There was a slight shuffle in the top three in tonight's Grand Prix Special, where Suppenkasper really shines, but the choice for the team is looking pretty secure now. The questions now, I think, are whether Adrienne Lyle's massive scores will stand and how she'll compare against Werth or Werndl or Dujardin.
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| Adrienne Lyle & Salvino |
The special is a great test for Steffen Peters' Suppenkasper with all the
extended trots, where the horse can show off its level of elasticity. Their 79.532% was a couple points higher than their Grand Prix. In the passage
after the extensions, the horse could push a little more forward in each step and all the
angles from which the judges see the passage show that the horse gets wide in
front. Like in the Grand Prix, the trot half-passes were spectacular. The
extended walk had huge overtrack. Suppenkasper took a big step into the first
piaffe, but then really sat in place and sprang off diagonal pairs. Likewise in
the canter half-pass, the horse really lowers its croup to push sideways. The
twos were uphill, though Peters seemed to have to really ride them forward. Peters
showed his experience in really riding out in the extended canter and easily
managing a balanced change after. The pirouettes were perhaps the best of the
class. Like in the Grand Prix, the final centerline showed the judges at the
end of the arena the degree to which the horse sways, even if the rhythm is very
good.
Sanceo is very light on his feet and Sabine Schut-Kery kept
him in a lovely frame at every moment of her test, resulting in a well-earned 78.298%. What he lacks in supple
power, he makes up for with giving the impression of ease. Schut-Kery gets him
to bend and cross well in the trot half-passes. In both passage and extended
trot, he could step more under himself. The transitions between them, though,
are so smooth. The extended walk was well ridden into the contact. The transition
into piaffe from collected walk was superb and the piaffe itself showed an
incredible degree of sit. The canter in the half-passes was small, but like in
trot, the horse showed the ability to reach well sideways. Schut-Kery had an
error late in the twos. The transition from extended canter to collected canter
for the change was very well ridden. The canter pirouettes could have been a
little smaller, but had Sanceo’s ability to sit made up for it. The rhythm of
every step of the final centerline was spot-on.
It was interesting to watch Nick Wagman’s horse follow
Suppenkasper because Don John is such a different type of mover. While
Supperkasper is elastic, Don John is short-backed and bright and springy. The
passage is lofty, but the hindlegs trail slightly at times. The extended walk
was clean, but could have shown more stretch in the frame. The first piaffe
started quite forward and when Wagman brought it back, it could have had a
little more sit. The second piaffe was lower in the croup, with the same good
rhythm of the first. The canter half-passes were not the most supple but were
nicely uphill. The tempi changes covered ground, though the horse could jump a
bit more through his body. The extended canter showed the freedom in the back
that the changes didn’t quite have. The second pirouette was beautifully
sitting. The final centerline was lofty and expressive. They finished on 76.043%.
Olivia Lagoy-Weltz rode Rassings Lonoir in such a positive
forward way through this Special (75.170%). While the horse gets slow behind in passage, Lagoy-Weltz
makes up for it by riding for big steps forward, and the horse then lifts his
shoulder well. The first piaffe took a moment to develop and was a hair above
the bit; the second one was better. Lonoir took really big, powerful strides sideways
in the canter half-passes. The twos were also big and uphill, while the ones
could have been straighter. The extended canter was somewhat lackluster. The
final centerline was lovely and soft.
Alice Tarjan’s Candescent (73.404%) has such an extravagant front leg,
that the hind leg could not always match and support its reach in the trot
work. However, Candescent really engaged and sprang easily off the ground in
passage, even if the rhythm is not 100% consistent. Tarjan could get a little
more stretch to the contact in the extended walk. Candescent closed at the base
and kept a good rhythm in piaffe; it was correct even if it wasn’t as
extravagant as the passage. The mare could have stayed a bit more uphill in the
canter half-pass right. The twos were solid, but the ones were not as straight
as they should be. The canter got a little tight and small in the pirouettes.
Tarjan had an unfortunate break to canter in the final extended trot, but the
final centerline was beautiful, showing how genuinely talented Candescent is in
passage and piaffe.
Ben Ebeling and Illuster van de Kampert turned up the power
level a bit in the Special (73.319%). The passage covered more ground and trot
extensions had more engagement, though there were bobbles in the two after the
passage. While the horse does not have the most extravagant walk, Ebeling
really asked him to stretch out to the bit. The piaffes after the walk were
small, but clear. The second transition into piaffe could have been cleaner,
however. The canter half-passes had super bend and self-carriage. The twos were
very good and Ebeling really rode the ones forward, even if the horse got ever
so slightly high behind. The pirouettes needed a bit better preparation. The
passage on the final centerline was the best, as the horse kept his hind legs
more underneath himself.
One of the challenges Adrienne Lyle had with Duval both this
evening (72.426%) and in the Grand Prix was keeping that consistent rhythm in the trot
work. In the collected trot on the short side, the horse showed lots of suspension,
but he got a little bit flatter and quicker in the extended trots and
half-passes. The extended trots after passage were stronger than the first one
after the centerline, though. The extended walk got a bit sluggish. The
transition from collected trot to piaffe was excellent, though the horse tossed
his head a couple times in each piaffe. That minor resistance was a real shame
because it can be one of Duval’s strengths. The bend in the canter half-passes
was very good. Lyle rode really uphill two-tempis, though Duval shortened his
neck a little in them. The ones up the centerline were lovely. The pirouettes
were small and uphill, but Duval needed to pick up his hind legs a little more.
The passage on the final centerline got slightly irregular behind, but Lyle maintained
a high level of expression.
Charlotte Jorst and Nintendo never seem to really have an
off night, though this was not their highest score (71.426%). Nintendo is not the most
powerful stallion, but he makes up for it with impeccable character. He passages
like he has an internal metronome, even if he is always a little out behind. Jorst
needed to ride passage before the third extended trot more forward, but the
rhythm still remained. Again in extended walk, Jorst dropped the contact,
getting relaxation, but not the energy and connection needed for a higher
score. The piaffe needed more sit but flowed well from and into passage. Nintendo
came a little above the contact in the twos, so Jorst has some errors. The ones
were correct, if not big. The extended canter was bold, though Nintendo should
stretch more out into the bridle in it. The final centerline was the highlight
of the test.
Millione does not have the most spectacular gaits in this
class, but Jennifer Williams showed a clear sense of how to ride the most out
of her horse (70.830%). The rider got lots of energy in the trot half-passes, allowing
her horse to really reach both forward and sideways. The passage did not have
maximum suspension but did have a secure balance and rhythm. Williams really
rode out the extended walk but didn’t quite get the connection she needed for
the first piaffe and the horse got braced and light in front for a moment. In
the tempis, the changes to the right showed more freedom than the changes to
the left. Williams lost the connection a bit after the extended trot, which
slightly affected the first pirouette and ones up the centerline, but the
second pirouette had a more supple and balanced canter. The passage to the
final halt was very good.
Jessica Howington’s Cavalia (69.596%) looked more up in the bridle at
the start of the Special than she did in the Grand Prix. But the mare did seem
to run out of steam to some degree by the canter work. Cavalia got little out
behind in passage, but the mare showed she can really push herself off the
ground. The extended trots out of the passage were smooth, but not as bold as
the first extension. Howington produced good energy in the extended walk.
However, the rhythm of the collected walk was less clear, walk leading to a slightly
resistant transition into the first piaffe. The piaffe itself had a good rhythm,
but because the mare got a little sticky in it Howington dropped the connection
to the bit and the mare came a bit above the bit. The tempis were workman-like
right up to the end of the ones, where the mare lost sufficient energy to
complete the line. The canter pirouettes could have had more jump, but the mare
really sat. Seeing the final centerline from the front showed that the mare was
not in perfect self-carriage, causing her head to waggle some in the final passage,
though it was straight and springy
Susan Dutta’s Don Design (69.532%) seemed a little bit short and tight
in the contact, perhaps because Dutta had to hold him back a little—he looked
electric to her aids. The passage was ever so slightly irregular at times, but
energetic. The horse’s hind leg is really engaged in extended trots, but he
could still reach more in his back and be slower in his rhythm. The collected
walk got slightly lateral and Dutta could not quite keep the first piaffe on
the spot. Don Design took control in the twos and threw in extra changes behind
as well as some ones. The ones, on the other hand, were a real highlight in the
test. Dutta couldn’t get the needed bend for the second pirouette, so it got a
bit big and unbalanced. On the final centerline, we got to see that Don Design,
while expressive in passage, almost crosses in front.
Dutta seemed to really ride for it with her second horse Figeac in this
test, but too many minor bobbles really added up, even while the overall impression
was quite good (67.681%). Figeac seems to have really nice natural carriage, so it is a
bit of a shame that he looked a little hard in the mouth. Dutta rode lovely
half-passes with lots of suspension, though the bend to the left was better
than to the right. The passage is where this horse’s talent really lies: he
showed tonight how much he can spring upward and forward. In piaffe, however,
he did not really sit, so he didn’t stay quite enough in place. The walk work
could have shown more relaxation in the body. The twos were bouncy, though the
canter quality decreased a little in them. There was an error at the beginning
of the ones. Dutta managed the first pirouette really well, but the second got
a little flat.
I hadn’t noticed the first night that Nick Wagman’s Ferano
(67.043%) is a Scandic son, but the horse has the same delicate front-leg and bounce to
his gaits. Ferano gave the impression that his passage is still developing, but
it shone in the moments where Wagman could really ask the horse to push its
stride forward. The extended walk had a clear rhythm but lacked the suppleness
that would have allowed the horse to really stride out. Wagman managed to stop
Ferano from quitting in piaffe this evening, but only by cutting the movement a
few steps short of the required twelve. Unfortunately, Wagman went off course
at the beginning of the canter work. A couple of the ones were short behind,
both on the diagonal and between the pirouettes. The extended canter was bold
and relaxed. The final extended trot could have had better engagement, but it
had lots of thrust.
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