Princess Nathalie on Digby Win Opening West European League World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix
14 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Princess Nathalie on Digby Win Opening West European League World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix
ODENSE, Denmark, Oct. 23–Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein rode Digby to victory Saturday before a home crowd in the Grand Prix of the first World Cup qualifier of the 2010/2011 winter season, squeaking out the win over Germany’s Isabell Werth and Satchmo at the JBK Horse Show.
The Danish rider, who gave birth to a boy less than four months ago, had mixed fortunes Saturday. In the CDI3* Grand Prix earlier in the day, she retired on Rigoletto when the horse became distracted in the indoor arena.
However, she and Digby, the 13-year-old gelding she competed at the 2008 Olympics, the 2009 European Championships and the World Equestrian Games just four weeks ago, scored 73.319 per cent with Isabell and Satchmo, her 2008 Olympic gold medal mount, in second with 73.149 per cent and Hans Peter Minderhoud of the Netherlands on IPS Tango third on 71.744 per cent.
The arena rang with shouts of joy, when the result for Nathalie was announced. The annunce rhad to ask the audience to be quiet to show consideration for the next rider.
“I’m very happy with my horse today, he only just arrived from Kentucky three weeks ago,” she said. “He was a little tense in the beginning, but then he started to relax and did the best he could.”
Isabell said of her ride on Satchmo, “Well it was not quite good enough. I had a good start with the entry, and the first half of the program was rather good, but I had a little tension in the canter program, and too many mistakes there. It’s difficult here, in this arena for Satchmo, with the crowd ,and everything is very close, but I’m not unhappy, because he was serious, but was at times a little unconcentrated, because of the atmosphere. But OK, that’s part of the game, and we‘ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Tango, ridden by Hans Peter, is in his first season at Grand Prix, and was a “bit spooky” and had “many mistakes” in a corner where a car was displayed.
“I’m very happy with the way he is going and developing, and there is still a lot more space for improvement, so I did not expect him to come 3rd here today, so I’m very happy,” he said.
The Freestyle will be held Sunday.
The World Cup has begun its second quarter-century with the 2010/2011 season and has a new sponsor for the next three years, fashion designer Reem Acra, who puts her name on both the Western Europea League and the Final in Leipzig, Germany.
Missing from this year’s indoor circuit, the only annual worldwide dressage series, will be the defending World Cup championship pair of Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas as the spectacular 10-year-old stallion has been sold to Germany’s Paul Schockemöhle of Performance Sales International. The pair also collected all three gold medals up for grabs at the recent WEG in Kentucky.
The Western European League is the most competitive of the four leagues, the others being Central Europe, North America and Asia/Pacific.
Among the likely contenders to be in Leipzig for the Final April 27-May 1 are WEG triple silver medalist Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris of Great Britain as well as the crowd-pleasing Spanish combination of Juan Manuel Munoz Diaz and Fuego XII and the Netherlands’ Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival, ranked No. 2 in the world, but dogged by inuuries in their two appearances in the Western Hemisphere, the 2009 World Cup Final in Las Vegas and WEG in Kentucky. The 2009 title holder Steffen Peters and Ravel of the USA is also looking at possibilities to be at Leipzig. In the 2009/2010 season, there were no World Cup qualifiers on the U.S. West Coast where the pair make their home.
After the opening leg in Odense, the West European League is next in Lyon, France; then Stockholm; London; Frankfurt, Germany; Mechelen, Belgium; Amsterdam; Neumunster, Germany; Gothenburg, Sweden, and s’-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands,
The most successful rider in World Cup history is the Netherlands’ Anky Van Grunsven who claimed the title nine times over a 13-year period stretching from 1995 to 2008, riding only two horses–Bonfire and Salinero.
In the CDI3* Grand Prix Special earlier Saturday, Dane Andreas Helgstrand and Polka Hit Nexen took revenge after Thursday’s Tryg Cup Grand Prix where they had to make do with third place. The pair won the Special on 69.125 per cent with Belgian Julie Deken on her gelding Fazzino second with 68.719 per cent and Isabell Werth and First Class 53, who had come out on top in the Grand Prix, finishing third with 68.625 per cent.
Results of CDI-W Grand Prix:
| RK | CNR | HORSE | RIDER | EUR | E | H | C | M | B | Total | Perc. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 102 | DIGBY – DWB Gelding\dBay\1997\Donnerhall x Sandro\ | Nathalie ZU SAYN-WITTGENSTEIN (DEN) |  | 2,667.00 | 72.340 (2) | 71.914 (2) | 73.829 (1) | 74.468 (1) | 74.042 (1) | 1723.00 | 73.319 |
| 2 | 108 | SATCHMO 78 – HANN Gelding\Bay\1994\Sao Paulo x Legat\ | Isabell WERTH (GER) |  | 2,000.00 | 73.191 (1) | 72.978 (1) | 73.191 (2) | 74.255 (2) | 72.127 (2) | 1719.00 | 73.149 |
| 3 | 115 | IPS TANGO – KWPN Stallion\Chestnut\2000\Jazz x Contango\ | Hans Peter MINDERHOUD (NED) |  | 1,334.00 | 70.851 (4) | 71.702 (3) | 72.766 (3) | 71.702 (3) | 71.702 (3) | 1686.00 | 71.744 |
| 4 | 107 | RESPONSIBLE OLD – OLDBG Mare\Black\1999\Rohdiamant x Freudenprinz\ | Helen LANGEHANENBERG (GER) | | 934.00 | 72.340 (2) | 70.425 (5) | 72.340 (4) | 71.276 (4) | 70.851 (5) | 1679.00 | 71.446 |
| 5 | 116 | FAVOURIT – RHEIN Gelding\dChestnut\1999\Fidermark x Wolrdchamp\ | Tinne VILHELMSON SILFVйN (SWE) |  | 866.00 | 70.851 (4) | 71.063 (4) | 70.851 (5) | 69.787 (6) | 71.702 (3) | 1665.00 | 70.851 |
| 6 | 103 | ATTERUPGAARDS MOLBERG – DWB Gelding\Bay\2001\Michellino x Rambo\ | Sanne HENNINGSEN (DEN) | | 800.00 | 68.936 (6) | 68.085 (7) | 69.361 (6) | 70.638 (5) | 68.936 (7) | 1626.00 | 69.191 |
| 7 | 106 | LAMARC WRT – OLDBG Gelding\dBay\1996\Leggiero x Kronprinz xx\ | Sabine BECKER (GER) | | 733.00 | 68.723 (7) | 68.510 (6) | 68.723 (7) | 67.872 (8) | 70.425 (6) | 1618.00 | 68.851 |
| 8 | 105 | SKOVLUNDS MAS GUAPO – DWB Gelding\Black\1998\Master x Cannon Row xx\ | Mikaela LINDH (FIN) |  | 666.00 | 66.595 (10) | 67.021 (9) | 67.659 (8) | 69.149 (7) | 66.383 (8) | 1583.00 | 67.361 |
| 9 | 117 | LEO AF MAGNUSHцJ – DWB Gelding\dBay\1995\Rohdiamant x Leonardo 2\ | Nina HOFMANN (SWE) | | 66.808 (9) | 67.234 (8) | 66.170 (10) | 67.446 (9) | 65.532 (9) | 1566.00 | 66.638 | |
| 10 | 101 | BLUE HORS ROMANOV – OS Stallion\Bay\2000\Rohdiamant x Grundstein II\ | Sune HANSEN (DEN) | | 67.659 (8) | 65.532 (12) | 65.957 (11) | 66.383 (10) | 65.319 (10) | 1555.00 | 66.170 | |
| 11 | 121 | RUBEL 13 – OLDBG Gelding\Black\1995\Rubinstein x Tin Rocco\ | Fanny VERLIEFDEN (BEL) |  | 64.255 (15) | 65.744 (10) | 66.595 (9) | 65.957 (11) | 64.893 (11) | 1539.00 | 65.489 | |
| 12 | 109 | PRO-SET – KWPN Stallion\Bay\1997\Jet-Set D x Flemmingh\ | Lillann JEBSEN (NOR) |  | 65.532 (11) | 65.106 (13) | 64.893 (12) | 64.893 (14) | 64.680 (12) | 1528.00 | 65.021 | |
| 13 | 118 | LYDIANUS – HOLST Gelding\Bay\1997\Lorentin I x Caribo\ | Charlotte HAID BONDERGAARD (SWE) | | 65.319 (12) | 64.893 (14) | 64.680 (13) | 65.532 (12) | 63.404 (13) | 1522.00 | 64.766 | |
| 14 | 114 | PREMIER – KWPN Gelding\Chestnut\1997\Jazz x Ulft\ | Aat VAN ESSEN (NED) | | 65.106 (13) | 65.744 (10) | 63.404 (14) | 65.319 (13) | 62.978 (14) | 1516.00 | 64.510 | |
| 15 | 132 | PEGASUS MK – KWPN Gelding\dBay\1997\Elcaro x L.Ronald\ | Anna ROSS DAVIES (GBR) |  | 65.106 (13) | 63.191 (15) | 61.489 (16) | 64.893 (14) | 60.851 (16) | 1483.00 | 63.106 | |
| 16 | 135 | SAL – LUS Stallion\Bay\1999\Mississipe x Golega\ | Nuno PALMA SANTOS (POR) |  | 63.191 (16) | 63.191 (15) | 62.766 (15) | 63.617 (16) | 62.127 (15) | 1480.00 | 62.978 | |
| 113 | SALVADOR – KWPN Gelding\dBay\1999\Lancet x Nimmerdor\ | Stephanie PETERS (NED) | | *RET |
Results of CDI3* Grand Prix Special:
| RK | CNR | HORSE | RIDER | EUR | E | H | C | M | B | Total | Perc. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 123 | POLKA HIT NEXEN – DWB Mare\Bay\2002\Sandro Hit x Temple Wind\ | Andreas HELGSTRAND (DEN) | | 1,700.00 | 68.125 (3) | 68.125 (3) | 68.750 (1) | 71.666 (1) | 68.958 (1) | 1659.00 | 69.125 |
| 2 | 120 | FAZZINO – WESTF Gelding\Chestnut\1998\Florestan I x Rivellino xx\ | Julie DE DEKEN (BEL) | | 1,300.00 | 70.208 (1) | 68.541 (2) | 68.333 (2) | 67.916 (3) | 68.958 (1) | 1651.00 | 68.791 |
| 3 | 194 | FIRST CLASS 53 – RHEIN Gelding\Bay\1999\Florestan I x Landadel\ | Isabell WERTH (GER) | | 900.00 | 68.750 (2) | 70.000 (1) | 67.083 (3) | 69.375 (2) | 67.916 (3) | 1647.00 | 68.625 |
| 4 | 126 | TANNENHOF’S SOLERO TSF – TRAK Stallion\dBay\1993\Hyllos x Polargeist\ | Lotte VAGNER (DEN) | | 500.00 | 66.666 (4) | 65.833 (4) | 65.208 (4) | 65.833 (4) | 67.708 (4) | 1590.00 | 66.250 |
| 5 | 195 | GACHINO – BAD-WU Gelding\Black\1994\Gardez x Chinatown\ | Juan Manuel VIDAL (ESP) |  | 250.00 | 65.625 (5) | 64.791 (7) | 65.000 (5) | 64.583 (8) | 66.458 (5) | 1567.00 | 65.291 |
| 6 | 125 | BROHOLM’S HIGHLIGHT – DWB Gelding\Bay\1998\Midt-West Ibi-Light x Sorel\ | Jim RASMUSSEN (DEN) | | 65.416 (6) | 65.000 (6) | 64.375 (6) | 65.833 (4) | 64.791 (6) | 1562.00 | 65.083 | |
| 7 | 128 | MIKADO ENGVANG – DWB Gelding\Bay\1996\Mid-Quest Igi Right x Peri-Ace Dane\ | Anette EJLERSGAARD (DEN) | | 64.166 (9) | 65.208 (5) | 64.166 (7) | 64.375 (9) | 64.375 (8) | 1547.00 | 64.458 | |
| 8 | 137 | RUDI’S MEMORY – TRAK Gelding\dChesntut\2000\Gribaldi x Bartholdy\ | Michelle HAGMAN (SWE) | | 64.375 (8) | 64.583 (8) | 63.125 (9) | 64.791 (7) | 64.583 (7) | 1543.00 | 64.291 | |
| 9 | 127 | NOBLEMAN – HANN Gelding\Black\1999\Hatiello xx x Wenzel II\ | Thomas SIGTENBJERGGAARD (DEN) | | 64.583 (7) | 63.125 (10) | 63.333 (8) | 63.125 (10) | 63.541 (9) | 1525.00 | 63.541 | |
| 10 | 129 | VIVALDI VAN HET LINDENHOF – BWP Gelding\Chestnut\1998\Camus\ | Raphael LOISON (FRA) |  | 63.958 (10) | 63.541 (9) | 61.875 (11) | 65.208 (6) | 62.708 (10) | 1523.00 | 63.458 | |
| 11 | 100 | NEVERSFELDE FEUER – KWPN Gelding\Chestnut\1995\Flemmingh\ | Wim VERWIMP (BEL) | | 61.666 (11) | 62.083 (12) | 61.250 (12) | 62.708 (11) | 61.041 (12) | 1482.00 | 61.750 | |
| 12 | 196 | JOSй KILEN – DWB Gelding\Bay\2001\Jazz x Dorpas x\ | Jon D. PEDERSEN (DEN) | | 60.416 (13) | 63.125 (10) | 62.708 (10) | 62.291 (12) | 59.166 (14) | 1477.00 | 61.541 | |
| 13 | 111 | CARTIER – DWB Gelding\Bay\2001\Blue Hors Cavan x Blue Hors Romancier\ | Jonas ELVEBAKK (NOR) | | 61.458 (12) | 61.041 (13) | 61.250 (12) | 61.666 (13) | 61.666 (11) | 1474.00 | 61.416 | |
| 14 | 133 | WORSTEINER – OLDBG Gelding\Bay\2000\Wolkentanz II x Warkant\ | Stine GOTESEN (NOR) | | 59.583 (14) | 60.833 (14) | 61.041 (14) | 59.791 (14) | 60.208 (13) | 1447.00 | 60.291 | |
| 15 | 136 | AJAX II – SWB Gelding\Bay\1995\Zephyr x Gaspari\ | Nina BENGTSSON (SWE) | | 56.458 (16) | 59.375 (15) | 58.750 (15) | 59.791 (14) | 57.291 (15) | 1400.00 | 58.333 | |
| 16 | 124 | KILDEVANGS MIGNON – DWB Mare\Bay\2001\Michellino x Filon d’Or\ | Kristoffer MEJLHEDE (DEN) | | 56.875 (15) | 58.125 (16) | 57.500 (16) | 58.541 (16) | 57.291 (15) | 1384.00 | 57.666 | |
| 197 | RIGOLETTO – DWB Gelding\Bay\1996\Rubinstein I x Rossi\ | Nathalie ZU SAYN-WITTGENSTEIN (DEN) | | *RET |
