Ermelo, Netherlands – August 1, 2016 – The 5-year-old Victoria’s Secret, the 6-year-old Fiontini and the 7-year-old Sezuan were the shining stars at the Longines FEI/WBFSH World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Horses that took place at the headquarters of the Dutch Equestrian Federation in Ermelo (NED) over the weekend.
The event, which attracted over 20,000 spectators, is designed to highlight new and developing talent, and the progress being made by last year’s 5-year-old champion, Fiontini, and the 2015 6-year-old winner Sezuan reinforced the very essence of this popular fixture.
5-year-olds
Germany’s Beatrice Buchwald knows a thing or two about producing top-quality youngsters. The 27-year-old athlete steered DSP Belantis into silver medal spot in the 6-year-old division last year and also produced the wonderful 11-year-old mare Weihegold OLD, who will carry German star Isabell Werth at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games which begin in just a few days’ time.
With the Rheinlander mare Victoria’s Secret (Vitalis/Fiermark), Buchwald topped Thursday’s 5-year-old qualifier with a score of 93.4 percent, pinning the KWPN mare Guadeloupe-Beau (Bordeaux/Vivaldi), ridden by the Netherlands’ Kim van der Velden, into runner-up spot on their mark of 89.8 percent. It was Germany’s Anne-Kathrin Pohlmeier and the Hanoverian Lordswood Dancing Diamond (Dancier/Wolkenstein II) who slotted into third here when scoring 88.4 percent, but this pair dropped right out of contention in Saturday’s Final.
The top 15 went into the Final, and it was the Oldenburg gelding, Quel Filou (Quaterback/Stedinger) ridden by Sascha Schulz, who presented the greatest challenge to the eventual champions. The Luxembourg rider and the horse bred by Hinxlage Aloys and owned by Dressage Grand Ducal posted a big 93.2 percent that included a maximum 10 for their walk.
But judges Kurt Christensen (DEN), Christoph Hess (GER), Francis Verbeek van Rooy (NED) and Isobel Wessels (GBR) awarded Buchwald and Victoria’s Secret marks of 9.5 for trot, 9.3 for walk, 8.9 for canter 9.8 for submission and a whopping 10 for perspective for the gold-medal-winning score of 95.0 percent. the Netherlands’ van der Velden and Guadeloupe-Beau took the bronze on a mark of 91.0 percent.
Buchwald, the first winning rider of the weekend to be presented with a beautiful Longines watch, said she could hardly believe in her success.
“Of course I was the favorite after winning the qualification, but that really does not make it any easier; it actually creates more pressure,” she noted. “However, Victoria’s Secret is not only an intelligent horse – she is also a mare with a lot of go and always wants to work. We could have easily ridden another round here!”
She is unsure what the future holds for this horse. “The owner purchased her when she was a foal, and now lots of people are interested,” she said. “Hopefully we can find a party that can support us so we can have a great future together, because I would love to ride her again next year in the championships for 6-year-olds!”
6-year-olds
The riders of both the the 6- and 7-year-old champions are headed to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and both of them have every reason to be feeling very pleased indeed after their results over the weekend.
Spain’s Severo Jesus Jurado Lopez and last year’s 5-year-old winner, the Danish Warmblood Fiontini (Fassbinder/Romanov), won Friday’s 6-year-old qualifier with a three-point margin over the chestnut KWPN stallion Five Star with the Netherlands’ Kirsten Brouwer on board. Close behind was Germany’s Ann-Christin Wienkamp with the Oldenburg stallion Sir Olli (Sir Donnerhall/Florestan) who posted a mark of 86.8 percent.
In Sunday’s Final however, Fiontini showed that extra sparkle that led to Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin, to describe the mare as “incredible” when judging her last year. With marks of 9.5 for trot, 9.8 for walk, 9.7 for canter, 8.9 for submission and the maximum 10 for perspective, Fiontini strutted to a final scoreline of 95.8 percent for gold.
Brouwer’s Five Star, bred by PG Bijvelds, Erp/ASM Bijveld and owned by T. Wilaras, held on to silver with a mark of 89.0 percent, and judges Kurt Christensen (DEN), Mariano Santos Redondo (ESP), Maria Colliander (FIN) and Sharon Rhode (RSA) kept Wienkamp and Sir Olli in third again for the bronze on a mark of 87.6 percent.
Talking about Fiontini’s winning performance, judge Maria Colliander said, “The walk was a highlight, so relaxed in a wonderful rhythm. What was interesting was how well the horse collected in the medium-walk and before the pirouettes; a 9.8. The horse has lovely clear ground cover in the trot, although at times Severo must be careful that it will not become a passage. But I must mention that the extension totally blew us away. The canter has such an active hind leg and it so well placed under the body. Wonderful propulsion with a great extension and he came back so well: a 9.7. On the submission there is still room for improvement, the natural bending could be better and the one-change was not so fluent as the mare anticipated a bit, which caused tension: 8.9. What a talent for the future; she receives a 10 for the perspective.”
Fiontini’s rider, Severo Jesus Jurado Lopez, said the Danish Warmblood mare “gives you a fantastic feeling and is always focused. I am extremely happy that she could show her qualities here, so everyone could see her talent. She deserves that!”
7-year-olds
“Wow!” was the assessment of the judges’ spokesperson Mariette Sanders-Gansewinkel after Dorothee Schneider rode Sezuan to gold in the 7-year-old category. This was the first year for horses in this age-group to take part in the Championship proper, and the German rider who will compete with Showtime in Rio de Janeiro next week had every reason be pleased with the horse who has now won three FEI/WBFSH Young Dressage Horse titles in a row, an historic first in every sense.
Their march to glory began when the dark bay Danish Warmblood stallion (Blue Hors Zack/Don Schufro), who was bred by Linette Jaeger and is owned by Gestüt Peterhof, received 10s for both canter and perspective in Friday’s qualifier which he topped by a huge margin when posting 88.42 percent. Runner-up here was the gray gelding FBW Fairplay H (Furst Hohenstein/Disco Tanzer) ridden by another German, Ines Knoll, who posted 77.998 percent. Third went to the Swedish Warmblood gelding Fiorucci HT (Florencio l/Rubinrot) with Sweden’s Jeanna Hogberg on board, who scored 77.619 percent.
In Sunday’s Final, Sezuan stepped it up even further when scoring 89.005 percent, earning 9.8 for both trot and walk, 9.4 for canter, 9.3 for submission and that all-important 10 for perspective. Hogberg and Fiorucci posted 80.253 percent for the silver medal, while Knoll and FBW Fairplay just missed out on the podium when their mark of 78.544 percent was bettered by the 78.641 percent produced by yet another of the strong German contingent, Stefanie Wold with Saphira Royal, who took the bronze. The latter, a dark bay Rheinlander mare (San Amour/Monteverdi), was bred by Herbert Werth and is owned by Johann Hinnemann, and her score was boosted by a 9 for submission.
Talking about the winning 7-year-old test, Mariette Sanders-Gansewinkel said, “Sezuan has a very energetic, swinging and uphill trot in which he shows a good cadence: a 9.8. The fantastic walk has a beautiful four-beat and also receives a 9.8. The canter is his best gait, with enormous power. But today he was a little tense right before the flying changes, therefore ‘just’ a 9.4. A technical piece of art, but the tension in the changes and the hind legs together in the first pirouette result in a 9.3 for the submission. And the perspective… well, that could only be a 10!”
Dorothee Schneider was delighted about clinching her third world championship title in a row on the same horse.
“This is something extraordinary,” she said. “I want to thank the owners that I can ride him. Sezuan is a sensational horse with three excellent gaits who always wants to work with me in the test and always wants to make me happy!”
Results:
5-year-old Championship
GOLD – Victoria’s Secret (Beatrice Buchwald) GER 95.00
SILVER – Quel Filou OLD (Sascha Schulz) LUX 93.20
BRONZE – Guadeloupe-Beau (Kim van der Velden) NED 91.00.
6-year-old Championship
GOLD – Fiontini (Severo Jesus Jurado Lopez) ESP 95.80
SILVER – Five Star (Kirsten Brouwer) NED 89.00
BRONZE – Sir Olli (Ann-Christin Wienkamp) GER 87.60.
7-year-old Championship
GOLD – Sezuan (Dorothee Schneider) GER 89.005
SILVER – Fiorucci HT (Jeanna Hogberg) SWE 80.253
BRONZE – Saphire Royal (Stefanie Wolf) GER 78.641.