Isabell Werth Returns Bella Rose to Competition for 1st Time in 19 Months to Win Mannheim CDI4* Grand Prix

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Isabell Werth and Bella Rose at Mannheim.

MANNHEIM, Germany, April 28, 2021–Isabell Werth returned Bella Rose to competition for the first time in 19 months to win the CDI4* Grand Prix Wednesday.

The winning score of 79.957% for Isabell and the 17-year-old Westfalen mare, No. 1 in the world, included six marks of 10 with two of five judges awarding totals above 80%. Mistakes in the one-tempi changes were expensive.

German team mate Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on Zaire-E were second on 77.369% and compatriot Matthias Alexander Rath on Foundation logged a personal best 72.978% for third.

Susan Pape of Great Britain on Harmony’s Eclectisch was fourth on a personal best 72.956%. Before this show, Susan and the 12-year-old KWPN stallion she owns with Harmony Sporthorses of Kiowa, Colorado had competed in CDIs in the past four years only at the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida.

The Maimarket-Turnier was only the second major show in Germany in 2021 after Hagen’s Horses & Dreams a week ago, in the second year of the coronavirus pandemic and following a two-month lockdown to deal with an outbreak of equine herpes virus. The Olympics, put off by a year, are now less than three months away in Tokyo.

Phew! Isabell Werth on Bella Rose after the Mannheim CDI4* Grand Prix.

With the victory Wednesday, Isabell, with more Olympic medals than any equestrian in history, and Bella Rose have an unbeaten string of 21 Big Tour victories stretching back to 2014. The string began just months after the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy but the mare was then out of competition for 3 1/2 years with a persistent injury. The pair returned in 2018 in time to lead Germany to team gold and also collect two individual golds at the World Games in Tryon in 2018. The pair recorded the same success at the European Championships in August, 2019 that was their last competition before this event.

Results:

CDI4* Grand Prix for Special

Judges: Adriaan F. Hamoen Hans-Christian Matthiesen Dr. Evi Eisenhardt Alice Schwab Katrina Wüst
Place Score Nation Athlete Horse E H C M B
1. 79.957 GER Isabell Werth Bella Rose 2 79.022 79.022 83.37 81.304 77.065
2. 77.369 GER Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl Zaire-E 78.043 76.739 76.087 79.565 76.413
3. 72.978 GER Matthias Alexander Rath Foundation 2 74.13 73.478 73.152 71.522 72.609
4. 72.956 GBR Susan Pape Harmony’s Eclectisch 72.174 74.674 72.717 72.717 72.5
5. 72.674 GER Hubertus Schmidt Denoix PCH 71.63 73.261 73.152 72.391 72.935
6. 72.413 DEN Charlotte Heering Bufranco 70.761 72.5 71.087 73.913 73.804
7. 72.065 GER Frederic Wandres Bluetooth OLD 74.13 74.022 69.239 70.652 72.283
8. 71.805 GER Lena Waldmann Fiderdance 71.957 72.609 69.457 71.196 73.804
9. 71.217 AUT Renate Voglsang Fürst Ferdinand zur Fasanenhöhe 72.174 68.261 69.239 73.261 73.152
10. 70.457 NED Madeleine Witte-Vrees Finnländerin 72.174 70.87 69.783 70.978 68.478
11. 67.326 AUT Victoria Max-Theurer Rockabilly 66.848 66.413 66.522 68.261 68.587
12. 65.587 NED Patrick van der Meer Sephora S 65.978 63.478 65.652 66.413 66.413
13. 64.022 RUS Irina Zakhrabekova Armas Balago II 65.435 61.304 62.283 64.457 66.63
14. 56.652 RSA Nicole Smith Chi la Rou 56.304 55 57.391 57.5 57.065
SCR NED Nars Gottmer Figaro