- Dablino looked rather difficult at the beginning of the test, with Balkenhol working quite hard to get him supple. As a result, Dablino's haunched were lagging in the left half-pass in trot, By the half-pass right, Balkenhol and Dablino seemed to have come together, and the horse showed his impressive reach and power. The piaffe is in place and closed at the base, but could use a slightly more active rhythm. In the extended walk, Dablino stretched nicely, but was tense in his gait. The two-tempi changes sprang across the whole centerline: a real highlight. Unfortunately, Balkenhol had a mistake at the beginning of the ones, which were otherwise excellent. Both pirouettes had good sit and really kept the canter rhythm, but in the pirouette left, Dablino spun too quickly around. The final centerline showed a passage with lots of expression and engagement.
Nadine Capellman & Girasol: 73.830%
- Girasol is an incredible mare, whose croup was made to sit. The main issue in the test is tension. The trot half-passes show good sideways reach, but lose some suspension. In the piaffe, Girasol really sits and springs way off the ground. Unfortunately, she doesn't quite have the strength to also maintain the frame, and so comes behind the bit. The collected walk was quite tense, losing its forward march. The two-tempis were ground-covering, but the ones were a bit small. In the pirouettes, the mare drops her croup, but could use to lift up more in front and maintain a clearer canter rhythm. As with Dablino the final passage had super lift and engagement.
Marc Boblet & Noble Dream Concept Sol: 66.426%
- This is a very nice developing pair. Like Dablino, Noble Dream was not accepting correct bend in the trot half-pass right, but improved to the left. There was no interruption of the trot rhythm in the half-passes. The first piaffe was quite small and did not have a clear rhythm. In the passage, Noble Dream shows nice suspension and elevation, but gets behind the bridle in the transition to piaffe. The two-tempis were big and uphill, but slightly laboured. The final extended trot was really excellent, with Noble Dream reaching up and forward in front, and stepping under and pushing forward from behind. The piaffe on the centerline was early and showed too few steps, and Noble Dream showed some resistance out of it and tension in the last passage. Once this horse builds strength and gets used to the Grand Prix, I think she will be really impressive.
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