn points in the WEL unless they have
declared to compete in the WEL 2009/2010. These riders may however transfer the
results from a maximum of three (3) WEL qualifiers to their own League. Points
earned by CEL riders will be transferred to the CEL standings.
THE COMPLETE RULES
CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM www.feiworldcup.org
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body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic
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been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines - Jumping,
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