CDIO Aachen 2013 - Prix St. Georges

Victoria Max-Theurer & Della Cavalleria: 74.421%

• Max-Theurer rode with no contact in the curb on the left. In the extended trot the mare moved very well through her body but became just slightly hurried. The shoulder-in showed lovely then angle and uphill carriage. The transition between volte and half-pass was effortless. The extended walk was beautifully relaxed with the horse moving through her whole body. She unfortunately came above the bit in the transition to the canter. Halfway through the text Max-Theurer dropped the contact on the right curb as well as the left. The canter pirouettes were small, active and uphill. Though Max-Theurer turned the mare's head from side to side to get the changes, the threes were otherwise very nice in jumping through.  The canter work was correct but showed some tension. 

Patrik Kittel & Deja: 74.368%

• Deja had amazing fluid long strides in her extended trot and came back to collected trot softly. The angle and engagement in the shoulder and was good and the volts was balanced. The left half-pass was in good angle and bend, but could have pushed a little more sideways. The half pass right showed more sideways power. The rhythm in the trot work was unflagging. The extended walk showed tremendous overstep, but the mare pulls her strides slightly from the front instead of pushing from behind. The canter half-passes showed a high degree of crossing. The canter pirouette left was uphill but slightly stuck behind with the canter pirouette right showing better maintenance of the jump of the canter. The four tempis were enormous, but the mare sometimes came a little behind the bit and Kittel still swung his seat slightly. The extended canter was huge with the mare reaching forward and moving through her whole body. The final halt was abrupt and unbalanced, but the rest of the ride was lovely and harmonious. 

Isabell Werth & Lezard: 74.053%

• This was another pair that showed very good quality extensions in the trot. Werth had some trouble establishing the bend at the beginning of the left shoulder-in which was otherwise of nice quality. They show very correct voltes that were small and balanced, without the horse swinging it's haunches around. Werth had some trouble establishing the angle in the canter half-passes but they were very nicely uphill, as were the canter pirouettes. Werth had to work very hard to get her tempi changes but they were still straight and quite expressive. In the extended canter Lezard had an uphill carriage and very good canter rhythm. He is a horse with good uphill balance, though he sometimes becomes quite tight. 

Andreas Helgstrand & Polka Hit Nexen: 72.342%

• What looked like an excellent extended trots at the beginning of Helgstrand's test broke into canter. In the volte and shoulder in left the horses trot sometimes became quite passage-like, losing the forward engagement of the hind legs. Helgstand was a little cautious in the second extended trot. The rhythm of the trot work to the right was much more consistent and the movements showed good balance. The canter pirouettes were small but became a little flat in the canter. The tempi changes were a little small. 

Helen Langehanenberg & Cote D'Azur: 71.237%

• Langehanenberg rides Côte d'Azur like Damon Hill with a very light contact that the horse steps happily into. The extended trots were amazingly ground covering and show good lengthening of the frame. Both the half-passes and shoulder-ins had consistent bend and angle, but could have used to show more bend. Côte d'Azur became quite stuck in the walk pirouettes. The canter pirouettes were small but the horse stretched her front legs out in front instead of coming uphill and carrying weight behind. At times Côte d'Azur sometimes gets behind the bit and low even with such a light contact. 

Uta Gräf & Damon Jerome: 71.105%

• Damon Jerome shows very elastic and ground-covering extended trots. In the shoulder-in left there was inconsistent angle at the beginning. The voltes were very well balanced. The extended walk showed beautiful swing back and nice overstep. The canter half-passes with change of direction were effortlessly executed. Before the left pirouette there was an unfortunate miscommunication and Damon Jerome trotted instead of becoming collected and the canter pirouette itself was not the pairs best. The one to the right however was small and uphill. The flying changes were in good rhythm though the horse could use to jump through a little bit more in the change and is not quite straight. Also there was a mistake in the last of the three tempis. Overall, the stallion was beautifully presented, but a number of small errors prevented their score from being higher. 

Caroline Roffman & Her Highness O: 71.026%

• The mare was presented in a nice open frame stepping into the bridle. The first extended trot needed a good bit more ground cover though it had a nice reach in front. There could have been a more consistent bend through the body in the left volte. The second extended trot had more power from behind but still should develop a longer stride.  In both directions, the half passes had lovely balance. The collected walk was relaxed and Her Highness was stepping under nicely, but the strides in the extended walk should have been longer. The canter pirouettes were small and showed excellent sit. In the four-tempi changes Her Highness was correct but slightly behind the leg. The three-tempis had a change with a stutterstep but the later ones were better stepping into bridle. Roffman rode in a very appealing tactful way, diffusing any tensions effortlessly. 

Nadine Capellmann & Diamond Girl: 69.763%

• Diamond Girl is a very elastic mare with lots of power and expression. The extended trots were big and covered ground, but could take just slightly more weight behind. Though the rhythm was good through the shoulder-in, half-pass, and volte there were a couple minor issues. In the volte the mare's hind legs sometimes swung out, and the bend in the half passes was slightly inconsistent. Diamond Girl stretched well in the extended walk but did not have sufficient overstep. The canter half passes were uphill and active. The left pirouette did not have enough steps and was not uphill, with the right slightly better. The changes were beautifully expressive and ground covering with Diamond Girl leaping elegantly off the ground.  

Anna Kasprzak & Darling's Dream: 69.737%

• Before entering the arena Darling's Dream showed some major resistance to the contact, which showed a little in the transition from halt to trot and into extended trot at the beginning of the test. The extended trots showed nice lengthening of the stride but were a bit quick and tense rather than elastic. The half passes had nice angle though the horse could have used to push more sideways. There was a break into trot in the extended walk. The canter half passes showed nice angle and a beautiful change of direction. The canter pirouettes were well collected and small. In the four-tempi changes, Darling's Dream sometimes came slightly behind the bit. The extended canter showed beautiful lengthening of the frame with out any loss of the canter rhythm. 

Shelly Francis & Danilo: 67.500%

• Francis began her test in a lovely uphill contact with the horse moving nicely over the back into the bit. The trot work was correct in bend and/or angle with good balance, but lacked sufficient expression. The haunches were lagging just slightly in the half-pass right. Danilo was rather tight behind in the walk, limiting the overstep. The canter half-passes were controlled and harmonious but limited in stride. The canter pirouettes in both directions were very good, demonstrating excellent collection, with the horse uphill, active, and closed at the base. Francis missed the second change of the four tempis with the horse seeming slightly behind the aids. There were counting mistakes again in the threes. Overall, the pair showed a balanced and controlled test, but Danilo needs to show more power.