Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, April 27–Helen Langehanenberg became the World Cup champion Saturday when she rode her German team Olympic mount Damon Hill NRW to victory while two-time champions Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival were runnerup to miss becoming only the second rider to win three straight titles.

Helen’s Freestyle ride that she said was the best ever on Damon Hill and confirmed by the score that was a personal best of 88.286 per cent while Adelinde admitted she and her 16-year-old KWPN gelding were still not used to her new music and scored 86.214 per cent. Fellow Dutch rider Edward Gal and Glock’s Undercover were third with 84.446 per cent.

The Scandinavium Center’s near capacity crowd of 12,000 spectators appeared by the applause to agree with the order of finish though there were questions to Gustav Svalling of Sweden, president of the ground jury, about a difference of more than 11 per cent between the hghest and lowest scores for Adelinde and Parzival.

The quality of the competition was extraordinarily high with five combinations scoring above 80 per cent in the only annual global championship of dressage and that is in its 28th year

And the tension increased as the last five of the 17 starting combinations began the countdown to the final pair, Adelinde and Parzival who had won this title in 2011 and 2012 and were riding to become only the second pair to win three straight championships. Only Anky Van Grunsven has performed that feat and she did it twice in amassing a total of nine World Cups.

The pint-sized Helen Langehanenberg–she gives her height as 163cm (5 ft. 3 1/2 ins.)–dashed those hopes.

She was runnerup in the World Cup in s’-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands last year, but after winning the opening Grand Prix Thursday made it clear she would be the one to beat in the Freestyle which is the only score that counts.

“I had a very great feeling, it was just a dream,” she said. “Wow!

“He was brilliant to ride. He gave me so much confidence.

“He told me during the test, ‘don’t do too much. I know what to do.'”

Damon Hill, a 13-year-old Westfalen stallion (Donnerhall x Romanze x Rubinstein I) was right, knew exactly what to do and won marks of 10 for some movements.

Helen took over the ride on Damon Hill in 2010 after Ingred Klimke had trained the horse to Grand Prix, winning the six-year-old title at the World Young Horse Championships in Verden, Germany along the way. Helen rode the stallion on the German team at the European Championships in 2011 and the Olympics in London last summer.

Germany has won the World Cup eight times, the last being Isabell Werth on Warum Nicht at Las Vegas in 2007.

She hopes to make the team for the Europeans in Denmark later this year. She works once a week with Klaus Balkenhol, German Olympic gold medalist and coach of the United States team for eight years.

She said Damon Hill is more settled and more powerful.

“I always have the feeling it is perfect then he tops it again,” she said. “He’s something special–he can read and write.”

Adelinde joked that her ride was “a lot better than Thursday, no spooking, no breaking out,” referring to spinning twice in the transition from piaffe to passage on the centerline in the Grand Prix.

“I gave it my best shot. l like the new music. The old one we could ride on full automatc. We’re not at full automatic yet but in a couple of shows it will be perfect.”

Is she thinking of retiring Parzival whom she has ridden at Grand Prix for six years and whose resumé includes a mix of gold, silver and bronze medals at two European Championships and the London Games?

“No way!” she declared with a laugh.

Both the awards ceremony and the post-competition news conference turned into the Edward Gal show as the riders played off his humor and had the dozens of reporters and photographers laughing.

Edward turned the too frequently somber awards ceremony on the podium into fun-filled highlights that continued into the post-competition news conference to make it one of the most memorable World Cup Finals for its high caliber but joyful camaraderie among riders, media, spectators and officials.

After Gustav Svalling commented that he had awarded 10 to various combinations on Saturday which had not been the case before Edward rode Totilas, he rider turned to the other competitors and quipped, “You can thank me.”

As to Undercover, a 12-year-old KWPN gelding (Ferro x Mimosavrouwe x Donnerhall) that he’s been competing for a year, he said he’s happy that the the horse perfomed well for two tournaments in a row.

“Now he’s getting used to the environment that you can’t train at home,” he said. “I had to train it here so it worked out.”

Tinne Vilhemsson-Silfvén placed fourth with Don Auriello and was the highest finishing Swede.

“It was an extremey overwhelming feeling with all the atmosphere,” she said. “It was great fun.”

Tinne started Don Auriello at Grand Prix on the Florida winter circuit and was on the Swedish team at the London Olympics.

RESULTS;

Grand Prix Freestyle

Rank			Rider	Horse	K	E	H	C	M	B	F	Total
1			Helen Langehanenberg GER	Damon Hill NRW Donnerhall – Rubinstein I Sauer,Heinrich Christian Becks	81.75087.00084.3752	82.000 91.000 86.5001	86.500 93.00089.7501	85.750 92.00088.8751	86.25091.00088.6251	86.50090.00088.2501	88.25095.00091.6251	85.28691.28688.286 1
2			Adelinde Cornelissen NED	Jerich Parzival Jazz – Ulft W.P.J. Cornelissen / M.A. Cornelissen	83.00090.00086.5001	77.50089.00083.250 2	85.25093.00089.1252	85.00086.00085.5003	84.00091.00087.5002	83.75089.00086.3752	84.00090.00087.0004	83.21489.71486.464 2
3			Edward Gal NED	Glock’s Undercover Ferro – Donnerhall Ghpc Holding Bv	75.50085.00080.2504	78.00088.00083.0003	83.75091.00087.3753	84.00087.00085.5002	82.00089.00085.5003	79.00085.00082.0003	84.00091.00087.5003	80.89388.00084.446 3
4			Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven SWE	Don Auriello Don Davidoff – White Star Lövsta Stuteri / Antonia Ax:son Johnson	78.25084.00081.1253	77.00087.00082.0004	78.75086.00082.3754	82.00088.00085.0004	75.25084.00079.6255	77.00084.00080.5004	84.00092.00088.0002	78.89386.42982.661 4
5			Isabell Werth GER	Don Johnson FRH Don Frederico – Warkant Meyer,Ulrike Madeleine Winter-Schulze	75.75082.00078.8755	75.50080.00077.7506	78.00085.00081.5006	81.00084.00082.5005	76.50083.00079.7504	75.25083.00079.1257	79.00088.00083.5006	77.28683.57180.429 5
Not placed
6			Valentina Truppa ITA	Fixdesign Eremo del Castegno Rohdiamant – Weltmeyer Centro Equestre Monferrato	74.25081.00077.6256	75.00081.00078.0005	78.75086.00082.3754	77.00084.00080.5006	73.75081.00077.3756	73.75080.00076.8758	82.25088.00085.1255	76.39383.00079.696 6
7			Patrik Kittel SWE	Watermill Scandic H.B.C Solos Carex – Amiral De Watermolen Fam Greve, Fam Sjep Patrik Kittel	75.50078.00076.7507	71.25078.00074.6258	77.00083.00080.0007	76.50084.00080.2507	72.75082.00077.3756	76.75083.00079.8755	75.75084.00079.8758	75.07181.71478.393 7
8			Anna Kasprzak DEN	Donnperignon Donnerhall – Mozart II79 Rasanen,Pekka Kasprzak Family	73.50080.00076.7507	74.50078.00076.2507	75.00082.00078.5009	77.25079.00078.1258	73.00077.00075.0009	78.00081.00079.5006	76.75085.00080.8757	75.42980.28677.857 8
9			Sidsel Johansen DEN	Schianto Gribaldi – Schwadroneur Jorgen Rosbog	73.00076.00074.5009	71.25077.00074.1259	75.25083.00079.1258	74.500 79.00076.7509	71.75076.00073.87510	73.50077.00075.2509	71.25077.00074.1259	72.92977.85775.393 9
10			Minna Telde SWE	Santana Sandro Hit – Rubinstein I Ingo Pape Minna Telde AB / Berit Telde	70.75077.00073.87510	69.25074.00071.62510	70.75076.00073.375 10	73.250 79.00076.12510	72.25080.00076.1258	71.50076.00073.75010	70.75077.00073.87511	71.21477.00074.107 10
11			Lillann Jebsen NOR	Pro-Set Jetset-D – Flemmingh AJ TAS, BERKEL EN RODENRIJS, NED Elisif Sommechield, Gustav Jebsen	70.00074.00072.00011	68.25074.00071.12511	69.75075.00072.37511	70.25076.00073.12511	66.00073.00069.50012	68.00071.00069.50013	71.25077.00074.1259	69.07174.28671.679 11
12			Marlies van Baalen NED	Miciano Medici – Dialekt J.M.J. van Baalen-Dorresteyn, J. Hinnema	67.75070.00068.87514	68.25071.00069.62512	69.25071.00070.12514	70.250 74.00072.12512	68.00072.00070.00011	70.50071.00070.75011	68.00073.00070.50012	68.85771.71470.286 12
13			Marcela Krinke Susmelj SUI	Smeyers Molberg Michellino – Rambo Irene Meyer, Marcela Krinke Susmelj	69.50074.00071.75012	64.75069.00066.87514	67.50074.00070.75013	66.250 71.00068.62515	67.50070.00068.75013	68.00069.00068.50015	65.75071.00068.37515	67.03671.14369.089 13
14			Jacqueline Brooks CAN	D Niro D-Day – Napoleon 625 Mary Brooks – Brookhaven Dressage Inc	68.25075.00071.62513	64.50071.00067.75013	66.75073.00069.87515	65.250 72.00068.62515	61.75066.00063.87515	67.00072.00069.50013	66.75072.00069.37513	65.75071.57168.66114
15			Inna Logutenkova UKR	Vian Stallone LANCET – Symfonie LLC VIAN GROUP	65.50070.00067.75015	64.25068.00066.12515	68.75074.00071.37512	67.500 73.00070.25014	64.00067.00065.50014	68.00072.00070.00012	67.75071.00069.37513	66.53670.71468.625 15
16			Jaimey Irwin CAN	Lindor’s Finest Eastern Ruler Sylvia Carlton & Ute Busse	65.50067.00066.25016	64.00067.00065.50016	63.75068.00065.87517	68.500 73.00070.75013	61.75065.00063.37516	66.00068.00067.00016	65.50070.00067.75016	65.00068.28666.64316
17			Tatiana Dorofeeva RUS	Khorovod Khodar Mr.Repkin Viktor	61.25064.00062.625 17	60.50063.00061.75017	65.50071.00068.25016	61.750 66.00063.875 17	60.000 64.00062.00017	60.50 066.00063.25017	60.00064.00062.00017	61.35765.42963.393 17