The battle seems to be for second place, as once again Anky van Grunsven and Keltec Salinero trounced their competition in the Grand Prix of the FEI Dressage World Cup in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on April 20.
Van Grunsven—who’s won the last two World Cups with Salinero–rode in the lucky number 13 spot, and it was clear from the beginning of her test that the judges were going to reward Salinero’s extravagant movement and precision with the highest scores. They finished with 78.25 percent, almost 3 percentage points ahead of second-placed Jan Brink and Bjorsells Briar of Sweden.
“I was very happy with Keltec Salinero,” said van Grunsven. “He was more relaxed and really stood still in the last halt.”
She did say that he started the two-tempi changes on his own. “He surprised me!” said van Grunsven. “He usually always waits for me.”
But it was Arlene “Tuny” Page of the United States who led the competition until van Grunsven rode. Page rode her best Grand Prix to date, scoring 71.00 percent with Wild One.
“It was nice to see the American horse have such a nice, correct test,” said Jennie Loriston-Clarke, who judged at C. “He was very even. There was a lot of harmony with the rider.”
The pair won the League Final in Wellington, Fla. in March, and looked even better in their Grand Prix in Amsterdam. He started out a little tight in his neck, but grew more confident throughout the test. His passage was much bigger than in the past and his last extended trot was by far his best.
They did have a green moment after the final halt as the audience applauded and Wild One bolted, but it didn’t last.
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“I really wanted to make it into the final,” said Page. “Doing it convincingly was great!”
This is the first time that Page has represented the United States in international competition, but her years of experience riding Grand Prix dressage showed. “There’s no room for you to be nervous and do well,” she said.
Page appreciated her huge support crew who showed up to cheer. She’s been training with Klaus Balkenhol in Germany for the past month, and he did everything possible to simulate the World Cup atmosphere, including putting together a fake horse show with a hired judge for Page and Leslie Morse, the other American riding in the World Cup.
Morse’s ride aboard Tip Top 962 didn’t look completely confident. Tip Top hesitated at times throughout his test, getting short in his neck and sucking back. Morse did her best to encourage him to stay positive and forward and they finished in 14th place (66.95%).
The judges’ scores seemed conservative before van Grunsven’s ride, but no one scored less than 71 percent afterwards. The young Dutch riders, Imke Schellekens-Bartels, 29, with Sunrise and Laurens van Lieren, 24, with Hexagon’s Ollright put in strong performances finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
But there’s no substitute for experience, and Brink and Briar put in a flawless performance to earn second place. The 15-year-old Swedish Warmblood stallion looked fluid, connected and smooth throughout his test (75.41%).
“I had a good feeling about my test,” said Brink. The whole environment was good.”
He commended the management for allowing them multiple opportunities to train in the main ring beforehand.
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Experience also helped Isabell Werth of Germany guide the 10-year-old Warum Nicht into third place (75.20%).
“He was quiet and consistent,” said Werth. “We did a very good test, our highest marks yet. From show to show we are growing up.”
The pair actually started out ahead of van Grunsven in their marks, but their piaffe/passage work wasn’t as precise and they had a mistake in the last extended trot.
“I wanted no mistakes,” said Werth. “It was really stupid, but the rest was really good.”
Last year’s winner of the Grand Prix test, Edward Gal and Group 4 Securicor Lingh, didn’t have their best test. Lingh broke to canter after the walk and had a mistake in the one-tempi changes.
Canada’s Cindy Ishoy also had a disappointing ride. Proton looked irregular in the piaffe, even stopping to poop in the second one. She also encountered resistance in the canter zigzag where Proton broke to trot.
The top 12 riders advance to the freestyle final on Saturday. They’ll all start at zero again, and the best freestyle score will determine the overall World Cup winner. There’s also a “B” final on Saturday morning for the remaining riders.
Grand Prix Results
1. Keltec Salinero, Anky van Grunsven (NED) 78.25%
2. Bjorsells Briar 899, Jan Brink (SWE) 75.41%
3. Warum Nicht FRH, Isabell Werth (GER) 75.20%
4. Sunrise, Imke Schellekens-Bartels (NED) 72.79
5. Hexagon’s Ollright, Laurens van Lieren (NED) 72.41
6. Group 4 Securicor, Edward Gal (NED) 71.91
7. Wild One, Arlene Page (USA) 71.00
8. Guiness 888, Louise Nathhorst (SWE) 69.41
9. Donatha S, Ellen Schulten-Baumer (GER) 68.91
10. Wahajama-Unicef, Ann Kathrin-Linsenhoff (GER) 68.75
11. Hardhof’s Ludewig G, Lone Jorgensen (DEN) 68.00
12. Paganini, Jeroen Devroe (BEL) 67.62
13. Royal Black Label, Elena Kalinina (RUS) 67.00
14. Tip Top 962, Leslie Morse (USA) 66.95
15. Douglas Dorsey, Laura Bechtolsheimer (GBR) 66.41
16. Wilson, Kristian Von Krusenstierna (SWE) 65.54
17. Zorro, Inessa Poturaeva (RUS) 63.45
18. Proton, Cindy Ishoy (CAN) 61.29
