Dressage-News

FRANKFURT, Germany, Dec. 19–Ulla Salzgeber, riding Herzruf’s Erbe to a mix of modern and holiday music, won the FEI World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle qualifier Sunday to share the top of the West European League rankings with Isabell Werth.

Isabell Werth competed her third different horse, the nine-year-old El Santo NRW, in the 10-event winter indoor series to take the runnerup position. Frankfurt marked the halfway point in the series leading to the final in Leipzig, Germany at the end of April.

Both Ulla and the 11-year-old Rhinelander gelding and Isabell and El Santo had problems with the tempi changes but Ulla ended up the winner scoring 78.45 per cent with Isabell second on 77.95 per cent and Matthias Alexander Rath and Sterntaler-UNICEF in third on 76.55 per cent. He is the new rider for Totilas.

“I’m super-happy, he is always powerful,  successful and more dynamic,” said Isabell of the horse she calls “Ernie.”

Ulla and Herzruf’s Erbe won the Grand Prix on Saturday, with Isabell and El Santo in second place.

The top three and five of the top six placings were filled by German combinations–including three of the four members of the German team at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky three months ago. Only Denmark’s Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein on Digby broke the German domination by finishing in fourth place with 76.250 per cent.

The return of Ulla and Herzruf’s Erbe to a full competition schedule after a long break to recover from a hock injury at Aachen, Germany, in 2009 has been successful with a string of high placings this year.

Isabell won both previous World Cup qualifiers she has competed in this season, one with her Olympic gold medal mount Satchmo and the other with her 2007 World Cup champion partner Warum Nicht FRH.

Before Sunday’s Frankfurt freestyle, German-based Catherine Haddad of the USA had been atop the WEL standings after the World Cup qualifier at the London International Horse Show at Olympia last week but she now drops to third ranking.

The West European League rankings:
1. Isabell Werth Germany 57
1. Ulla Salzgeber Germany 57
3. Catherine Haddad USA 54
4. Richard Davison Great Britain 44
5. Adelinde Cornelissen Netherands 43
6. Helen Langehanenberg Germany 36
7. Christa Larrakkers Netherlands 33
8. Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein Denmark 30
9. Nina Hoffman Sweden 29
9. Sune Hansen Denmark 29
11. Matthias Alexander Rath Germany 28
12. Aat van Essen Netherlands 26
12. Hans Peter Minderhoud Netherlands 26
14. Ulrike Prunthaller Austria 24
15. Anna Luise Ross Davies Great Britain 23
15. Patrik Kittel Sweden 23
15. Mikaela Lindh Finland 23
18. Heike Kemmer Germany 21
18. Sylvia Zimmer Germany 21
20. Anky van Grunsven Netherlands 17
20. Laura Bechtolsheimer Great Britain 17
20. Peter Gmoser Austria 17
20. Sabine Becker Germany 17
24. Tinne Wilhelmsson Silfvén Sweden 15
24. Valentina Truppa Italy 15
24. Sidsel Johansen Denmark 15
27. Charlotte Haid-Bondergaard Sweden 14
27. Claudia Fassaert Belgium 14
29. Falk Rosenbauer Germany 13
29. Bente Kronberg Jensen Denmark 13
29. Amy Stovold Great Britain 13

The next World Cup qualifier in the WEL is scheduled for Mechelen, Belgium at the end of this month.

Complete results of the Grand Prix Freestyle:

Platzierte Teilnehmer
1.	322	Herzruf’s Erbe	Salzgeber, Ulla	GER		6600 EUR	78.450 Punkte
	F 11-j.W v.Herzruf/M.v.Caletto I/RHEINLÄNDE/GER28121/B: Salzgeber,Ulla
2.	518	El Santo NRW	Werth, Isabell	GER		4700 EUR	77.950 Punkte
	B 9-j.W v.Ehrentusch/M.v.Rhythmus/RHLD/GER44504/B: Winter-Schulze,Madeleine
3.	191	Sterntaler – UNICEF	Rath, Matthias Alexander	GER		3800 EUR	76.550 Punkte
	DB 15-j.W v.Sion/M.v.Manstein/OLD/GER23075/B: Linsenhoff,Ann Kathrin
4.	82	Digby	Sayn-Wittgenstein, Nathalie zu	DEN		2400 EUR	76.250 Punkte
	DB 13-j.H v.Donnerhall/M.v.Sandro/DK/DEN02670/B: Sayn-Wittgenstein,Nathalie zu
5.	87	Donnperignon	Koschel, Christoph	GER		1900 EUR	75.750 Punkte
	DF 11-j.W v.Donnerhall/M.v.Mozart II 79/FIN.WB./GER25410/B: Hof Beckerode GmbH,
6.	226	Responsible OLD	Langehanenberg, Helen	GER		1800 EUR	73.650 Punkte
	R 11-j.S v.Rohdiamant/M.v.Freudenprinz/OLD/GER40235/B: Mertens-Gahlen,Gabriele
7.	174	Blue Hors Romanov	Hansen, Sune	DEN		1700 EUR	72.050 Punkte
	B 10-j.H v.Rohdiamant/M.v.Grundstein II/OLD/DEN40408/B: Blue Horse Aps,
8.	70	Corinth	Krinke-Susmelj, Marcela	SUI		1600 EUR	71.850 Punkte
	14-j.W v.Cheenook/M.v.Fumiro/OLD/SUI09493/B: Stadelmayer,Hans
9.	101	Kohlpharmas Florett As	Kittel, Patrik	SWE		1500 EUR	71.650 Punkte
	R 13-j.H v.Florestan I/M.v.Urofino/WESTF/BER00097/B: Kohl,Edwin
10.	150	Lydianus	Haid Bondergaard, Charlotte	SWE		1400 EUR	70.950 Punkte
	DB 13-j.H v.Lorentin I/M.v.Caribo GL/HOLST/SWE40196/B: Norrehee Dressage Stable A
11.	120	Lamarc WRT	Becker, Sabine	GER		1300 EUR	69.850 Punkte
	DB 14-j.W v.Leggiero/M.v.Kronprinz xx/OLD/GER41542/B: Becker,Sabine
12.	173	Rokoko N	Eversfield-Koch, Elizabeth	SUI		1200 EUR	66.100 Punkte
	DB 10-j.W v.Rubinstern Noir/M.v.Montano/BRDBG/GER43342/B: Eversfield-Koch,Elizabe
13.	133	Le Beau	Jorissen, Philippe	BEL		1100 EUR	64.800 Punkte
	DF 12-j.H v.Le Coeur/M.v.Classiker/OLD/BEL41745/B: Jorissen,Philippe u.Nicole
14.	86	Donnerfee	Fassaert, Claudia	BEL		1000 EUR	64.400 Punkte
	DB 10-j.S v.De Niro/M.v.Rosenkavalier/OLD/BEL41868/B: Hooghe-Verhoeven,Dirk
15.	386	Weinzauber	Acs, Robert	HUN		1000 EUR	63.750 Punkte
	BAY 13-j.W v.Weinberg/M.v.Upan la Jarthe/WESTFALE/GER22004/B: Acs, Robert