Aachen (GER), 16 August 2015

Photo Caption: The Grand Prix Freestyle medallists on the podium at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2015 in Aachen, Germany today. (L to R) Kristina Bröring-Sprehe from Germany (silver), Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin (gold) and Spain’s Beatriz Ferrer-Salat (bronze). (FEI/Dirk Caremans)

Narrow victory for Dujardin in hard-fought Freestyle

by Louise Parkes

It was double-gold for Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro when the British superstars added the Freestyle title to yesterday’s Grand Prix Special honours at the FEI European Dressage Championships in Aachen (GER) this evening. But today’s medal was particularly hard-won, with Germany’s Kristina Bröring-Sprehe only 0.25 percent off Dujardin’s winning score when taking silver with Desperados FRH, while Spain’s Beatriz Ferrer-Salat produced another sensation when claiming the bronze with Delgado.

Continuing the week-long theme of expecting the unexpected, the day began with the news that Britain’s Fiona Bigwood was withdrawn because her mare, Atterupgaards Orthilia, had a “slight skin reaction causing sensitivity”. And then, just before the competition began, it was announced that Anna Kaskpkrzak had also pulled out. The Danish rider is no shrinking violet and had climbed into the saddle to prepare for her early-afternoon start with Donnperignon. But the pain she has been suffering since she was kicked in the chest by her horse after the horse inspection six days ago was just too intense today.

Strong test

Newly-crowned European team champion, Patrick van der Meer from the The Netherlands, got the competition underway with a nice test from Uzzo who set the standard at 74.375, and this was followed by the farewell performance of Morgan Barbancon Mestre’s 18-year-old stallion Painted Black who posted 73.375.

However it was Karen Tebar from France who led the way into the first competition break. It is rare to see a rider smiling as they enter the arena, especially one as intimidating as the Soers in Aachen, but the 50-year-old who fits her competitive career around managing her own German-based company, looked equally as happy as her 10-year-old gelding Don Luis who, in his first year at international level, took over the lead with a score of 74.964.

The target rocketed up to 80.214 when German team bronze medallist, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, took her turn with Unee BB, their performance concluding with a dare-devil extended trot up the centre-line. And then Sweden’s Tinne Vilhelmson Silfven went out in front, the six-time Olympian and her 13-year-old gelding demonstrating their unique partnership based on a mutual understanding that allows them to ebb and flow with the rhythm of their test for a mark of 80.643.

A day to savour

This was a day to savour, with many young horses suggesting great future potential, including the nine-year-old Batuta ridden by Portugal’s Goncalo Carvalho (72.768) and Carl Hester’s 10-year-old Nip Tuck (79.571) for Great Britain. But it was the 82.482 produced by Germany’s Isabell Werth and Don Johnson FRH that was the score to beat as the final four took their turn.

Werth is both a natural-born entertainer as well as an edge-of-the-seat competitor, and she had the home crowd right behind her as she swung her way through her musical score that included a newly-introduced excerpt from Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” – the late, great Freddie Mercury singing “nothing really matters” – but of course it did. And the crowd went wild when the judges awarded 82.482. Still the excitement was far from over.

Only a chosen few knew that Beatriz Ferrer-Salat would shine this week. First, like Frenchwoman Tebar, she would steer her country into an Olympic qualifying spot and then go on to finish just off the podium in yesterday’s Grand Prix Special. As she started into her routine today it was clear the Spanish rider was upping her game even further, her chestnut gelding Delgado presenting a beautifully balanced, forward-going picture as they cruised through seamless transitions and presented a picture of lightness and harmony for a new leading score of 82.714. Quite an achievement for a horse that has struggled with unsoundness since he was a six-year-old and who, at 14 years of age, is only now getting the opportunity to show his true ability.

Close to perfection

But while that was lovely to watch, the penultimate performance of Bröring-Sprehe and her fabulous black stallion was close to perfection. The 28-year-old rider came to Aachen this week with a weight of expectation on her shoulders, and although she didn’t get the result she wanted in the team competition she was very impressive when taking silver in yesterday’s Grand Prix Special. Today however the horse-and-rider combination were in a different league altogether, lighting up the ring with spectacular passage and piaffe, the tiniest of pirouettes and breath-taking extended trot. The defending champions were chasing a big score of 88.804 as they set off, and it was difficult to know if they would beat that score.

Dujardin found the one-tempi changes something of a bug-bear this week and once again they let the pair down this afternoon, but even though her 13-year-old gelding was much less animated than in yesterday’s test, the quality of their work was such that they overtook their German rivals by a narrow 0.25 percent to round up their week with both of the individual titles.

Only the ones

Talking afterwards, the record-breaking rider said, “it was only the ones (one-tempi changes) that let the performance down. I think he’s got a thing with them now, he’s done it all week. Yesterday in the last one he made a mistake, outside he’s been really good with them. It’s only one movement at the end of the day and it has cost me, but I was really happy with the rest of it.

“The toughest part of being here is having to deal with the crowd, you know they are rooting for their nation, and when I walked in there was a huge atmosphere. Then her (Kristina’s) score came up just as I went in, and I had to deal with that as well. And then we had a shot of Isabell (Werth) stuffing her face with something, so as I went to start the crowd were laughing! So there was a lot in my mind to deal with at the very beginning. I think I handled it quite well”, she said.

Ferrer-Salat said of her bronze medal finish today, “when we came here I was expecting to qualify the team for Rio and I hoped to get into the Kur, but a medal? Never! I’m very happy for my horse, I’ve had him for years and he’s always been injured, but now we have rehabilitated him. It has taken a long, long time, but it’s been worth it!”

At the post-competition press conference, Freestyle silver medallist Bröring-Sprehe said, “Desperados was so fantastic, so good to ride today, he felt great in the atmosphere and we did our best Freestyle ever. Next year I hope”, she added, and then looked across at Dujardin and hesitated, “next year – I want to do even better!”

Championships were tough

It sounded like a warning to Dujardin who admitted these Championships were tough. “Yeah, I knew it would be coming here. But in the end I’m going home with two golds and a silver medal, so I’m happy!” she replied. Asked about the narrow margin between herself and Bröring-Sprehe she said, “that’s sport and it makes it more and more exciting…it would be really boring if I was winning by miles all the time. So the fact that Kristina is catching me up – everyone, even Edward in the Grand Prix – I think for me here I just had mistakes in my tests. I haven’t had one test which I haven’t had mistakes in, and that’s obviously expensive, but I know when I have a mistake-free test it’s a very good test. He’s (Valegro) going to have a holiday now for three weeks and I’ll work on it and hopefully get my changes back and go to Olympia…get ready for Rio. I’m not giving up easily!” she concluded.

For more information on the FEI European Championships 2015 in Aachen visit www.aachen2015.de.

Result Grand Prix Freestyle: Gold: Valegro (Charlotte Dujardin) GBR 88.982; Sllver: Desperados FRH (Kristina Bröring-Sprehe) 88.804; Bronze: Delgado (Beatriz Ferrer-Salat) ESP 82.714.

Full results of FEI European Championships Aachen 2015 here

Facts and Figures:

13 horse-and-rider combinations lined out for today’s Grand Prix Freestyle at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2015 in Aachen, Germany.

There were two withdrawals – Great Britain’s Fiona Bigwood whose mare Atterupgaards Orthilia was experiencing “a slight skin reaction causing sensitivity” and Denmark’s Anna Kasprzak who was feeling unwell. She was kicked in the chest by her horse, Donnperignon, during Tuesday’s veterinary inspection and rode in both the team competition and in the Grand Prix Special – she finished 11th in the latter.

8 nations were represented in today’s Freestyle final – Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

The Netherlands and Germany each had three riders qualified for the final competition.

Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro claimed the gold for the second time – they also topped the podium at the 2013 FEI European Dressage Championships staged in Herning, Denmark.

Germany’s Kristina Bröring-Sprehe finished in silver medal spot with Desperados FRH and Spain’s Beatriz Ferrer-Salat took the bronze with Delgado.

96,000 spectators attended the Dressage competitions during the week at the Soers Arena while the full tally of spectators for all events to date iss 159,000.

Quotes:

Kristina Bröring-Sprehe GER: “I’m really happy, Desperados was wonderful today, so easy to ride all the time and the audience at the end – it was perfect!”

Beatriz Ferrer-Salat ESP: “I have the horse (Delgado) since he was six, he has been injured a lot….so I would go to a show, stop him, go to a show, stop him again, but every time he was really good, really good, so I just keep trying. Finally we got it solved, and I started in March in Spain and did a couple of shows in Spain and then my first international outing was at Hagen and then I came here. Our goal was to qualify for the Olympics, which we achieved, finishing fourth and then when I saw I was in the top five I was really surprised, then yesterday I was fourth and today I was third. I got him sound thanks to a chiropractor and a masseur. No medicines, no nothing, just this and that’s the only way until now he has been sound. I had taken this horse to clinics, vets everything but there was no way to get him sound. We did it just naturally, a lot of rehabilitation, very slowly, slowly, slowly and now he’s really, really good. This is a hard week….because it’s a bit hot I have to ride him twice, once in the stadium when it was open, he’s really sound at the moment.”

Audio:

Charlotte Dujardin

http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/FEI_Aachen_dujardin_Free.mp3

Kristina Broring-Sprehe  Germany 2nd German Audio

http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/FEI_Aachen_Sprehe_free_ger.mp3

Kristina Broring-Sprehe  Germany 2nd English Audio#

http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/FEI_aachen_sprehe_free.mp3

Beatriz Ferrer-Salat Spain 3rd Spanish Audio

http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/FEI_Aachen_Salat_.mp3

Beatriz Ferrer-Salat Spain 3rd English Audio

http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/FEI_Aachen_Salat_eng.mp3

Carl Hester

http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/FEI_Aachen_Hester_free.mp3

FEI European Championships Aachen 2015: Dujardin wins ahead of Bröring-Sprehe, then Ferrer-Salat – the medal winners in the Deutsche Bank Prize, the Grand Prix Freestyle

It couldn’t have been closer: Kristina Bröring-Sprehe gave the performance of her life with Desperados. She almost won gold. In the end, the 29-year-old ranked second with a personal best score of 88.804, just behind the defending champion, Charlotte Dujardin who finished on a score of 89.054. Four of the seven international judges placed the British Olympic gold medallist first, three of the judges had hung the gold medal around the neck of Bröring-Sprehe.

Dujardin and Valegro presented the freestyle routine, which they performed at the World Cup Final in Las Vegas earlier this spring. The reigning World Champion and Olympic gold medallist performed a fantastic round to the film music of ‘Taming dragons made easy’ until she made two big mistakes in the two tours of the flying changes. “I overrode the flying changes,” she said immediately admitting that it was her mistake and was full of praise for her gold partner, Valegro. “It was a long, strenuous week for all of the horses here. I am overjoyed and very proud of him.” She grinned mischievously when asked about the close result. “The fact that Kristina is breathing down my neck, makes the sport even more exciting.” She explained that Valegro would have two to three weeks off now and then she would gradually start to get him ready for Rio. “And I hope that I will get my flying changes sorted out by then,” laughed the two-time gold medal winner of the FEI European Championships Aachen 2015.

Bröring-Sprehe enchanted the crowds with an immaculate, harmonious freestyle routine in Aachen’s Main Stadium. “That was the best freestyle I have ever ridden,” explained the 29-year-old overjoyed. “Desperados was unbelievable and riding here in this atmosphere in Aachen was fantastic!” She entered the ring as the penultimate rider and knew after her super ride:  Everything is possible! Standing next to her team colleague, Isabell Werth, she watched Dujardin’s ride in anticipation and explained laughing. “Isabell practically held my hand, because I was so nervous.” She was annoyed for a second, because gold had been within her grasp, but …”I am satisfied all round and who knows, perhaps I can do it even better next year,” she said grinning in the direction of the European Champion, Dujardin. After celebrating team gold and two individual silver medals, Kristina Bröring-Sprehe will continue celebrating next week. Her church wedding with Christian Bröring is namely scheduled for next weekend – a further highlight in the summer of 2015 for the two-time Vice European Champion.

Bronze went to the Spanish rider, Beatriz Ferrer-Salt with Delgado, who finished on a score of 82.714 percent – perhaps that was the biggest surprise at these European Championships. The Vice World Champion of 2002 was totally perplex about her result. “We travelled to Aachen with the aim of qualifying the team for Rio. Which we succeeded in doing. Then, in the Spécial I wanted to qualify for the Freestyle. That worked too. But the fact that I am taking a medal home with me, is simply incredible!” She has been riding her 14-year-old partner, Delgado, for eight years, but she has encountered many ups and downs with him over the years. “He was constantly injured. I missed the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, because he was injured. I couldn’t ride in London, because he was injured. I kept having to rest him.” The veterinarians had told her: “He won’t recover.“ But she worked out a “reha programme” for him over one and a half years, together with a chiropractician and a masseur. Since then he has been consistently healthy, he is in top form and won the European Championships bronze medal with a wonderfully elastic freestyle round here in Aachen. The music for her freestyle routine is an own creation of a friend of hers, who composed it especially for her and Delgado.

According to the German Chef d’Equipe, Klaus Roeser, Isabell Werth’s ride with Don Johnson was outstanding. “If anyone had told me that I could almost win a medal here with Don Johnson, I would never have believed it,” beamed Werth. “To finish fourth, just scraping by the bronze medal was a fantastic result. I am very proud of Johnny. It is a great feeling to have a “second weapon” up my sleeve for Rio in addition to Bella Rose.” Werth was awarded a score of 82.482 for her successful ride. Third, fourth and fifth places in the Freestyle competition at these European Championships were very close: with only 0.303 percent separating them – which is a sign for the top quality of the European top pairs.

The fans of the Portuguese dressage sport celebrated a premiere. A dressage rider from Portugal competed in a European Championships Final for the first time ever. Goncalo Carvalho has already taken part at World Championships, Olympic Games and European Championships in the past, but he never made it into the freestyle final before. “I am very, very proud!” beamed the 33-year-old. His goal is to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio, during the show in Aachen he has got a step closer to this target.

The spectators were able to ‘co-judge’ the European Championships competitions in Aachen via an app that was jointly developed by the organisers and the software manufacturer, SAP. Their result differed slightly to that of the judges: Gold went to Kristina Bröring-Sprehe with a score of 86.714 percent, silver went to Dujardin on a score of 83.015 percent and the crowd in Aachen awarded the bronze medal to Isabell Werth (82.183 percent).

38,000 spectators watched the European Championships Freestyle live in the Main Stadium in Aachen. The Show Director Frank Kemperman was thus very pleased that he had decided early enough to stage the dressage competitions in the large Main Stadium – as was the case during the 2006 World Equestrian Games. In total, 96,000 spectators experienced the four dressage days of the FEI European Championships Aachen 2015 live at the Soers.

Nobody, hit the nail on the head better than Isabell Werth: “These were fantastic Championships full of many surprises!”

From Aachen

Earlier today, Totilas, the horse of the German dressage rider, Matthias Alexander Rath, was withdrawn from the remaining competitions of the European Championships in Aachen. “After yesterday’s ride in the Grand Prix we studied the videos again in the evening. On analysing the videos, an irregularity in the movements of his left hind-leg was noticeable. After the initial examination, no visible cause is recognisable, so at the moment it is not possible to explain this irregularity. For the protection of the horse, the rider, national trainer and team veterinarian have taken the joint decision to withdraw him,” explained the German Chef d’Equipe, Klaus Roeser. Trude Hestengen from Norway will take the place of Totilas and Rath in tomorrow’s Grand Prix Spécial.

August 13, 2015

Kathleen Landwehr

Aachen, Germany – Competition got underway Thursday at the Aachen CICO3* with the top-notch field of 43 combinations performing both the dressage and show jumping phases at the massive German venue. The Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team put forth a solid effort and sits in fifth place at the end of day one.

In the dressage phase, Lauren Kieffer (Middleburg, Va.) and Team Rebecca, LLC’s Veronica had a lovely test highlighted by excellent trot work. She and the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare sit in 17th place after receiving a score of 43.6 from the Ground Jury consisting of Martin Plewa (GER), Sue Baxter (GBR), and Sándor Fülöp (HUN).

Phillip Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) and Thomas Tierney and Simon Roosevelt’s Fernhill Cubalawn had a flowing test, marred only by an error in the trot half-pass left when the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding broke to the canter. The pair recovered to finish with a score of 46.4 to sit in 28th place. Land Rover USEF Competition Grant recipients Lynn Symansky (Middleburg, Va.) and Donner were the pathfinders for the U.S. team on Thursday. The 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by The Donner Syndicate, LLC struggled with tension throughout the test, but Symansky rode him tactfully to score 49.9 for 37th place. Making her U.S. team debut, Colleen Rutledge (Frederick, Md.) rode her own Covert Rights well in the nine-year-old Thoroughbred Cross gelding’s first European appearance, with the help of a Jacqueline B. Mars Competition Grant through the USET Foundation. The pair had a respectable test, though lacked a bit of energy, to score 50.7 for 39th place.

Lauren Kieffer and Veronica (Libby Law Photography)

In the afternoon, the competitors took on Frank Rothenberger’s tough track. Kieffer and Veronica laid down a stellar round to go double-clear. They remained on their dressage score of 43.6 and moved up to 13th place. Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn also had an excellent, faultless round to stay on their score of 46.4 and climbed the leaderboard to 18th place. Both Kieffer and Dutton received Karen E. Stives Endowment Fund for High Performance Eventing Competition Grants through the USET Foundation. Symansky and Donner had one rail and five time-faults, tallying nine faults, to put them in 36th place with a score of 58.9. Rutledge and Covert Rights knocked three rails in their round and added 12 faults to their score to sit in 37th place with a score of 62.7.

“I’m very pleased with Veronica today; she had her best performance on the flat today and was really great for the show jumping,” said Kieffer. “She’s definitely excited to be at the party and loves the atmosphere.”

Competition concludes Friday with the cross-country phase beginning at 2:00 p.m. CEST.

“The cross country is definitely going to be influential tomorrow,” Kieffer added. “Team camaraderie is great, though, and we are looking forward to tackling the course. I’m very grateful to Karen Stives for the opportunity to compete against this high standard and to Team Rebecca for supporting myself and Veronica.”

View individual and team results from the Aachen CICO3*.

The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOC, and USEF Sponsors and Members. Without the support of these organizations and individuals, it would not be possible to support our athletes. The USEF is especially grateful to individuals who give generously of their time and money to support the equestrian teams.