Dressage-News

MECHELEN, Belgium, Dec. 29, 2019–Holland’s Emmelie Scholtens and Desperado won the Jumping Mechelen World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle with a personal best score Sunday, the second straight best competition result for the European Championship team silver medal pair.

Emmelie and the 11-year-old KWPN stallion scored 85.075%, the highest result so far for the pair that started Big Tour in mid-2018. Mechelen, the seventh of 11 qualifying competitions in the Western European League, was their second championship competition this season leading to the Final in Las Vegas in mid-April. The Grand Prix here was also a personal best result. The combination competed at Lyon, France two months ago and were on Holland’s silver medal team at the European Championship this summer.

Portugal’s Maria Caetano and the 12-year-old Lusitano stallion Coroado posted a personal best score of 80.940% for runner-up, surpassing the previous high mark of 80.160% logged at this same event a year ago.

Maria and Coroado are campaigning for their second World Cup Final, having ridden at the championship in Sweden last April. The duo also competed on the Portuguese team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon as well as the 2017 and 2019 European Championships, this year’s event earning Portugal a 2020 Olympic team place.

Juan Matute Guimon of Spain posted a career high score of 80.510% on Quantico to place third. This was the first Big Tour result above 80% for the 22-year-old rider, who grew up in Wellington, Florida, but returned to his homeland for college and to develop his dressage career.

He has competed Quantico, a 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding, since Young Riders in 2014 and rode on Spanish teams at the European Under-25 Championships for individual bronze in 2017 and at the Tryon World Games last year to help Spain earn a start at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

He also rides Don Diego, a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding, that in the past eight years he competed in European Junior Championships and the 2016 European Under-25s.

France’s Morgan Barbançon on Sir Donnerhall II was fourth on 79.780% to give her enough points to move tup to fifth on the Western European League standings.

If successful in qualifying for Las Vegas, it would be her fourth Final, having competed in 2015 in Las Vegas, 2018 in Paris and 2019 in Gothgenburg, Sweden. The 27-year-old rider also competed at the 2012 London Olympics for Spain before switching to ride for France almost two years ago.

The next Western European qualifier is scheduled for Amsterdam Jan. 23-26.

Results:

CDI-W World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle