Dressage-News

ROTTERDAM, June 21–The Netherlands, without Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival, won the Nations Cup Thursday with Sweden reserve champion led by top finishing individual Tinne Velhelmsson-Silfvén and Don Auriello with a personal best 75.830 per cent just five weeks before the opening of the Olympics in London.

Edward Gal and Glock’s Undercover led the Dutch squad with a score of 74.085 per cent with Imke Schellekens-Bartels and Hunter Douglas Toots on 73.489 per cent and Anky van Grunsven and her Olympic gold medal mount Salinero, now aged 18, on 73.404 per cent. Hans Peter Minderhoud and Glock’s Tango on 72.000 per cent were the discard score and thus gave the team a score of 73.660 per cent. Adelinde and Parzival missed both the Dutch championships and this competition, both Olympic observation trials, because she said they were not ready but is scheduled to show in a national event next week.

Patrik van der Meer on the talented Uzzo, an 11-year-old KWPN gelding, won the CDI3* Grand Prix Wednesday with a score of 75.043 per cent with Edward Gall and Blue Hors Romanov scond on 69.830 per cent and Siril Helljesen and Dorina third on 69.723 per cent.

The result prompted Sjef Janssen, the Dutch chef’d’equipe, who is considering prospects for the Olympic team, “I wish I had more competitions like this to make up my mind.”

The score of 75.830 per cent for Tinne and Don Auriello in the team competition Grand Prix surpassed the previous high of 74.766 per cent in Stockholm last November for the pair that began their Grand Prix partnership career in Florida in early 2011.

Her score assured Sweden of second place with 72.113 in the Nations Cup with Minne Telde and Santana on 70.511 per cent, Patrik Kittel and Watermill Scandic H.B.C. on 70.000 per cent and Rose Mathisen on Bocelli 1044 on 67.128 per cent. Belgium was third on 71.426 per cent, Denmark fourth on 70.355 per cent and Spain fifth on 70.270 per cent.

Both Tinne Vilhelmsson-Silfvén and Patrik Kittel have already been nominated to the Swedish Olympic team.

For Anky, the results at this premier Dutch equetrian event were a tstament to her talent.

In the individual standings behind Tinne and Don Auriello and Edward and Glock’s Undercover in first and second places, respectively, came Morgan Barbançon, the 19-year-old Spanish rider, on Painted Black with 73.480 per cent for third place and Anky on Salinero with 73.404 per cent for fifth place.

Anky has been training Morgan on Painted Black, now a 15-year-old KWPN stallion (Gribaldi x Litchy x Ferro), for the past two years, first through the highly competitive Under-25 division and at Grand Prix since the beginning of this year.

In the horse’s partnership with Anky, they finished third at both the 2008 and 2009 World Cup Finals as well as notching numerous victories at top Grand Prix on both sides of the Atlantic.

However, in nine years of international competition, Anky and Salinero, the 18-year-old KWPN gelding (Salieri x Luna x Lungali) wrote an amazing chapter in the history of dressage with individual gold medals at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games, victories in the World Cup Finals in 2005 and 2006 and gold and silver at the 2006 World Equestrian Games.

Salinero, fully recovered from an injury two years ago, returned to the competition arena in mid-2011, and is a contender for his third Olympics for which Holland can field a team of three and one individual.

At these same show grounds six years ago, Anky and Salinero scored 81.33 per cent that was a world record for the Grand Prix at the time.

Results of the CDIO5* Grand Prix – ED_06_RL_R2