Dressage-News

July 27, 2022

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

Denmark could be at the top of the World Championship medals podium for the first time in the 56-year history of the dressage competition, according to the cognoscenti and a calculation of scores of the 20 teams that will line up in Herning, Denmark next week.

Great Britain may have a slight edge for silver while Germany that has dominated these championships with 12 team gold medals in the 14 times the event has been staged since the inaugural competition in 1966 is in the bronze medal position, according to calculations by dressage-news.com. The highest scores were added up of the top three rider and horse combinations of the leading eight nations over the past year.

The distance between the possible Denmark result of 235.542 that will also have the support of the home crowd and the United States in sixth on 229.044 by this calculation is less than half that between the scores of the three medal nations at the last championships, in Tryon in 2018–Germany 242.950, USA 233.136 and Britain 229.628.

By adding the highest scores of the top three riders in each of the likely leading eight teams with the declaration of definite entries the results were:

Denmark 235.542
Great Britain 233.348
Germany 232.357
Sweden 231.214
Netherlands 229.087
United States 229.044

A major shift has occurred in the makeup of top dressage in several nations in the year since the Tokyo Olympics.

Two Danish combinations, were on the Tokyo fourth-placed team, Carina Cassøe Krüth and Heiline’s Danciera and Nanna Merrald Rasmussen on Blue Hors Zack. Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour was on Bohemian, ranked No. 2 in the world, at Tokyo a year ago and Cassidy in 2016. She is competing Vamos Amigos, her World Cup reserve champion and CDIO5* champion at Aachen, Germany.

The partnerships for Great Britain are new to Olympics and world championships. Charlotte Dujardin, post multi-medalists Valegro, Mount St. John Freestyle and Gio, competed Imhotep at only two Big Tour events prior to Herning but with scores that ranked her second in selection behind Charlotte Fry on Glamourdale. Charlotte rode Everdale at Tokyo.

No German combination has competed in a senior championship. Isabell Werth, who will ride DSP Quantaz, is the most successful equestrian in Olympic history with 12 medals (seven gold) and six world championships for five golds and a bronze on teams, three individual golds and two bronzes. Ingrid Klimke is a five-time Olympian in eventing with two team gold medals as well as two eventing team golds at World Equestrian Games.

Juliette Ramel on Buriel K.H. was on Sweden’s teams at both Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro Olympic teams as well as the 2018 Tryon WEG while Therese Nilshagen on Dante Weltino OLD was at Tokyo and Tryon.

Dinja van Liere on Hermès, who missed out on Tokyo, will be joined by three world and Olympic rookie partnerships, though Emmelie Scholtens on Indian Rock rode Apache at Tryon in 2018. Missing from the team are stalwarts Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud. Among other successes this century, Edward on Totilas dominated the 2010 WEG at Lexington to lead the Netherlands to team gold as well as individual and freestyle golds.

USA has the most experienced and successful combinations in the entire lineup–Adrienne Lyle on Salvino and Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper, with team silver medals at both the Tryon WEG in 2018 and the Tokyo Olympics. Ashley Holzer will be on Valentine in the rider’s first championship team event for the United States though she was at four Olympics for her native Canada, including team bronze in 1988. Katie Duerrhammer on Quartett is a rookie at this level.

Adopting the oft-used phrase “these are horses not tractors,” is a reminder of the previous time there was a comparable event at Herning, the 2013 European Championships. An exceedingly low mark of one of the seven judges for a British combination was seen by many as causing the team to slip to bronze from silver and led to the “6% rule” to avoid similar occurrences.

And in the Grand Prix Special for individual medals at the same championships the top three pairs–Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro, Helen Langehanenberg on Damon Hill and Adelinde Cornelissen on Parzival–all went off course though they finished in gold, silver and bronze positions.

Highest Grand Prix scores for the past year including the Tokyo Olympics last July with the three highest results of each team counting, as they will be at Herning, the findings were:

DENMARK – Total of three best scores: 235.542 — Average: 78.514%
Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Marshall-Bell, 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding–76.366% (9/7/2021)
Carina Cassøe Krüth and Heiline’s Danciera, 11-year-old Danish Warmblood mare–77.632% (2/19/2022)
Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Vamos Amigos, 10-year-old Westfalen gelding–81.544% (6/30/2022)
Nanna Merrald Rasmussen and Blue Hors Zack, 18-year-old KWPN stallion–73.168% (7/24/2022)

GREAT BRITAIN – Total: 233.348 — Average: 77.782%
Richard Davison and Bubblingh, 16-year-old KWPN gelding–71.892% (3/5/2022)
Charlotte Dujardin and Imhotep, nine-year-old KWPN gelding–77.761% (6/9/2022)
Charlotte Fry and  Glamourdale, 11-year-old KWPN stallion–79.435% (5/21/2022)
Gareth Hughes and Classic Briolinca, 16-year-old KWPN mare–76.152% (5/20/2022)

GERMANY – Total: 232.357 — Average: 77.452%
Ingrid Klimke and Franziskus, 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion–72.217% (6/30/2022)
Frederic Wandres and Duke of Britain FRH, 15-year-old British Hanoverian gelding–77.239% (4/22/2022)
Benjamin Werndl and Famoso OLD, 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding–76.065% (4/21/2022)
Isabell Werth and DSP Quantaz, 12-year-old German Sport Horse stallion–79.053% (3/11/2022)

SWEDEN – Total: 231.214 Average: 77.071%
Jeanna Hogberg and Astoria, 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare–73.000% (5/20/2022)
Patrik Kittel and Touchdown, 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood stallion–77.652% (2/25/2022)
Therese Nilshagen and Dante Weltino OLD, 15-year-old Oldenburg stallion–76.941% (9/7/2021)
Juliette Ramel and Buriel K.H, 16-year-old KWPN gelding–76.621% (4/21/2022)

NETHERLANDS – Total: 229.087 Average: 76.362%
Dinja van Liere and Hermès, 10-year-old KWPN stallion–79.739% (6/23/2022)
Marieke van der Putten and Torveslettens Titanium RS2, 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding–74.565% (6/2/2022)
Emmelie Scholtens and Indian Rock, nine-year-old KWPN stallion–74.783% (6/2/2022)
Thamar Zweistra and Hexagon’s Ich Weiss, nine-year-old NRPS stallion–72.956% (6/2/2022)

UNITED STATES of AMERICA – Total: 229.044 Average: 76.348%
Katie Duerrhammer and Quartett, 14-year-old German Sport Horse gelding–71.456% (6/30/2022)
Ashley Holzer and Valentine, 11-year-old Hanoverian mare–73.630% (3/24/2022)
Adrienne Lyle and Salvino, 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion–78.566% (3/24/2022)
Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper, 14-year-old KWPN gelding–76.848% (5/6/2022)

AUSTRIA – Total: 219.739 Average: 73.246%
Florian Bacher and Fidertraum OLD, 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding–72.630% (6/17/2022)
Stefan Lehfellner and Roberto Carlos MT, 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding–71.848% (6/17/2022)
Victoria Max Theurer and Birkhof’s Topas FBW, 11-year-old Baden-Württemberg stallion–75.261% (6/17/2022)
Christian Schumach and Donna Karacho, 15-year-old Westfalen mare–70.565% (6/17/2022)

SPAIN – Total: 219.392 Average: 73.130%
Daniel Martin Dockx and Malagueño LXXXIII, 12-year-old PRE gelding–72.848% (6/30/2022)
Jose Antonio Garcia Mena and Divina Royal, 12-year-old Hanoverian mare–74.609% (2/25/2022)
Alejandro Sanchez del Barco and Quincallo de Indalo, 11-year-old PRE stallion–71.935% (6/30/2022)
Teia Hernandez Vila and Romero de Trujillo, 11-year-old PRE gelding–71.565% (3/19/2022)