IN THE FINALS OF DRESSAGE FOAL AT DANISH WARMBLOOD EQUSANA ELITE SHOW THE TWO WINNING TITLES WERE CLAIMED BY FOALS WITH EXCELLENT CANTER MOVEMENT

Danish Warmblood: Out of 15 dressage filly foals the final had three candidates; cat. No. 227 ”Noomi Melody” by Sezuan / Schwadroneur / Cassander owned and bred by Stutteri Melody, cat. No. 230 ”Kgs Hørgaard Tabasco” by Tailormade Temptation / Weltmeyer / Blue Hors Don Schufro owned and bred by Laila Roschmann and cat. No. 233 ”Bjergagergaards Isolde” by Zonyx OX / De Niro / Masetto owned and bred by Eva Ebbe and Steffen Hovedskov. Best Dressage Filly Foal 2013 “Kgs. Hørgaard Tabasco”

The black beauty ”Kgs. Hørgaard Tabasco” took the title as Best Dressage Filly Foal 2013. This outstanding filly was described as a fantastic dressage model, expressive, feminine and with a supple topline and uphill movements with good suspension, and especially a very good canter.

Best Dressage Colt Foal 2013 “Springborgs Gateway”

Out of the 15 outstanding colts the judges identified the following three as the finalists; cat. No. 244 ”Springborgs Gateway” by Fürst Romancier / Diamond Hit / Heslegård’s Rubin owned and bred by Stud Springborg, cat. No. 248 ”Salustri” by Sezuan / Blue Hors Romanov / Solos Carex owned and bred by Hanne Lund & Henrik Hansen and cat. No. 249 ”Silverstove Melody” by Sezuan / Blue Hors Hotline / Michellino .

The title Best Dressage Colt Foal 2013 went to the youngest finalist, the noble and large-framed foal ”Springborgs Gateway”. The judges described this charming foal as an appealing dressage model with a well-set neck, a supple topline and uphill gaits with swing and elasticity.

Stigma’s hat trick
“STIGMA” IS THE NAME OF THE DRESSAGE MARE OF THE YEAR IN DANISH WARMBLOOD. STIGMA IS USED TO DOING LAPS OF HONOUR AS SHE HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN PROCLAIMED DRESSAGE FILLY FOAL OF THE YEAR AND 2-YEAR-OLD DRESSAGE FILLY

Stigma presented by Sophie Christensen
The newly graded mares has been the focus point today at the Danish Warmblood Elite Show where breeders medals in gold, silver and bronze has been awarded and the dressage and jumping mare of the year has been proclaimed.
Dressage Mare of the Year 2013: Stigma

Today all the dressage mares were shown under saddle and where knowledgeable and very informatively commented by the breeding committee’s dressage specialist, Bjarne Nielsen.

The judges selected the mares for the Gold Ring: “Fiontina” by Fassbinder / Blue Hors Romanov / Solos Carex owned and bred by Henrik Hansen & Hanne Lund, Solrød Strand, “Springborgs Acaia” by Fürst Romancier / Rubin-Royal / De Niro owned by Susanne Frederiksen , Hillerød , and bred by Stutteri Springborg, Skævinge and finally Stigma by Tailormade Temptation / Sandro Hit / Master owned by Hanne Hertzberg, Norway, and Ulrik & Lena Kristensen, Vinderup, and bred by Lena Nyström , Sweden.

All three mares where awarded breeders medal in gold and the judges chose to appoint Stigma as Dressage Mare of the Year 2013. Today Stigma was beautifully presented under saddle by Sophie Christensen.

– She is a delight to the eye. She is expressive, noble, feminine and of a excellent type. She is extremely supple with powerful and very active movements, said breeding consultant Karina Christiansen when she described Stigma.

It was obvious that the audience agreed with the judges’ choice for Stigma, and the expectations to this beautiful mare have also been high – Stigma is indeed a lady with a taste for victory. Three years ago, she was proclaimed Dressage Filly Foal of the Year, last year she was proclaimed 2-year-old Dressage Filly of the Year, and this year she completed her hat trick.

FEI.

Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin and her 11-year old Olympic partner Valegro have reclaimed the world number one spot in this month’s FEI World Dressage Rankings.
The London 2012 double gold medallists, who won three medals – individual gold in the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle along with team bronze in the Grand Prix – at the recent Blue Hors FEI European Dressage Championships in Herning (DEN), top the rankings with 2,915 points. They hold a comfortable 67-point lead over Reem Acra FEI World Cup™ Dressage winners and European team champions and double silver medallists 2013 Helen Langehanenberg (GER) and the 13-year-old stallion Damon Hill NRW.
Last month’s leaders Adelinde Cornelissen (NED) and Jerich Parzival are in third place with 2,818 points. The combination won team silver, individual Grand Prix Special and Freestyle bronze medals at Herning last month.
There are few other changes in the Top 10, with Edward Gal (NED) and Glock’s Undercover; Kristina Sprehe (GER) and Desperados FRH; Tinne Vilhelmsson Silfvén (SWE) and Don Auriello; and Isabell Werth (GER) and Don Johnson FRH in fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh place respectively.
The biggest move in the latest rankings is that of Dujardin and Valegro’s fellow European bronze-medal winning teammates Carl Hester and Uthopia who have gone from 91st up to 31st place thanks to their Grand Prix Freestyle victory and second place in the Grand Prix on home ground at CDIO3* Hickstead and to their good performances in Herning.
 
FEI World Dressage Rankings Top 10:
1. Charlotte DUJARDIN (GBR) – VALEGRO 2,915
2. Helen LANGEHANENBERG (GER) – DAMON HILL NRW 2,848
3. Adelinde CORNELISSEN (NED) – JERICH PARZIVAL 2,818
4. Edward GAL (NED) – GLOCK’S UNDERCOVER 2,608
5. Kristina SPREHE (GER) – DESPERADOS FRH 2,454
6. Tinne VILHELMSSON SILFVÉN (SWE), DON AURIELLO 2,426
7. Isabell WERTH (GER), DON JOHNSON FRH 2,341
8. Anna KASPRZAK (DEN), DONNPERIGNON 2,267
9. Patrick KITTEL (SWE), WATERMILL SCANDIC H.B.C. 2,261
10. Valentina TRUPPA (ITA), FIXDESIGN EREMO DEL CASTEGNO 2,252

World renowned Dressage Trainer and legend in his own time, Authur Kottas based out of Vienna, Austria will be giving a Live Webinar based on dressage education with this paricular online meeting focused on Exercises and Strategies for Developing Strength in the Horse’s Back.

This will be a live interactive online meeting with all participants being able to ask questions directly to Kottas while he provides detailed responses. The revolutionary dressage website www.DressageMeetingOnline.com is presenting this webinar along with other webinar scheduled throughout the year from the world’s top international dressage experts.

Developing strength in the horse’s back is the secret to success. Everything depends on the horse being trained in such a way that not only gradual strength is developed in the horse’s back, but also the build strength in the ligaments, tendons etc.

Join Arthur Kottas in this online discussion and lecture on Exercises & Strategies for Developing the Horses Back. This is a very popular subject and most important so book your seat now as there are limited seats available for this webinar.

If you are an active member of our Educational Partner www.DressageClinic.com you are entitled to a 15% discount with a coupon code that will be given to you by telephoning the DressageClinic.com Customer Care Team at 1-561-728-0318 or 1-604-746-9222 after hours or email them at info@dressageclinic.com and ask for your Discount code.

This weekend’s NSW State Dressage Championships is the final opportunity for riders to secure their start in this year’s Dressage Grand Final which will form part of the Be the Influence Equestrian Grand Final to be held at EQUITANA Sydney from 7-10 November.
Top horse and rider combinations from NSW and beyond will converge on the Sydney International Equestrian Centre for the annual event which will take place over three days commencing today.
It is the final in a series of four dressage Grand Final qualifying events which began in March with Dressage and Jumping with the Stars. Other qualifying events have included the Sydney CDI in May and Brisbane CDI-W in July.
Following this weekend’s event, the 12 horse and rider combinations with the highest percentages from the four Grand Prix Freestyle qualifiers will automatically qualify for the Dressage Grand Final. Combinations which have contested multiple events will have their best result count. For the final, EA will award a further three horse and rider combinations with a wild card entry which will take the startlist to 15.
The Grand Prix Freestyle will take place on Sunday 8 September commencing at 3pm. Admission to each of the three days of competition is free for spectators and all dressage enthusiasts are encouraged to come along and support the riders.

FEI.
Ingrid Klimke (GER) and FRH Butts Abraxxas produce a superb test to take the lead after the first day of Dressage at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, final leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™. Photo by Kate Houghton.

Ingrid Klimke (GER) and FRH Butts Abraxxas thrilled the excited crowd at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, final leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™, and now holds the overnight lead after the first day of Dressage.
They scored 39 penalties and are three points clear of the two riders currently holding joint-second place: Andreas Dibowski (GER) on FRH Butts Leon and Jock Paget (NZL) on Clifton Lush.
Surprisingly, Klimke, the newly crowned European team gold and individual silver medallist, has never been to Burghley before. She explained that she is usually at the national championships in Germany, but as “Braxxy” is now 16, it was a case of “now or never”.
The son of Heraldik XX (also the sire of Michael Jung’s European Champion Halunke, FRH Butts Leon and Sam Griffiths’s Burghley ride, Happy Times) is so established, soft and “through” in the Dressage arena that the crowd knew they were watching something special. There was a gasp as Ground Jury President Nick Burton (GBR) awarded the only 10 of the day, for the halt in the middle of the test.
“He is so sweet and relaxed,” said Klimke of her six-time team horse. “When we come into the arena, he says: ‘What do you want me to do and I will do it’.”
Dibowski’s horse, FRH Butts Leon, another 16-year-old (both horses are bred by Friedrich Butt) has also been a great servant to the German team and won Luhmühlen in 2011, but was ridden at last year’s London Olympic Games by Thailand’s Nina Ligon.
“It’s an exciting story that we have been reunited,” said Dibowski, who has not competed at Burghley since the European Championships in 1987.
He said that the hot sunshine suits his horse. “He loved it in Hong Kong [at the 2008 Olympic Games]. He just gets better and better.”
Andrew Nicholson (NZL), the first rider to compete three horses at Burghley, is in fourth place on 42.3 with his 2012 winner, Avebury, and in eighth on Calico Joe. He still has his Pau 2012 winner Nereo to come tomorrow.
Sarah Cohen (GBR), who gave birth to her second child earlier this year, is best of the British riders in seventh place on Treason; six-time Burghley winner William Fox-Pitt (GBR) is ninth on the first of his two rides Neuf des Coeurs; and Piggy French (GBR), who is back riding at CCI4* level after a two-year gap, is 10th on new ride Westwood Mariner with 49.2.
“This was our first four-star test together so I am very pleased,” said French, a member of the British team in 2011. “I think it’s about as good as we could have achieved at the moment; we’re still very much on a learning curve. It’s nice to be back!”
Riders are impressed with Mark Phillips’s revamped Cross Country track, where the most demanding fences come in the first half. Ingrid Klimke says that three courses stick in her mind as being big and imposing: the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the 2010 Kentucky track (at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™) and this one at Burghley.
Andrew Nicholson added that he thought Captain Phillips had been “very clever”. He explained: “The new FEI rule that asks designers to use less jumping efforts within the same distance is quite a challenge for them, but Mark has managed to slow us down without making it twisty. I don’t think many riders will get the optimum time.”
The Dressage phase resumes tomorrow (Friday) with leading riders Kevin McNab (AUS), Bettina Hoy (GER) and Kristina Cook (GBR) to come, as well as William Fox-Pitt (GBR) and Jock Paget (NZL) on their second horses.
Nicholson is the runaway leader of the HSBC FEI Classics™, but Burghley placings will be significant in the fortunes of Fox-Pitt and Jock Paget, who are currently in second and third. And any other rider who can win this challenging contest on Sunday will spring into the five cash prizes.
Results after 1st day of Dressage
1 Ingrid Klimke/FRH Butts Abraxxas (GER) 39.0
2 eq Jock Paget/Clifton Lush (NZL) 42.0
2 eq Andreas Dibowski/FRH Butts Leon (GER) 42.0
4 Andrew Nicholson/Avebury (NZL) 42.3
5 Kai Rüder/Leprince des Bois (GER) 44.2
6 Paul Tapner/Kilronan (AUS) 47.5
7 Sarah Cohen/Treason (GBR) 48.0
8 Andrew Nicholson/Calico Joe (NZL) 48.3
9 William Fox-Pitt/Neuf des Coeurs (GBR) 49.0
10 Piggy French/Westwood Mariner (GBR) 49.2

FEI.

Michèle George, the Belgian Para-Equestrian athlete who made her Paralympic debut a winning one with two gold medals at London 2012, has been shortlisted for the 2013 Paralympic Sport Awards.
The 39-year-old Belgian rider, who competes in Grade IV, is one of three shortlisted athletes in the Best Female Games Debut category. She is the first Para-Equestrian athlete to have been shortlisted in the history of the awards.
Michèle George was Belgium’s first Paralympic equestrian gold medal winner since the IPC added the sport to the programme in 1996. Her London 2012 gold medals came in the Individual and Freestyle tests with the then 10-year-old FBW Rainman. She rode the same horse to Freestyle silver at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2010 and Freestyle silver at the 2009 European Championships in Kristiansand (NOR).
“I was really honoured even to be nominated for this award, but now I’ve been shortlisted it’s just unbelievable,” Michèle George said. “Winning two gold medals at London 2012 was a dream come true and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me on this incredible journey. If I do win the award, it will be the best possible reward for all the hard work everyone has put in.”
“It is very exciting news that Michèle George has been shortlisted for this award,” FEI Para-Dressage Committee Chair Ulf Wilken said. “It is really wonderful that Para-Equestrian sport is getting such public recognition from IPC members. Michèle is a great representative of the sport and we wish her the best of luck when the winners are announced later in the year.”
The 2013 Paralympic Sport Awards ceremony will take place in Athens (GRE) on Saturday 23 November, when six awards recognising achievements at the London 2012 Paralympic Games will be presented. A total of 15 athletes, who between them won 38 gold medals in London, have been shortlisted for the six categories, which are: best female, best male, best female debut, best male debut, best team and best official.
This year’s awards have attracted a record number of nominations from members and, as a result, the IPC decided to split the Best Games Debut award into two categories for males and females.
The other two athletes shortlisted in the Best Female Games Debut category are Johanna Benson (NAM), who became the first Namibian to win gold in either the Olympic or Paralympic Games when winning the 200m T37 and also took the 100m T37 silver; and Marlou Van Rhijn (NED), who followed up winning 100m and 200m European titles in June by claiming the 200m gold and100m silver in London.
The Paralympic Sport Awards take place in the years following a summer and winter Paralympic Games. For more information on the 2013 Paralympic Sport Awards, please visit www.paralympic.org/TheIPC/HWA/ParalympicSportAwards
 
Notes to Editors
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC supervises the organisation of the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions.
The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to develop sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.
The FEI took over as the governing body for Para-Equestrian in 2006, one of the first international governing bodies to govern and regulate a sport for both able-bodied and disabled athletes.
With the idea of creating opportunities for all people with disabilities to compete and achieve their goals in equestrian sport, athletes are classified according to the level of their disability/impairment.
Para-Equestrian Dressage is the only Equestrian discipline that is included in the Paralympic Games, and has been a part of the Paralympic programme since 1996.
 
Photo caption: Michèle George (BEL), pictured here with FBW Rainman on their way to Paralympic gold at London 2012, has been shortlisted for the 2013 Paralympic Sport Awards. ©Liz Gregg/FEI