Dressage-News

MINSK, Belarus, Oct. 20–Marina Aframeeva on her eight-year-old Vosk won the Grand Prix Freestyle Sunday in only the third Big Tour show for the Russian pair but the victory in the last of the Central European League World Cup series probably came too late to expect to get an invitation to the Final in Lyon, France next April.

The 22-year-old rider and the Russian-bred Hanoverian sired by Vodoley scored 72.400 per cent for a Russian sweep of the top three places and a display of success by a new group of youthful riders and talented young horses bred in Russia. The pair placed second in the Grand Prix a day earlier.

Inessa Merkulova and Mister X, a nine-year-old Russian-bred Trakehner gelding, were second on 72.300 per cent unable to repeat the victory with 70.021 per cent in Saturday’s Grand Prix that was by far their highest Grand Prix score in their third show since starting the Big Tour four months ago.

The partnership began their Grand Prix career in June with a second performance at the World Cup event in the Russian capital last month where they finished fifth in the Freestyle to give them an initial 12 points and the 20 won Sunday would put them in fifth place overall, according to an unofficial tally by dressage-news.com.

The veteran combination of Tatiana Dorofeeva on Khorovod, a 13-year-old Russian-bred gelding, placed third with 70.400 per cent and the 15 points collected Sunday brought their three competition total to 52 points and put them on top of the CEL rankings by a big margin. Tatiana and Khorovod rode on the Russian team at both the 2013 and 2011 European Championships.

Belarus rider Katsiaryna Varchenia on Redford 2 may have picked up enough points with her fifth place Sunday to ger the second of the two invitations awarded to the CEL under International Equestrian Federation (FEI) rules. No CEL final of a head-to-head competition will be held this year.

Central European League final standings (unofficial)

Rank Athlete    NF Points
1. DOROFEEVA, Tatiana RUS  52
2. VARCHENIA, Katsiaryna BLR 35
3. MERKULOVA, Inessa RUS 34
4. MILCZAREK, Katarzyna POL 33
5. Marina AFRAMEEVA, Marina RUS 32
6. KORELOVA, Alexandra RUS 31
7. SIDNEVA, Elena RUS 29
8. KISELIOVA, Svetlana UKR 28
9. MASTSIANITSA, Alena BLR 24
10. SKOWRONSKA, Zaneta POL 19
11T. SACHKINA , Regina RUS 15
11T. KOVSHOV, Maksim UKR 15
13. MOROZKINA, Ksenia RUS 13
14. YAFREMAVA, Katsiaryna BLR 12
15T. VINNITSKAJA, Yulia RUS 11
15T. BURGER, Chere RSA 11
17T. KOMJÁTHY, György HUN 10
17T. NAGURSKAJA, Alexandra RUS 10
18T. KOROLYOVA, Victoria RUS 9
18T. NÉMETH, Gábor HUN 9
18T. LOIKA, Svetlana 9

Results:

Grand Prix Freestyle
Judges: Francis VERBEEK VON ROOIJ (NED) Natallia RUBASHKO (BLR) Gotthilf RIEXINGER (GER)
Igor KOGAN (RUS ) Peter ENGEL (GER)

Grand Prix Special