The World Cup Final has always been of special interest to me, because I believe strongly that music has the ability to bring out the art in our sport.

Having followed the birth and evolution of the Dressage World Cup, I was so pleased to have the opportunity to judge the finals last year in Dusseldorf (Germany). Although there was a very strong field of competitors then, it looks like this year will be the “hottest” yet, since almost all of the top horses from each country are actually up and running toward Las Vegas.

Even better, three of our 2004 Olympic horses will be there, and our alternate from that team has become a force to reckon with.

Because this is an “off” year, one without any major championships, even the biggest stars of our game are turning their lights to shine on the World Cup. And Las Vegas–the entertainment and gambling capital of the world–doesn’t hurt either. The top riders want to play, and like all players, they aim for the jackpot!

To predict the final placings of this year’s highly competitive field–perhaps the most exciting collection of horses and riders ever in the Dressage World Cup–is like playing roulette. But I believe that Anky van Grunsven has to be the odds-on favorite. She should be unbeatable, unless she has some unforeseen hiccup of a highly serious nature.

And who would then move into the No. 1 spot? Either Debbie McDonald or Edward Gal, provided Lingh has fully returned to form.

Still, those two could fall victim to the onslaught of Robert Dover, Hubertus Schmidt or Jan Brink, who could all end up in a photo finish. Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff might become dangerous as well.

But my dark horse is Kingston and Leslie Morse. If he and Leslie are really “on,” they could make history in Las Vegas!

U.S. League

1. Debbie McDonald: age 50, Sun Valley, Idaho.
Brentina: ch. m., 14, German-bred Hanoverian by Brentano II–Lieselotte, Lungau, owned by Peggy Thomas.

McDonald and Brentina finished second in the 2003 World Cup Final but were declared the winners when the first-placed finisher’s blood sample contained a forbidden substance. But they missed the 2004 World Cup Final with an injury. They led the U.S. team to the silver medal at the 2002 World Championships and to the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, placing fourth individually both times. They won the World Cup U.S. League Final on April 2-3.

Debbie McDonald and her partner Brentina, the favorites of most Americans, have a lot to live up to! They have a brand-new freestyle that will rock your socks off. After watching them win in Gothenburg (Sweden) in 2003, but not receive their laurels until months later, I’d love to see them do it again and get rewarded right away! Brentina and Debbie are our national heroes of dressage, and since this time the game is being played on our home ground, she may have the wind in her sails to surpass the European stronghold.

2. Leslie Morse: age 40, Los Angeles, Calif.
Kingston: b. s., 13, Dutch Warmblood by Voltaire–Gisnette, Burggraaf, owned by rider.

Morse and Kingston won the USET National Grand Prix Championship in 2003 and were reserves for the 2004 Olympic team. They finished 17th in the 2004 World Cup Final, but this spring they’ve won two qualifiers in Florida and finished a close second to Brentina in the U.S. League Final.

Kingston and Leslie are a delightful addition to our troops. They were seriously knocking on the door at the Olympic trials last year after representing us at last year’s final. At that time, Kingston was in a stallion state of mind, and he didn’t hesitate to display it at the finals, which didn’t sell with the judges. Since then, he appears to have gone into serious show mode. At last year’s Olympic trials, as well as at the Palm Beach Derby (Fla.) in early March, I was struck by his presence, both physical and mental, and his brilliant performance, as was everyone else. This, in my opinion, is our most improved horse/rider combination, and I have a feeling they may peak just in time for Las Vegas.

U.S. Wild Cards

Robert Dover: age 49, Wellington, Fla.
FBW Kennedy: ch. g., 16, German-bred Baden-Wurtemberg by Tiro–Karat mare, owned by Jane F. Clark.

Dover, who’s ridden in more Olympics than any other U.S. dressage rider in history (six consecutive since 1984), hasn’t contested the World Cup Final since he climaxed a ground-breaking European tour in 1987-’88 by placing fourth on Federleicht, whom he’d ridden to 10th the previous year. Dover has won four Olympic team bronze medals, and in 2004 he finished sixth in Athens, his best individual placing ever, on Kennedy. Dover topped the World Cup’s U.S. League standings but then got a wild-card invitation after deciding to skip the U.S. League Final for personal
reasons.

Robert said he will give his last performance in Las Vegas before retiring once again. He certainly made a good impression at the Athens Olympics, and I just learned at a judges’ forum that his pirouette to the right was scored the highest of all the pirouettes in the Olympics by all the judges. And since Robert is a great showman, who loves to be in the limelight and has a fabulous sense of rhythm, the freestyle is the perfect element for him. Wild card in hand, Robert and Kennedy might just spin themselves right to the top.

Guenter Seidel: age 44, Cardiff, Calif.
Aragon: gr. g., 14, German-bred Bavarian Warmblood by Abydos, owned by Dick and Jane Brown.

Seidel has earned team medals at the last three Olympics and at the 2002 World Championships, on four different horses. He and Aragon finished 14th at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Seidel has ridden in three World Cup finals, placing third on Nikolaus in 2003. Aragon finished third in the U.S. League Final on
April 2-3.

Guenter has made great strides with his new gray. He is a wonderful rider, but Aragon is a “greenish” horse, even if he has Olympic experience, and unseasoned horses are tough to send into the real heat of the freestyle competition. Well, perhaps Guenter really is ready to burn rubber with his gray steed, and, if so, he’s not one to hold back. The horse’s piaffes can cash in on the “10s,” and he also has trot extensions to thrill to. We are, of course, in a strong position this year with four competitive horses starting for the first time ever, and having Guenter as one of them makes us that much stronger.

Canada

Leslie Reid
Mark: b. g., 11, Dutch Warmblood by Edison–Gina, Flamingo, owned by Deryol Andrews.

With Mark, Reid finished 35th in the 2004 Olympics. Reid won the Canadian League Final last November to qualify for her first World Cup Final. They won the individual gold medal at the 2003 Pan Am Games.

Canada has a strong entry in Leslie Reid and her Mark. This combination made a very good impression last year during the U.S. Freestyle Championships in Bur-bank, Calif., when he kept winning everything in the open Grand Prix division with the greatest of ease. Since then, whenever I catch a glimpse of the horse, he is always improving and looking stronger and more powerful. The horse and rider have a long history together, and as is the case of Debbie and Brentina, it shows up as a true partnership. It’s a combination that might surprise us.

Defending Champion

Anky van Grunsven: age 37, Gemert, the Netherlands.
Keltec Salinero: br. g., 13, Dutch Warmblood by Flemmingh–Beaujalias mare, owned by F. Murphy Arts.

Van Grunsven won the individual Olympic gold medal in both 2000 and 2004, and she’s won the World Cup six times since 1995, including 2004 on Salinero, her 2004 Olympic gold-medal partner. She gave birth to her first child, a son, on Nov. 23.

Anky is back, ready to defend her title in spite of recently being blessed with motherhood, and nobody doubts her ability to hang on to her crown! Although Salinero is a hot number, which he displayed at the Athens Olympics, she’ll do her magic, using her unbelievable skill, feel and timing. And she’ll make everything look even better than it is, when it is already great! Anky has so far taken this title an unprecedented six times, and she will not let go without a great struggle. I love how Anky turns into a tiger when she enters the arena, while out of the ring she’s as personable and outgoing as a happy puppy.

Western European League

(Numbers signify riders’ final league standing)

1. Isabell Werth: age 35, Rheinberg, Germany.
Antony: dk. br. g., 19, Hanoverian by Argument, owned by rider.

Werth’s long list of international credits includes winning the World Cup Final in 1992 on Fabienne. In both 2000 and 2001, she rode Antony to second place in the final. She’s won three team gold medals and one individual gold medal in the Olympics, two team gold medals and two individual gold medals in the World Championships, and seven team gold and three individual gold medals in the European Championships.

Antony doesn’t suffer from youthful ignorance. He’s 19, and I’ve watched and judged him on many, many occasions. As much as I admire and like Isabell, her fascination with this horse has long eluded me. I found I could never warm up to Antony, in spite of his good gaits and some true highlights, such as his half-passes, because he always seemed to be looking for an opportunity to let his rider down. By now, I guess he has mellowed enough to let Isabell call the shots, because he’s had some major victories lately in Europe. I really hope he has a terrific go in Las Vegas, since this will be his farewell performance, and I wish it for Isabell, who had other horses to choose from, but has opted to show Antony this last gesture of loyalty.

2. Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff: age 44, Kronberg, Germany.
Renoir-UNICEF: ch. g., 14, Oldenburg by Rubinstein I–Winston mare, owned by rider.

Linsenhoff finished fifth in the 2004 World Cup Final and fourth in 1986. She rode on the German gold-medal team at the 1988 Olympics and was on the gold-medal team at the 2002 World Championships with Renoir. She’s a veterinarian and mother of two children.

Renoir was all the rage a couple of years ago, hailed as the new German superstar to be, but then he sort of fell off the screen and only appeared sparingly at shows. Possibly the horse was injured, or just needed a breather. The fact that Ann-Kathrin has chosen Renoir to ride in the World Cup is a good indicator that he is now fit and ready, and it will be interesting to see how this horse, who was once on the German top list, will fare when matched against the cream of the present crop. By the way, Ann-Kathrin is the daughter of a 1972 Olympic gold medalist Liselott Linsenhoff, so she has not only the genes and tradition to help her along, but also a number of really solid horses whom she knows just how to guide around the arena.

3. Andreas Helgstrand: age 27, Denmark
Blue Hors Cavan: b. st., 15, Hanoverian by Cavalier–St. Pr. Danena, Damnatz, owned by Blue Hors Stud.

Helgstrand rode on the Danish team at the 2004 Olympics, finishing ninth individually. This will be his first World Cup Final.

Andreas took over the ride on Blue Hors Cavan from Lars Petersen, and after a somewhat uncertain start, they’re getting on the same page well enough to start climbing in the awards. Cavan is a great freestyle horse who appears to have an “ear for music” and perform better when the band is playing. The horse can handle a difficult choreography, and he is always an audience pleaser because of the chances that the rider can confidently take with him. Gambling in Las Vegas suits this combination well.

4. Hubertus Schmidt: age 45, Bordhen-Ettein, Germany.
Aramis: bl. g., 13, Oldenburg, owned by Suzanne Ericksen.

Schmidt and Wansuela Suerte finished fifth while helping Germany earn its eighth straight team gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, his first appearance on the German team. They also finished third in the 2003 World Cup Finals. He is a professional trainer who’s trained more horses to Grand Prix than any other current German rider, and he is training Aramis for his American owner.

Hubertus is one of the best riders in the world, with the ability to make even an ordinary horse look like a class act. He’s chosen Aramis over his proven mare Wansuela Suerte, and, as I remember from seeing the horse competing here a couple of years ago, this is a very high-quality horse. I am really looking forward to seeing Hubertus mounted on something worthy of his great talent as a rider, and I suspect the results could cause an upset in the placings.

5. Carl Hester: age 38, Gloucestershire, Great Britain.
Escapado: b. g., 11, Thor-oughbred-Trakehner by Ex-Libris–Icarus, owned by Wilton and Roly Luard.

Hester placed 13th in the 2004 Olympics on Escapado and rode in the 1992 Olympics, but he hasn’t yet ridden in the World Cup Final. Hester has trained Escapado since he was 4.

Carl is a very experienced rider, but I’ve never seen him compete on Escapado. He’s placed well in the qualifiers, though.

6. Edward Gal: age 35, Haus Kamp, the Netherlands.
Lingh: b. s., 12, Dutch Warmblood by Flemmingh–Gazelle, Columbus, owned by T. Sadelhoff.

Gal became a rising international star by claiming second in the 2004 World Cup Final on Lingh, but an injury kept them off the Dutch Olympic team. They were members of the Dutch European Championship team in 2003.

When I judged the World Cup qualifier in Holland last year, I had never heard of Edward Gal or Lingh. Well, in comes this fabulous rubber ball of a stallion with a rider who got every ounce out of his performance without making it look the least difficult. I almost had them beating Anky van Grunsven, and some of the other judges had them close as well. They then repeated the performance in Dusseldorf at the final, and the image of Edward and Lingh lingered on my mind as I was traveling back home.

7. Jan Brink: age 44, Hassleholm, Sweden.
Briar: ch. s., 14, Swedish Warmblood by Magini–Charis, Krocket, owned by H.Y. Goransson and Kyra Kyrklund.

Brink and Briar have contested three of the last four World Cup Finals, their best finish being sixth in 2002. Brink has ridden in the last two Olympics (placing seventh on Briar in 2004), two World Championships, and five European Championships.

Jan will give Anky van Grunsven a fight for it, having had a hard-driving season in the European qualifiers, when he either won or was in the top three every time. Jan learned his lesson last year, when he assumed he would be given the wild card after being the silver medalist in the 2003 European Championships and didn’t compete in the qualifiers at all. But no wild card was forthcoming. Well, he’s in now, and ready to passage and piaffe that big-blazed chestnut stallion in the judges’ faces until they hand him 9s, and perhaps 10s!

8. Sven-G. Rothenberger: age 38, Bad Homburg, Germany.
Barclay II: ch. g., 13, Hanoverian by Brentano II, owned by Dressure EN Sporingstal.

Rothenberger won the FEI World Cup Final in 1990 at age 23 and has placed in the final alf a dozen more times. He also won the individual bronze medal at the 1996 Athens Olympics. Although German-born,he took Dutch citizenship after marrying dressage rider Gonnelien Gordijn more than a decade ago. On Barclay, he finished 17th in the Athens Olympics.

Sven and Barclay II, who is sired by the same stallion as Brentina, have a good, continuing relationship. Their freestyle is reliable, on the beat and to the point, but not always uplifting or particularly artistic. Nevertheless, the workman-like and strong approach collects a lot of well-deserved points when the act comes off.

9. Lone Jorgensen: age 43, Kontral-Munchingem, Germany
Ludewig G: b.g., 10, Oldenburg by Landfriese–Impression, Ibikus, owned by rider.

Even though she’s ridden on the Danish team in two Olympics and one World Championship, this will be Jorgensen’s first World Cup Final. She rode FBW Kennedy, now Robert Dover’s mount, to seventh place and the team bronze medal at the 1999 European Championships.

I have never seen Lone ride her new horse, but I have judged and watched Lone on Kennedy before she sold him to Jane Clark–for which we are grateful! I cannot say anything, except that the combination is pretty new in Grand Prix, and, as we know, it takes a while for even a fairly steady Grand Prix horse to handle the freestyle with ease. All the more power to her for producing another internationally viable horse in such a short time.

10. Marie-Line Wettstein
Le Primeur 2: ch. g, 12, Hanoverian by Laurie’s Crusader XX–Goldika, Golfstrom I, owned by rider.

Wettstein rode on the Swiss team at the 2003 European Championships, finishing 33rd. She has placed in five World Cup qualifiers this season, finishing second in London (England) in December, but this will be her first World Cup Final.

I’m afraid I don’t know anything about this Swiss entry.

Central European League

Elena Sidneva: age 40, Kaumberg, Austria.
Artax Condor: b. g., 13, Hanoverian by Vdumtchevly–Vadre, Vagner, owned by rider.

Sidneva, who represents her native Russia in competition, and Artax Condor won the Central European League Final in March by 5 percentage points, scoring 75.05 percent. They finished eighth in the 2004 World Cup Final and 32nd in the 2004 Olympics. Sidneva has ridden in two Olympics and three World Cup Finals.

I saw Elena and Artax Condor at last year’s final, and the big black horse is a “trooper.” He is as steady as a rock and yet has both power
and elasticity. Charm, however, is somewhat in short supply. They are a crafty combination with some technical highlights that may surprise
you when the scores come up and they’ve collected more than you expected.

South American/Asian League

Cesar Parra: age 41, Wellington, Fla.
Galant du Serein: b. s., 11, Selle Franç¡©s by Apache d’Adriers–Sojonrnet, Jalme des Mesnuls, owned by Anne Wait and rider.

Representing his native Colombia, Parra and Galant du Serein finished 46th in the 2004 Olympics. On Pik L, Parra finished fourth in the 2003 Pan Am Games. This will be his first World Cup Final.

I’m so glad Cesar got a wild card to join us in Las Vegas, because we all know him so well since he and family have lived on the East Coast for several years. After a trip to the Olympics last summer, the combination is starting to “gel,” and they have prepared for this event by showing diligently on the Florida circuit with considerable success–and much support from their American sponsors and South American fans.