World Number 1 Isabel Werth Dominates CDI5* Geneva

Geneva, Switzerland – Dec. 10, 2017 – Over the weekend, the long awaited CDI5* competition took place in Geneva, Switzerland. Unsurprisingly, the Grand Prix competition on Friday was dominated by German rider Isabell Werth, the unrivalled champion, with her 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding Don Johnson FRH. The pair finished their Grand Prix test with a score of 74.9 percent.

Isabell Werth and Don Johnson FRH. Photo courtesy of CHI de Genève.
Isabell Werth and Don Johnson FRH. Photo courtesy of CHI de Genève.

The runner-up in the class was fellow-German Bernadette Brune on the 13-year-old Oldenburg stallion Spirit of the Age OLD, earning a score of 73.54 percent. Swiss rider Antonella Joannou and Dandy de la Roche CMF, a 12-year-old Swiss Warmblood gelding, finished in third place with a score of 71.78 percent.

In the Grand Prix Special presented by La Tuilière Dressage Stables on Saturday, it was Sweden’s Anna Blomgren on the 9-year-old Danish Warmblood mare Torveslettens Quattro who took home the first place prize with a score of 72.137 percent. Brune and Spirit of the Age OLD finished in second place with a score of 71.902 percent, while Luxembourg’s Sascha Schulz and the 9-year-old Lusitano stallion Dragao finished third with a score of 68.432 percent.

Anna Blomgren and Torveslettens Quattro. Photo courtesy of CHI de Genève.
Anna Blomgren and Torveslettens Quattro. Photo courtesy of CHI de Genève.

Eight horse-and-rider combinations competed in the Grand prix Freestyle presented by Jiva Hill Stables to conclude the competition over the weekend.

“It’s a demanding work to create a dressage freestyle,” Werth said. “I put together my own program for each of my horses, which matches their personality and character, and I work with a sound arranger so that the music and rhythm interaction fits with the different characters of the horse.”

The meticulous work paid off for the German dressage rider, who won for the seventh time in Geneva, with Don Johnson to the music of Queen, earning a score of 79.035 percent.

Isabell Werth and Don Johnson FRH. Photo courtesy of CHI de Genève.
Isabell Werth and Don Johnson FRH. Photo courtesy of CHI de Genève.

“It was not our best performance, but we are very happy to end our season here,” Werth said.

Joannou and Dandy de la Roche CMF took home second place with a score of 75.845 percent, accompanied by the melodies of Coldplay.

“It’s like a victory to be on this podium with Isabell Werth and Patrick Kittel,” said the Geneva-born athlete. “These are two megastars of dressage, and it’s a great honor to be among them.”

Joannou’s horse, Dandy de la Roche CMF, finished just ahead of her half-sister, the 9-year-old Swiss Warmblood mare Well Done de la Roche CMF, who finished in third place with her Swedish rider Patrik Kittel. The pair earned a score of 75.150 percent.

“I had expected to enter a nearly empty hall at 7 o’clock in the morning”, Kittel said. “But it was a fantastic atmosphere in the middle of the afternoon, and I loved it!”

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