In an exciting opening event for the 19th FEI World Cup Dressage Final Holland's Anky Van Grunsven, who already holds a record breaking 5 wins of the World Cup Title on the one horse, Bonfire, made her intentions to win this years event very clear when she won the Grand Prix version B test with the excellent percentage of 75.79 this time riding Gestion Salinero. This 10 year old bay gelding by Sallieri pleased his Dutch rider today and Anky said "He was more relaxed in the warm up and he just wants to do the job. He cruised through the test and he doesn't want to make mistakes."
Van Grunsven wnt on to comment how thrilled and amazed she was at the progress of this young horse especially seeing as she spent most of last year, watching Dressage rather than riding due to a fractured thigh after a nasty fall.
Anky and Gestion Salinero will perform their Freestyle on Sunday to their new programme "L'Esprit Chanson" which has proved to already be a winner during the qualifying season leading up to this Final. Anky was 16th to go in the starters order out of the list of 18 starters so she had plenty of opportunity to watch the other competitors before her, which can never be a bad thing!
Second place went to Germany's Heike Kemmer and the chestnut Hannovarian gelding Bonaparte who was purchased as a foal by Hieke's father Joachim. Bonaparte, now 11 years old is obviously well loved in the Kemmer yard and as Heike talked of their preparation she explained how she and her team had left no stone unturned to make sure everything was going in their favour when they arrived and this included taking stablemate Ferragamo along for company and to ensure Bonaparte would continue to eat and be the "happy horse" who "wants to do his best". Kemmer felt that there had been small mistakes in their test but felt that the horse was "working to a very high level" and second place would certainly suggest she was correct in her assessment and with a percentage of 74.87 they are firmly in second spot at this stage.
Anky Van Grunsven was delighted when her student, Edward Gal also for Holland came in third placing riding Gestion Lingh, a very attractive bay stallion by Flemmingh. The eleven year old stallion showed moments of brilliance in a very exciting and dramatic test.
Californian based trainer, Guenter Seidel riding for the USA was very happy with his 4th placing aboard the 15 year old Westfalian gelding Nikolaus 7 saw a percentage of 71.33.
Germany also took 5th place with Hubertus Schmidt and the chestnut mare Wansuela Suerte gaining 70%. Russian rider Elena Sidneva continues to place well and took 6th spot on the Latvian bred gelding Artax-Condor with 69.62%. The black mare, Wahajama Unicef gave Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff 7th placing with 68.87% for Germany and Sweden were in 8th position with Tinne Vilhelmson and the KWPN Just Mickey seeing a percentage of 68.75%.
Ninth position went to the powerful and handsome bay KWPN stallion Blom's Idocus by Equador and he did a creditable test and rider Marlies Van Baalen for Holland would possibly not have been delighted with her score of 68.29% which is below her average of above 70% needed to be on the Dutch A List team. Marlies is the youngest member of the highly respected Dutch Dressage A list team.
Germany's Isabell Werth with the young gelding by Alabaster, Apache placed 10th and no doubt they will impress with their Freestyle on Sunday. They finished the Grand Prix with 68.25%. Great Britain's, Emma Hindle and the approved Weltmeyer son, Wie Weltmeyer took eleventh position with a score of 67.45%. Sweden's Louise Nathhorst and yet another competition stallion, Guinness 888 by Dolomit sat with a score of 66.75% and Australia's Kristy Oatley-Nist and Rosemount Quando Quando finished with a disappointing thirteenth place with a score of 66.45% but this Quatro stallion son is still green at this level and she did draw the most unpopular starting place having to come into the ring first. In fourteenth Leslie Morse and the Voltaire stallion son, Kingston finished with 65.87% for the USA.
Sven Rothenburger and the Hannovarian Brentano II gelding finished 15th with 65.62% for Holland and in 16th we saw Belinda Trussel and the 14 year old Karon gelding Royan II. Seventeenth went to Denmark's Nicole Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Lehn riding Esprit with 62.41%. In 18th place was Iryna Lis riding the Anglo/Trakenner Problesk with 60.37%.
The judges today saw Australia's Mary Seefried sitting at E, USA's Anne Gribbons at H, Bernard Maurel for France took the pressure position of judging at C, Dr Volker Moritz for Germany sat at and Ernst Bachinger for Austria was at B.
The riders placed from 1st to 12th will ride in the Final on Sunday and those placed from 13th to 18th will begin Sunday's competition with the "B" Final.
