Dressage-News

ACHLEITEN, Austria, June 1–Victoria Max-Theurer, Austria’s top rider and already qualified for her third Olympics at the age of 26, rode Augustin OLD to victory in the Achleiten CDI3* Grand Prix Friday, posting a personal best score of 78.260 per cent, 11 percentage points ahead of second place.

With her new trainer, Wolfram Witting, the former coach of Germany’s Isabell Werth, looking on, Vici and the 12-year-old Oldenburg stallion  (August der Starke x Weinrubina x Rohdiamant) surpassed their previous best of 77.298 per cent posted at Dortmund, Germany, almost three months ago. Up until this year, Vici had been trained only by her father, Hans, who has given up some of the coaching.

Margo Timmermans of The Netherlands and Utah were second on 67.260 per cent while her compatriot, Wilma Wernsen on Oklarette were third on 67.170 per cent.

“The ride was really good,” Vici told dressage-news.com, “and there is room to improve. We are not 100 per cent there yet. We can also move another step forward.”

Colombia’s Constanza Jaramillo rode Wakana, her Pan American Games team bronze medal mount, to a sore of 54.510 per cent and 12th place.

Constanza is one four Colombian combinations at this show attempting to obtain the first of two minimum scores of 64 per cent seeking to qualfy for the London Olympics. Colombia’s success at last October’s Pan Ams, contested at small tour, gave Colombia its first ever opportunty to field a team at an Olympics.

She bought the mare a year ago from Ulla Salzgeber, the German Olympic gold medalist who had shown the horse at Grand Prix for two years before then. This was Constanza’s fourth attempt to get a qualifying score.

The other three Colombian combinations will start in Saturday’s Grand Prix to qualify for the Olympic Grand Prix Special.

Results of the Grand Prix for the Freestyle: Grand_Prix