World No. 1 Isabell Werth Has 3 Horses In Top 13, Sönke Rothenberger & Cosmo Into 9th
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April 5, 2017
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
Newly crowned World Cup champion Isabell Werth on Weihegold OLD remained No. 1 in the world and has two other horses in the top 13 in the latest rankings while Olympic gold medal team mate Sönke Rothenberger on Cosmo vaulted into ninth spot after the pair’s return to competition.
America’s Omaha World Cup reserve champion Laura Graves and Verdades stayed at No. 4. Kasey Perry-Glass on Dublet was 18th and Steffen Peters on Rosamunde No. 24, both down one place from the previous month.
Steffen was at No. 10 on Legolas though he has not competed the mount since winning Olympic team bronze last summer. With Dawn White-O’Connor who took over competing Legolas just three months ago, the horse is ranked 56th, up from 217th the previous month and 531st after their first month of shows.
Isabell and Weihegold moved to No. 1 on the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) leaderboard last October, the first time in seven years the 47-year-old German superstar was at the top of the global standings.
Rio Olympic team mates Kristina Bröring-Sprehe and Desperados FRH and Dorothee Schneider on Showtime FRH filled the second and third places as they have since Isabell became No. 1.
After Laura of Geneva, Florida and Verdades, Great Britain’s Carl Hester on Nip Tuck, third in Omaha, was at No. 5, unchanged from the previous month.
Isabell and Emilio remained in the 6th slot but on Don Johnson FRH jumped to No. 13 from 88th the previous month after seven straight wins since November. She also is ranked 479th on El Santo that she has competed at only one show in the past year.
The past year for Isabell, the mother of a seven-year-old son, has been one of her most memorable. She competed in her fifth Olympics (1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2016) to bring her tally of medals to 10, six of them gold, more than any other equestrian in more than a century of horse sports at the Games.
Omaha was her third World Cup title, the first on Fabienne 25 years ago and the second on Warum Nicht 10 years ago.
Sönke Rothenberger, 22 years old, on Cosmo, 10 years old, moved to No. 9, their highest ever ranking after returning to competition last month with twin victories in their first CDI since Olympic team gold.
The rankings for Grand Prix are based on the eight best scores over the previous 12 months with bonus points applied for different levels of CDIs, championships and Olympics.
In the Under-25 rankings, Diana Porsche of Austria on Di Sandro remained at No. 1 which she took over last August, and following a successful Florida winter circuit.
The Florida-based Spanish rider Juan Matute, Jr. was No. 7 on Quantico Ymas, the same as the previous month, but on Don Diego Ymas moved to No. 8 from 57th in February.
Anna-Christina Abbelen of Germany on Fuerst on Tour led the Young Rider rankings.
Canada’s Camille Carier Bergeron jumped to No. 11 from 137th the previous month based on a string of top placings, including three victories, on the Wellington circuit this year.
Semmieke Rothenberger, the younger sister of Sönke, on Dissertation remained atop the Junior rankings for the 10th straight month.
Great Britain’s Jade Ellery on Porsche’s Eloy that her family has leased from Diana Porsche to compete on Florida’s winter circuit, was ranked No. 7, up from 152 in February. The pair logged seven wins and two second places in nine starts in three months in Florida.
All the rankings can be found here.
The top 30 Grand Prix:
