This has certainly been a dramatic European Championships. Two days ago, it was Totilas out after looking uneven behind in the trot extensions and today in the special Undercover, boiling over from tension from the moment he entered the stadium, bit his tongue and was eliminated for blood in the mouth. It was a shame, too, because Edward Gal was managing to settle the horse back into the work again and he would likely have qualified for the Freestyle tomorrow. There was also some controversy over the score of Diederik van Silfhout; the Dutch judge seemed to show a bit of nationalistic favoritism and so the FEI's 'six-percent rule' went into effect. Because of the judge's score differed by more than 6 percent from the next highest judge, that score was changed to the next highest judge's score.
Hans-Peter Minderhoud rode Johnson to a 79.034% and a bronze medal. I was a little surprised at the score as I didn't think the horse looked as soft as he had in the Grand Prix. At times the passage lost some engagement in one or both hind legs. Still, Johnson is presented nicely up in the bridle—except for getting a bit deep in the piaffe—and moves forward into the bit in a supple and powerful way. Also, the moments of unsteadiness might have been explained by the fact that Minderhoud was not feeling well. Minderhoud told horses.nl that because of how poorly he was feeling, it was hard to really feel the excitement of winning his first—and well-deserved—international medal. Undoubtedly the bad luck for his partner Gal would also have made it hard to celebrate.
Kristina Bröring-Sprehe definitely had a better ride, getting 83.067 and the silver medal. Most importantly, Desperados's lofty passage didn't get so big today that Bröring-Sprehe couldn't keep it balanced so there were only a very few irregular steps where Desperados got a bit slow in the right hind. The first pirouette kept an easy uphill canter rhythm, but the second got a little big. While there were a couple steps where Desperados slightly lost his rhythm and balance in the last piaffe, the passage on the final centerline was expressive and rhythmical.
Charlotte Dujardin produced a very polished ride today and got her highest score ever in the long version of the special: 87.577%. The extended trots were all spectacular—Valegro pushes with lots of power from behind forward into the contact, stepping way underneath himself and lifting in front. The trot half-passes were fluid as ever. There was a moment of hesitation into the first passage, but the passage itself was strong behind and very consistent in its rhythm. Dujardin had no trouble keeping the count in Valegro's big and supple tempi changes, though she was doing some serious focused preparation before both lines of ones. All the piaffes had lots of sit and were in place (they were creeping forward a bit in the Grand Prix). Valegro looked a bit tired on the final centerline, getting a hair heavy in front, but the passage was still lovely and soft. Dujardin definitely deserved her gold with this test.
Delgado and Beatriz Ferrer-Salat are a cool combination. The horse has got a very lofty passage and a lot of power from behind, though in the extended trots, he could step more underneath himself. Delgado doesn't appear to be the supplest horse through the body, but Ferrer-Salat did a lovely job maintain a soft contact and good frame.
I also took a peek at a couple of the early combinations. Jorinde Verwimp had another nice ride for a 70.588%. The horse stays really well up in the bridle, though maybe could be a bit softer on the underside of his neck. The trot tour was energetic and controlled except for a break to canter before the second half-pass. Tiamo's piaffe and passage are both pretty springy and regular, but the horse pushes a little forward off his hind legs rather than fully carrying. The twos jumped way off the ground, but Verwimp had a mistake in the one tempis. The very small pirouettes could have had a little clearer canter behind. The final extended trot just powered down the long side.
I had not see the combination of Pierre Volla and Badinda Altena before and was quite impressed. Though the mare was a bit tense, she showed lots of talent and pulled a 70.532%. The mare showed extended trots with lots of expression in front and that stepped under well behind, but which lacked a little suspension. The passage is big, with the mare pushing off behind to make it possible for her to really lift up in front. The active piaffe moves quite forward. The transition to canter from passage was messy. The tempi changes were uphill but tight in the body. Volla did a nice job keeping the mare's huge passage down the final line rhythmical and uphill.
No comments:
Post a Comment