Aachen’s World Equestrian Festival Dressage Competition Begins Wednesday, Last Major Competition for World Championships Selection
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By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
AACHEN, Germany, June 28, 2022–Dressage began Tuesday at the World Equestrian Festival, the last major selection competition for several nations for the world championships just weeks away.
Australia, Denmark, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and the United States have teams in the CDIO5* Nations Cup and individuals in the CDI4* vying to represent their nations at Herning, Denmark. The CDI4* Grand Prix is scheduled for Wednesday and the Nations Cup for Thursday.
A powerful Danish lineup including world No. 2 Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on Bohemian as well Vamos Amigos along with Carina Cassøe Krüth on Heiline’s Danciera, Nanna Skodborg Merrald on Orthilia and Daniel Bachmann Andersen on Marshall-Belle could upend Germany’s longtime dominance both at Aachen and the world championships. Since the first dressage Nations Cup here in 1977, Germany has claimed the title at all but three occasions when the Netherlands took gold. The world championships held once every four years since 1966, Germany has not won on only twice, to Russia in 1970 and the Netherlands in 2010.
Adrienne Lyle on Salvino and Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper, team silver medalists at both the 2018 world championships as well as the Tokyo Olympics, top the U.S. standings for a place on the American team. Adrienne and the 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion will compete in the CDI4* while Steffen and the 14-year-old KWPN gelding will be on the CDIO5* team.
Among other contenders competing in Aachen for the a place on the four-member U.S. team for Herning are Katie Duerrhammer on Quartett, Benjamin Ebeling on Indeed, Charlotte Jorst on Kastel’s Nintendo and Sarah Tubman on First Apple. Ashley Holzer on Valentine, Alice Tarjan on Serenade MF and Katie on Paxton rode for the U.S. at Rotterdam last week.
For Germany, Isabell Werth, the most successful Olympic equestrian in history, will ride Superb in the CDI4* and Quantaz on the team.
Dorothee Schneider and Showtime FRH, 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding, that partnered on Germany’s gold medal teams at the last two Olympics will compete in the CDI4*.
