Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, June 23, 2016–Hans Peter Minderhoud rode Glock’s Johnson to a personal best score to take the Netherlands into the lead in the Nations Cup after the Grand Prix Thursday with the United States standing second ahead of Sweden in third.

Hans Peter and the 14-year-old KWPN stallion that is his prospective Olympic mount and last competed at the 2015 European Championships scored 79.240 per cent to be the highest placing individual combination in the Nations Cup. The team competition will be decided by all three Grand Prix levels with both the Special and the Freestyle scheduled for Saturday.

For the U.S., Laura Graves on Verdades placed second individually on 76.300 per cent, with Steffen Peters on Legolas fifth on 76.040 per cent and Kasey Perry-Glass on Dublet seventh on 74.580 per cent for the three scores that counted in the team competition.

Diederik vasn Silfhout on Arlando, team mates of Hans Peter at the 2014  World Games and 2015 Europeans, was third individually on 76.240 per cent and Adelinde Cornelissen on Jerich Parzival, the KWPN gelding and former world No. 1 who is now 19 years old, was fourth on 76.140 per cent.

“He was  really focused on his job,”Adelinde said of the big chestnut whose first championship was the Europeans in Windsor in 2009, “just doing his thing.”

For the Americans this is the last selection trial before the Olympic team is named and they were out to do their best in the big stadium with an electric atmosphere.

“We made a couple of mistakes but all in all he was really rideable and extremely well behaved with a lot of things he could be silly about,” said Laura who has now moved into her new permanent home and training center in the Orlando area community of Geneva. A water jump left in there for the jumpers, the VIP stand, score tickers, an abundance of shrubs and flowers.

Laura, ranked No. 13 in the world on Verdades, said, “I was not at all nervous today. I was just born this way. I just ride the best I can.”

Steffen said that he was nervous coming into the arena but Legolas was all business whenhe rode the 14-year-old Westfalen gelding down the centerline.

The horse that Steffen rode at the 2014 World Games and to team and individual gold at the 2015 Pan American Games and is ranked No. 7 in the world, performed a “very clean test” that he described as a “good supporting team score.”

He said he was “super happy to be a part” of what he believes is a “great team” for the U.S.

She described her ride on the 13-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding as “a little more sticky thasn I normally feel with him” but this was only the horse’s second venue outside of the Wellington, Florida Global Dressage Festival grounds since beginning Grand Prix.

“First time in the ring with him here and I feel great and know that the Special is going to be better,” she said, admitting that she “struggled a little bit” adjusting herself to the event.

“I stopped riding” she said, leading to mistakes in movements that are normally performed well.

Even though her score was below the 77.000 per cent the duo posted in their first selection trial three weeks ago, it was higher than all but one result received in Wellington where they launched their Grand Prix career in February.

Results:

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