Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, April 25–German Olympic combination Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill NRW won the Grand Prix at the World Cup Final Thursday after two-time defending champion Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival resisted in the middle of the arena and dropped them out of contention.

Helen and Damon Hill were the first combination to start and set the bar high with 79.863 per cent. Edward Gal and Glock’s Undercover placed second on 78.465 per cent and Swedish star Tinne Vilhelmsson-Silfvén on Don Auriello third on 77.447 per cent.

Parzival reared up and spun around as he resisted and that was enough to push them down into fourth place on 75.410 per cent.

However, Adelinde and Parzival are unlikely to be affected by the poor start and in the past the pair has recovered from difficulties to capture championships. The Freestyle to decide the 2013 World Cup title is scheduled for Saturday.

Helen Langehanenberg and the 13-year-old Westfalen stallion (Donnerhall x Rubinstein), who were runnerup to Adelinde and Parzival in 2012, appeared not to be affected by being first to start, the least desirable place as the judges–and there were seven of them as this is a championship–have no opportunity to make comparisons.

“I had a great feeling when we came into the arena,” she said. “He loves to do it.

“I have had a really good feeling in the last shows, like we are really belonging together someohow. Going into the arena and starting was just like home, a feeling of confidence.”

The pair bobbled the one-tempi changes, something she said she will “try to do better” in Saturday’s Freestyle.

Edward said that Undercover that he’s been riding for a year was a “little bit distracted” but the horse is getting better and better “and he feels like he wants to do it for you.”

Tinne Vilhelmsson-Silfvén who spent three months in Palm Beach, Florida over the winter for the third year in a row, said Don Auriello started a bit tense and the reinback early in the ride was not good.

However, her Olympic partner settled down and the ride improved to be awarded the second highest Grand Prix score since beginning the big tour on the Hanoverian gelding  just over two years ago in Florida when the Don Auriello was nine years old.

What was looking like a straightforward competition where several combinations stood a chance to prevent Adelinde and Parzival from three-peating as World Cup champion, other issues arose.

A protest was filed by Swedish Olympian Patrik Kittel whose ride on Watermill Scandic H.B.C. scored a low 69.559 per cent for 10th place, statng that the competition arena was altered between pre-competition training and the competition with the addition of flowers and other decorations that he said effected peformance. The rules do not allow a change during competition but the schedule for the day listed “Schooling CDI-W” in the main competition arena with the remark: “CDI Riders – full set up.”

Although no language could be found covering changes from training to competition, several riders complained that flower displays were added not just around the arena but also on top of the letters that added to tension in horses in an arena which can hold up to 12,000 people and was more than half full.

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) later announced that the ground jury denied the protest “about the flowers around the dressage arena that had not been there in the final warmup” for the Grand Prix.

Patrik, the 14th of 17 combinations in the Grand Prix, told Gustav Svalling of Sweden, president of the ground jury, that his horse spooked at red flowers on top of arena marking letters that had not been there before the competition. Green plants about the same height were on the letters before the class.

The protest was denied “in its entirety,” but the FEI would be asked to consider issuing further guidelines to ensure the final warmup is as similar as possible to the competition setup.

And before the compettion, Kristina Sprehe and Desperados withdrew from their first Final when the 12-year-old black stallion came up lame while training in the competition arena just hours before the start of the Grand Prix.

Kristina, aged 26, competed the horse on the German team at last summer’s Olympic Games in London and was one of three combinations from her nation.

Monica Theodorescu, the German team coach, said the black Hanoverian stallion (De Niro x Wie Musik x Wolkenstein II) had gone into the arena at the Scandinavium Center for some training but after two rounds of trot the horse was unsound. The horse trotted again in front of the team veterinarian and was still not sound, she said.

He will go home to Hagen, Germany, for diagnosis and treatment by his regular vet.

RESULTS:

Grand Prix

Rank			Rider	Horse	K	E	H	C	M	B	F
1			Helen Langehanenberg GER	Damon Hill NRW Donnerhall – Rubinstein I Sauer,Heinrich Christian Becks	80.6381	82.3401	78.9363	80.9571	81.4891	76.1703	78.5111	79.8631
2			Edward Gal NED	Glock’s Undercover Ferro – Donnerhall Ghpc Holding Bv	79.1492	76.8093	80.8511	76.5963	78.7232	79.0431	78.0852	78.4652
3			Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven SWE	Don Auriello Don Davidoff – White Star Lövsta Stuteri / Antonia Ax:son Johnson	78.1913	76.3835	79.4682	77.8722	77.8723	77.5532	74.7874	77.4473
4			Adelinde Cornelissen NED	Jerich Parzival Jazz – Ulft W.P.J. Cornelissen / M.A. Cornelissen	77.8724	78.1912	73.2986	76.0644	74.5745	73.5116	74.3625	75.4104
5			Isabell Werth GER	Don Johnson FRH Don Frederico – Warkant Meyer,Ulrike Madeleine Winter-Schulze	73.1916	76.7024	77.3404	73.7237	77.0214	75.2134	71.9157	75.0155
Not placed
6			Anna Kasprzak DEN	Donnperignon Donnerhall – Mozart II79 Rasanen,Pekka Kasprzak Family	73.8305	73.8307	76.3835	75.2135	74.3626	74.6815	75.9573	74.8946
7			Minna Telde SWE	Santana Sandro Hit – Rubinstein I Ingo Pape Minna Telde AB / Berit Telde	71.5968	72.9798	70.2137	73.2988	74.1497	69.3629	73.0856	72.0977
8			Valentina Truppa ITA	Fixdesign Eremo del Castegno Rohdiamant – Weltmeyer Centro Equestre Monferrato	72.5537	74.3626	63.72314	74.0436	69.8949	69.8947	70.8519	70.7608
9			Sidsel Johansen DEN	Schianto Gribaldi – Schwadroneur Jorgen Rosbog	71.1709	69.57410	67.12810	72.44710	67.87214	69.7878	71.1708	69.8789
10			Patrik Kittel SWE	Watermill Scandic H.B.C Solos Carex – Amiral De Watermolen Fam Greve, Fam Sjep Patrik Kittel	69.78710	68.51111	66.80912	73.0859	72.4478	68.72310	67.55314	69.55910
11			Marcela Krinke Susmelj SUI	Smeyers Molberg Michellino – Rambo Irene Meyer, Marcela Krinke Susmelj	68.51112	70.2139	69.3628	71.17011	69.04311	67.66011	70.53210	69.49811
12			Lillann Jebsen NOR	Pro-Set Jetset-D – Flemmingh AJ TAS, BERKEL EN RODENRIJS, NED Elisif Sommechield, Gustav Jebsen	69.68111	65.42614	66.91511	69.14912	69.14910	67.23412	69.46811	68.14612
13			Jacqueline Brooks CAN	D Niro D-Day – Napoleon 625 Mary Brooks – Brookhaven Dressage Inc	66.06414	65.74513	68.9369	69.04313	68.19112	65.74514	67.76613	67.35613
14			Inna Logutenkova UKR	Vian Stallone LANCET – Symfonie LLC VIAN GROUP	66.06414	66.48912	65.74513	66.27714	68.08513	65.95713	68.29812	66.70214
15			Tatiana Dorofeeva RUS	Khorovod Khodar Mr.Repkin Viktor	67.44713	62.12815	62.02115	65.10616	65.53215	61.91516	65.85115	64.28615
16			Marlies van Baalen NED	Miciano Medici – Dialekt J.M.J. van Baalen-Dorresteyn, J. Hinnema	65.63816	58.51117	60.31916	65.53215	63.83016	62.34015	65.31916	63.07016
17			Jaimey Irwin CAN	Lindor’s Finest Eastern Ruler Sylvia Carlton & Ute Busse	59.89417	61.80916	59.25517	63.83017	61.70217	59.25517	64.57417	61.47417
(5)			Kristina Sprehe GER	Desperados FRH De Niro – Wolkenstein II Schütt,Herbert Gestüt Sprehe GmbH