The sun was back over the fifty hectares of the Jiva Hill estate to welcome the fourth day of the International Dressage Competition, celebrating its 6th edition.
Photo credit: Photos Les Garennes
CSIYH, Pedigree has spoken!
On the young horse front, Matthias Alexander Rath seems to have the next generation in the bag, with a 93% winning performance from the black KWPN stallion Maddox Mart, a son of Hennessy, from the famous De Niro line, a son of Donnerhall and Fanirma by Bordeaux 28, who turned six today. The seven-year-old contingent was dominated by Lord Diamond, a KWPN stallion as well, out of Daily Diamond and Don Nijke by Scandic, ridden by Dutch rider Krista Kolijn, who left the track with an average score of 74.186%, a first international victory for this promising pair, who since the start of the year have claimed a podium in each of their three shows.
Dressage to music
While Bernard Daney provides a soundtrack to the competitors for all the compulsory dressage tests, four of the categories competing this Saturday were given the freedom of choreography and sound illustration in the freestyle tests to music. In the CDIAm Intermediate 1, victory went to Natalie Tania Joanna Lankester (UAE) and Cash DXB (72.080%), while in the CDIAm Grand Prix Level group, Switzerland’s Jelena Moncilli scored 63.935% with Sir Piko. In the CDI1*, Frederic Wandres (GER) and Quizmaster FRH won comfortably with a 77.655% score, ahead of his compatriot Anna Christina Abbelen and Quantanamera (73.480%) and Dutch rider Linda Verwaal, with James Bond LVD (72.585%).
CSI3*, Matthias Alexander Rath unstoppable!
The 15 riders of the 3* label also competed in their “Freestyle to music” to round off the day. A glance at the start list revealed some serious competition, enriched by riders with 5* experience. As the competition progressed, the podium gradually took shape, but as is often the case, we had to wait until the very last competitors before knowing the final outcome. While the american Benjamin Ebeling and Indeed had held pole position for much of the event (73.205%), they were narrowly edged out by Portugal’s Maria Pais Do Amaral and Hot Hit Old (73. 400%). Finally, Matthias Alexander Rath and Destacado FRH’s performance, on the Star Wars movie notes – no doubt as a tribute to his “extraterrestrial” mount – caused a sensation, to say the least, not only among the connoisseur public present at Jiva Hill, but also among the judges, who awarded him the record average (for his stallion) of 78.125%. Another victory for Germany, decidedly dominant at this 2023 edition, while the French rider Morgan Barbançon, winner of the class in 2022, classes Bolero in 5th position.
CDI5* Grand Prix – Prix ICR Construction, A succession of records
In this 5* Grand Prix, in the colors of ICR Construction, twenty-four of the best couples of the moment did everything in their power to win over the five international judges and secure a last-minute selection for the European Championships in Riesenbeck, from September 4 to 10, or even for the 2024 Olympic Games.
First to start, Canadian Ryan Torkkeli and Sternenwanderer beat their personal best (71.196%) and take the lead. Neither Bonamour, ridden by Swedish rider Patrik Kittel, who was new to the event, nor James Bond de Massa, in the same situation ridden by reigning French champion Arnaud Serre, nor even any of the fifteen couples to follow, despite very good performances, came to worry them, until French rider Alexandre Ayache, riding his powerful and elegant Jolène, stole the lead with a score of 71.761%, a new personal best for the couple. The final group of this 5* Grand Prix, as tradition dictates, featured the best-performing riders of the moment.
The performances soon followed, starting with Christine Skarsoe’s (LUX) personal best with Imperador Dos Cerdos (70.630%), followed by 73. 413% by the young German rider Sönke Rothenberger, 28 years old, on the rise with his eleven-year-old Oldenburg, Matchball (Old), a personal best which also puts him in the lead, despite a record performance at 71.826% by the Belgian n°1, Larissa Pauluis and her faithful Flambeau. Among the three couples competing at the end of the class Cadre Noir de Saumur rider and French national team member Pauline Basquin and Sertorius de Rima Z IFCE performed a light and precise test, with the exception of a line of flying changes, giving them a final average of 70.196%, which put them in 11th place. Last chance for France, Morgan Barbançon and his lead horse Habana Libre A, following a new personal best of 72.326%, clinched a fine third place. Closing the Grand Prix 5* ICR Construction, Germany’s Matthias Alexander Rath had saddled the 10-year-old black Oldenburg, Thiago GS, whom he bred himself from a cross between the legendary Totilas, his partner from 2010 to 2015, and Wahajama-Unicef by Warkant, who achieved the winning score of 74.913%, more than a point ahead of his compatriot Sönke Rothenberger.
Quotes:
Morgan Barbançon 3rd in the 5* Prix ICR Construction with Habana Libre A
« I am really happy, he was fantastic, as usual, […], I am very proud of him, it is a great preparation for the Euroepan championships. »
Matthias Alexander Rath winner of the 5* Prix ICR Construction with Thiago GS
“I am super happy because the development of Thiago is, I think, really good. […] The development of the last twelve months is really amazing, especially in the last two to three months, when I competed him again. It’s his first 5* Grand Prix and the first victory so I am super happy with him.”