Dressage-News

Mar. 3, 2019

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

Kasey Perry-Glass on Dublet vaulted up to No. 5 in the world with Laura Graves 0n Verdades holding second place ranking behind German superstar Isabell Werth on Weihegold OLD at the top of the standings, third on Bella Rose and fourth on Emilio at the end of February. Americans filling the No. 2 and No. 5 places in the world are the highest in at least a decade.

Performances by Laura and Verdades, the KWPN gelding that has been her partner since bought as a foal 17 years ago, and Kasey on the 16-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding Dublet and Isabell’s record over the past year on her three Big Tour mounts have produced the German-USA domination at the top of the world standings.

Isabell and Weihegold go into the World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden a month from now as the favorite to defend the title the pair have captured the past two years with Laura and Verdades heading to Sweden as the most accomplished challenger as reserve champion at both those events. Kasey on Dublet have made it clear she has become a serious challenger, placing ahead of Laura and Verdades at the CDIO5* Freestyle in Aachen, Germany last July.

Kasey and the 16-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding move to No. 5 from the eighth spot in January and 11th at the end of 2018, according to dressage-news.com’s calculations of the standings as of the end of February. The official standings will be released later this week.

Isabell and Weihegold are at the top of the standings since October, 2016 except for the months of September and October last year.

Laura Graves and Verdades displaced Isabell and Weihegold at No. 1, the first American ever to do so, last fall. The American pair won team bronze at the 2016 Olympics and led the Americans to team silver as well as taking individual silver at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon last September, behind Germany on gold.

Adrienne Lyle on Salvino, also on the U.S. world championship team, moved up to No. 14 from the 16th spot at the end of January.

Isabell’s No. 3 ranking on Bella Rose since November is based, as with all combinations the best eight scores over the previous 12 months, but is remarkable in that the Westfalen mare has competed only 10 times since returning to competition last June after 3 1/2 years out with an injury.

Isabell is scheduled to compete Emilio, again at No. 4, in two weeks at the last of the West European qualifiers as a backup to Weihegold for the World Cup Final.

German Olympic and World Games team rider Helen Langehanenberg on the American-owned Damsey FRH slips one place to No. 6 from the fifth spot, while Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin on Mount St. John Freestyle that has not competed since their double bronze medal performances at at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, also drops back one spot to seventh. So, too, does German Olympic and world championship rider Dorothee Schneider on Sammy Davis Jr. to No. 8.

Edward Gal of the Netherlands on Glock’s Zack remains at No. 9.

Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on TSF Dalera BB rounds out the top 10.

Sweden has three combinations near the top with Therese Nilshagen on Dante Weltino OLD at No. 11, Patrik Kittel on Well Done de la Roche at No. 13 and Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén at No. 15 on Don Auriello. Don Suriello returned from a lengthy injury time-out to compete on the Florida winter circuit and likely earn a start at the World Cup Final in Gothenburg in their homeland next month. Tinne, a seven-time Olympian for Sweden, first competed Don Auriello at Big Tour in Florida in 2011 and has since gone on to compete at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, 2014 and 2018 World Games, 2013 and 2015 European Championships and next month’s World Cup Final will be the fifth for the pair.

Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen on Blue Hors Zack comes in at No. 12.