Equestrian 2022 Discussion Thread

[Bearas 628]

3 hours ago, dcro said:

New NR for Lithuania, as Justina Vanagaite & Nabab post 69.370% to place 4th in Poland...

 

Previous record was held by Sandra Sysojeva (68.217%), who was also there in Zakrzow, as was yet another Lithuanian Dalia Katinaite-Pranckeviciene, who was making her international debut.

 

http://cdizakrzow.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/14_CDI3__GP__Wyniki.pdf

Thank you dcro. There's no coverage of equestrian in Lithuanian media and its really amazing to see the progress of this sport in the country.

[dcro 10,211]

Pretty exciting Grand Prix class in Hagen today, with Isabell Werth debuting a new horse destined for stardom.

 

Also several riders from emerging nations posted their first qualifying scores for the Worlds...

 

Hwang - 70.870% (!!)

Al Shaer - 67.848%

Burssens - 67.761%

Kiefer - 66.522%

Vora - 66.239%

 

https://results.equestrian-hub.com/show/972/dressage/48036

[dcro 10,211]

Edward Gal has decided to take a sabbatical. He will not be competing at all this year.

 

This leaves team Netherlands in a pretty vulnerable position. They could feasibly lose their Olympic qualification to someone like Finland. Would not be too surprising.

[heywoodu 16,465]

De Sjiem, Jeroen Dubbeldam's 2000 Olympic gold medal winning horse, has passed away at the very, very respectable age of 33 years.

 

[dcro 10,211]

Sweden won the Dressage Nations Cup stage in Compiegne, ahead of Spain and Belgium.

Very valuable podium finishes for the latter two, however it should be noted that 3/9 (!!) teams got eliminated, once again raising all sorts of questions about the validity of the three-member teams.

 

https://results.worldsporttiming.com/event/92/championship/60/result

[dcro 10,211]

Greetings from Pferd International in Munich! Very tired from the night drive, but I finally get to fulfill my dream of attending a big German horse show in person.

 

Will be sharing more pictures next week hopefully.

 

[dodge 1,041]

Enjoy dcro!

[dcro 10,211]

So finally let's share some thoughts on my Munich experience.

 

First of all, horse shows in Germany are huge. Pferd International in Munich specifically is much bigger than it ever looked on stream. There were so many stands with both merchandise and food, and the showground was quite large in itself. The crowds were huge every day, but especially on Thursday during the Bavarian holiday. There are horses all over the place, and there are no paved pathways (everything is covered in mud or grass, which turned out to be a bit of an issue on the rainy Sunday).

 

Pferd International hosts dressage, jumping, vaulting, para-dressage, show program and working equitation. As I also had some other plans in Munich, I mostly ended up following the dressage like I planned. After all, it is traditionally the highest quality event in Munich (5* competition, as compared to jumping which is only 2*). I caught a bit of jumping, show program and working equitation as well. Vaulting and para-dressage were held indoors on the other side of the showgrounds and I didn't have the time for even a sneak peek.

 

Some thoughts on the dressage competitions:

• Isabell Werth is a super star in Germany. You could really see people arriving to the dressage arena just before her test and leaving soon thereafter. She appreciated the crowd. Also on Sunday a literal thunderstorm started during her test but she just laughed it off (as did the crowd).
• Dorothee Schneider is amazing. She was competing in more-or-less every class with a whole myriad of horses, and yet she was very appreciative of the crowd after each round. What a lovely lady.
• Tinne Vilhelson-Silfven arguably earns the title for the most elegant rider. Stunning.
• Prize giving ceremonies are much more fun in person than on the streams. I guess the same probably goes for the medal ceremonies. The crowds really get into it.
• And finally, as spectators are allowed to freely move more or less anywhere (except the stables of course), I really had an opportunity to bypass all these familiar faces at close quarters. It was really interesting to pass directly by the likes dressage rider Anush Agarwalla (who was all smiles despite having a really frustrating week in Munich) and the well-known judge Hans-Christian Matthiesen, for example. You could even get as close to the warmup ring as you'd like, and then get even closer to the athletes whilst they are walking from the warmup ring to the competition arena.

 

Here are some photos:

 

Canada's Ryan Torkkeli and Sternenwanderer on their way to the World Championships selection

 

 

 

Isabell Werth and Emilio as seen from a mound near the arena

 

 

Spoiler

Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven & Devanto

 

 

Local shooting star Raphel Netz & In2ition

 

 

Victoria Max-Therer & Topas were the surprise winners of the 3* Grand Prix Special

 

 

Ryan Torkkeli once again and the impressive Sternenwanderer

 

[dcro 10,211]

A bit of a D-day for Croatian equestrian coming up tomorrow. Karen Pavicic has made the trip from her base in Canada to Austria and will be chasing the second out of two required scores for the World Championships.

 

Needless to say that a qualification alone would be huge for us. Crossing my fingers and toes and everything! 

[dcro 10,211]

And she did it. See you in Herning! 

 

https://results.equestrian-hub.com/show/41127/dressage/537540