Recomendados
Recomendados
Mais conteúdo relacionado
Destaque
Destaque (20)
Para Europeans (5)
- 1. Britainconsolidateditspositionatthetopofparadressage,bringinghome 11medalsandplentyofhopeforRio GradeIariderSophie Christiansenplays apivotalroleinBritish teamsuccess,winning twoindividualgoldson AtheneLindebjerg PicturesbyJonStroudMedia 50 HORSE & HOUND . 24 September 2015 PARAEUROPEANS BrilliantBrits remainunbeaten P050-056_HAH_SEP24PB.indd 50 21/09/2015 22:57
- 2. Para European Dressage Championships Deauville, France 17-20 September By Madeleine Hill G REATBRITAIN’S undefeatedworld, EuropeanandParalympic championsretainedtheir positionasthebestintheworld takinghometeamgoldand 10individualgoldandsilver medalsfromDeauvillein Normandy,France. Everyoneisawareofthe growingstrengthofother nations,andsochefd’equipeand WorldClassProgrammemanager DavidHunterwasdelightedwith theteam’sperformance. “I’mimmenselyproud,we cameherewithsomevery experiencedridersandhorses andsomeyoungerhorsestoo,but everyonerosetotheoccasion,” hesaid. “Theoutstandingresultsof theIaridersgaveusthisgreat resultandtheymakeamassive differencetous,andofcourse LeePearsonandSophie Wells,andthecommitmentof everyonebehindthesceneshas allcontributed.” Britainhasbeenthestrongest nationinParalympicdressage sinceitsinception,duetothe historicallystrongtraditionof RidingfortheDisabledandthe lottery-fundedWorldClass Programme.Thefirstgold medalsweretakenhomein triumphfromAtlanta1996,when paradressagewasfirst contested,andBritainhavewon everyteamgoldandmany individualmedalseversince.Now othercountries,notablythe NetherlandsandGermany,have beencatchingup,andsothe pressureisalwayson. GradeIariderAnneDunham wasatthefirstParalympics. “Iwasontheteamthatwasthe firsttotakegoldhomeinAtlanta andthelastthingIwantistobe onthefirstteamthatgoeshome withoutagoldmedal,”shesaid. Focusandaccuracy THEstrengthoftheIariders securedthisemphaticwinin Deauville.SophieChristiansen andAnneDunham,bothridingin thegradefortheriderswiththe mostphysicalimpairment,and thereforeridingawalk-onlytest, scoredthehighestmarksinthe GreatBritain Netherlands Germany GreatBritain TEAMMEDALS PicturesbyJonStroudMedia DRESSAGE HORSE & HOUND . 24 September 2015 51 P050-056_HAH_SEP24PB.indd 51 21/09/2015 23:07
- 4. O NdaytwotheBritswon onegoldandfoursilvers; thesescorescombined withtheteamscores securedteamgold.Onceagainit wastheIaridersthathadthe highestscoresoftheday.For bothriderstheirphysical condition—Sophiehascerebral palsyandAnnehasmultiple sclerosis—meanstheyhaveto workhardatcontrollingtheir bodiesandnotinterfering withtheirhorse’smovements. Theyscoredhighlyfor consistencyandaccuracy.The ItalianjudgeatCKatherine LucheschisaidthatAnneand Sophiearealwaysimpressive. “Whatmakesthemsospecialis theirexperience,talent,training, andcompetitionskills,”shesaid. “Theyhavethewholepackage.” SophieChristiansenhashad therideonDiRedfern’sAthene Lindebjergforsixmonths.This lovelymare,withthenecessary brilliantwalk,wasfoundbythe AssoulinesinDenmark.Lastyear shewonthenationalelementary championshiptitleundertheir groomJessThompson.Sophie scoredjustunder80%here. “I’msoproudofmyteam,”she said,“Ihaveanewhorseandnew trainer[LinsayColeridge-Smith] sotowingoldisbrilliant.” AnneDunhamwonsilveron LJTLucasNormark(seebox),an impressivelyconsistenthorse. “It’sjustpractice,practice, practice,”shesaid.“Idon’tletmy bodyalteritsrhythm,Ihaveto relax.Itworkedtodayandhewas prettycalm,coolandcollected.” InthegradeIIcompetition, DutchriderRixtvanderHorst tookgoldonher14-year-old KWPNgeldingUniekNOP(by Gribaldi).NatashaBaker,riding SookieStJames,waslessthan 3%behind.Rixt,whowongoldat WEG,hasaconditionthatcauses hertohavespasmsandproblems withbalance. “LastyearIhadonlyhadUniek forayear,”sheexplained.“We knoweachothernow,andwe havereallyimproved.” Natashawasthrilledwithher mare,whoisonlyseven. “Ineverexpectedtobethat close,”shesaid.“Myaimwas aclearround;it’sanew partnership,butshegivesme somuchconfidence.” IngradeIbLeePearsonhad abetterdayandmovedupto silver-medalpositiononZion,but itwashislong-termrival,the AustrianriderPepoPuchonhis 18-year-oldHanoverianmare FineFeelingS,whotookgold. “Ihavenofeelinginmyarms andlegsafterIbrokethree vertebraeinaneventing accident,”hesaid.“Iusedtotrain horses,butnowtheytrainme!” IngradeIII,Germanrider HanneloreBrennerandher veteranchestnutmareWomenOf TheWorldwon,keepingher unbrokenrecord.Dutchrider FrankHosmartookthegoldin gradeIVonhisKWPNgelding AlphavilleNOPwith73.76%, whileSophieWellstooksilver. INTHEGENES Regallybred BRITISHteamveteranAnne DunhamridestheLadyJoseph Trust’s14-year-oldKnapstrupper stallionLJTLucasNormark (RavaldixStellaNormark).This wastheirfirstreallybig championshiptogetherandthe horseseemsimperturbable. Althoughabreedingstallion,he isveryreliableandcalm— characteristicswhichAnneputs downtothebreed. “Thesehorseswerebredto pulltheDanishroyalfamily’s carriages,tobeverycalmina bigatmosphere—Ithinkit’sin hisgenes.” ONETOWATCH KathrynGallagher ITwasafirstmajorandinternationalchampionshipforayoungridernewto theIrishteam—23-year-oldKathrynGallagher,whorecentlychangedher passportfromBritishtoIrish.Sherides12-year-oldKWPNgeldingWaragon, andthepairwerethirdinthemusicfreestyleattheCPEDI3*atBishopBurton inAugust.AthomeKathryntrainswithDavidandSerenaPincus.Irishchef d’equipeDaraKearneyisdelightedtohaveheronboard. “She’sverytalentedandshe’sateamplayer.Waragonissowellbehaved,well manneredandwellschooled,I’msurewe’llseethemonthepodiumoneday.” PracticeandworkatcontrolinthesaddlepayoffforgradeIariderAnneDunhamandLJTLucasNormark,whotakethesilver PicturesbyJonStroudMedia www.horseandhound.co.uk54 HORSE & HOUND . 24 September 2015 DRESSAGE INDIVIDUALTESTS GoldinthebagforBritain Britain’sgradeIariderssecuretheteam’spositiononthetopofthepodium RESULTS FEI INDIVIDUAL TEST GRADE Ia 1, Sophie Christiansen (GBR) Athene Lindebjerg 79.56% 2, Anne Dunham (GBR) LJT Lucas Normark 76.26% 3, Elke Philipp (GER) Regaliz 73.17% FEI INDIVIDUAL TEST GRADE Ib 1, Pepo Puch (AUT) Fine Feeling S 74.55% 2, Lee Pearson (GBR) Zion 71.72% 3, Nicole den Dulk (NED) Wallace NOP 70.62% FEI INDIVIDUAL TEST GRADE II 1, Rixt van der Horst (NED) Uniek NOP 75.54% 2, Natasha Baker (GBR) Sookie St James 72.85% 3, Stefan Zeibig (GER) Feel Good 4 71.51% FEI INDIVIDUAL TEST GRADE III 1, Hannelore Brenner (GER) Women Of The World 72.73% 2, Susanne J Sunesen (DEN) Thy’s Que Faire 70.97% 3, Lotte Krijnsen (NED) Rosenstolz 70.24% FEI INDIVIDUAL TEST GRADE IV 1, Frank Hosmar (NED) Alphaville NOP 73.524 2, Sophie Wells (GBR) C Fatal Attraction 71.833 3, Carolin Schnarre (GER) Del Rusch 70.048 P050-056_HAH_SEP24PB.indd 54 21/09/2015 22:58
- 5. JUDGE’SVIEW AnnePrain,presidentofthegroundjury “THEstandardwasquitegood—wedidn’thaveanyresultsbelow64%and wewentupto80%,whichisquitehigh,”shesaid.“Wehadsomenew combinationslikeSophieandFatalAttractionandsomeoldoneslikeFrankand Alphaville,buteventheoldcombinationskeepimproving. “EvenwiththreenewhorsesGreatBritainisstillontop,whichmeansthe ridingandtrainingisgood.TheDutchalsohaveagoodstandardofhorses, therearejustsmallthingstocorrectandimprove.Attheendofthedaywe, thejudges,stillexpecttoseethedressagescalesoftraining.EveningradeIa thehorsesmustberegular,supple,onthebitandactive,beabletobendand havegoodbalance.” T HEfreestylegivesthe riderstheopportunityto showwhattheycanreally do.IngradeIaSophie Christiansenthrewinquarter pirouettes,andAnneDunham andfourth-placedGerman combinationElkePhilippand Regalizputlateralmovements intotheirtests.ButSophie’s accuracy,correctwayofgoing andconsistentrhythmgaveher theedge.Shewastheonlyrider atthesechampionshipstobreak the80%barrier. IntheIb,PepoPuchonceagain hadtheedgeoverLeePearson. Althoughhisbodymovesmuch morethanLee’sinthesaddle,his testwasmorefluentandhis transitionsweresharper. ItwasunluckyforNatasha BakerinthegradeIIteststhat shehadtogoearlyboth mornings.Itwascoldand becauseshehasneurological damagefromhercondition— transversemyelitis—herlegscan gointospasmwhentheygetcold, whichhappenedtoherjustbefore shewentin. “Icouldn’tmoveatall,itfeltlike mybodyhadgonerigid,”shesaid. “Sookiecarriedme.Ican’tbelieve wegotthroughit,shedidallthe work—Ijuststeered.” Natashastillscoredan excellentmarkforsucha younghorseof74.45%. RixtvanderHorstputinan impressiveperformance, performingahalf-pass straightaftersheentered. Sheproducedanimmensely powerfulextendedtrotacross thediagonalandalsorode somepirouettes. Intheoutdoorarena,Dutch riderFrankHosmarrode Alphavilleveryforwardsto strongmusicandalineof changeshelpedtoconvincethe judgeshecouldtakegold. SophieWellswaslessthana markbehind,havingalso performedaveryimpressivetest, doingherpirouettestothebeat ofabelltolling,andperforminga walktocantertransitionprecisely onthebeatofthemusic. “Ilovethemusic,youcanshow yourindividuality,”saidSophie. “ThisisnewmusicforRio composedbyTomHunt,andhe’s doneagreatjob.FatalAttraction hassomuchenergyandpower andhe’ssoexpressive.”H&H RESULTS FEI FREESTYLE TEST GRADE Ia 1, Sophie Christiansen (GBR) Athene Lindebjerg 80.7% 2, Anne Dunham (GBR) LJT Lucas Normark 76.3% 3, Sara Morganti (ITA) Royal Delight 76.25% FEI FREESTYLE TEST GRADE Ib 1, Pepo Puch (AUT) Fine Feeling S 77.75% 2, Lee Pearson (GBR) Zion 74.05% 3, Nicole den Dulk (NED) Wallace NOP 72.1% FEI FREESTYLE TEST GRADE II 1, Rixt van der Horst (NED) Uniek NOP 79% 2, Natasha Baker (GBR) Sookie St James 74.45% 3, Stefan Zeibig (GER) Feel Good 4 73.8% FEI FREESTYLE TEST GRADE III 1, Hannelore Brenner (GER) Women Of The World 77.95% 2, Susanne Sunesen (DEN) Thy’s Que Faire 75.1% 3, Lotte Krijnsen (NED) Rosenstolz 74.15% FEI FREESTYLE TEST GRADE IV 1, Frank Hosmar (NED) Alphaville NOP 79.95% 2, Sophie Wells (GBR) C Fatal Attraction 79% 3, Carolin Schnarre (GER) Del Rusch 73.15% Britishriderscollectonegoldandfoursilversinthefreestyleclasses, withNatashaBakerbattlingagainsttheodds FormereventerPepoPuchtakesdoublegoldinthegradeIbcategoryonFineFeelingS GradeIIriderNatashaBakerachievessilverdespitegoingintospasmbeforehertest PicturesbyJonStroudMedia www.horseandhound.co.uk56 HORSE & HOUND . 24 September 2015 DRESSAGE FREESTYLE ConsistentChristiansen tops80% P050-056_HAH_SEP24PB.indd 56 21/09/2015 22:58