The CDI-W at Wilhelmsborg (Denmark) last month was one of the first qualifiers for the FEI World Cup Finals, which will take place in Las Vegas next April.

In spite of driving rain outside, the atmosphere inside the arena, which seats about 4,000 people, was warm and friendly, and, for being so early in the season, the quality of the entries was surprisingly high. Even the small tour was full of horses climbing up the ladder.

Andreas Helgstrand reigned supreme in the small tour on Casmir and in the World Cup qualifier on Don Schufro, who was really “on” in the Grand Prix and the World Cup freestyle, to the delight of the hometown audience. Kyra Kyrk-lund was right on his heels with Max, but a couple of small glitches in the freestyle made it clear that the day belonged to the Danes.

A horse to watch is Natalie zu Sayen Wittgenstein’s black stallion Digby, like Don Schufro, sired by Donnerhall. The horse is not yet 10, and although the strength of all his movements can use some improvement, this horse has a lot of quality in his gaits and is extremely elegant and light. The pair presented an abso-lutely clean free-style, with no score less than a 7 on my score sheet. Once Natalie is able to turn on the power a little more, they could become a combination tough to beat.

For me, though, the show was mostly about Anky van Grunsven. And not just because she won the Grand Prix and Special with Painted Black before two different crews of five judges, who each gave her 75 percent. Besides that, she also put on a demonstration on Friday evening that was absolutely fascinating.

As I watched and listened, I remembered the first time I became aware of Anky’s extraordinary talent, many years ago at Aachen (Germany). She’d already established her reputation, but the German favorite, as always, was in a strong position on the home field. Anky was aboard Cocktail, and she pulled off a Grand Prix freestyle in a way that made the predominantly German audience react fairly and more enthusiastically to her ride than they had to the ride of their own star.

Nevertheless, Anky finished second. So I made a point of finding her and telling her I thought she’d “really won.” She smiled, thanked me, and shrugged like we do when the expectation of the performance gets in a snag with reality.

Since then, I’ve watched and judged Anky on many occasions, and I’ve followed her triumphs and training conflicts over the past few years.

As she’s done in other locations in Europe, Anky gave a demonstration of her way of training and explained her philosophy. Riding Krack C, a bay, Dutch-bred stallion, she entered the arena wearing a microphone. As it tends to do, the miracle of modern technology failed, and the microphone emitted a terrible crackling noise every time she spoke. It made Krack crack, and he displayed all the acrobatics of an insecure stallion.

At five months pregnant, Anky was not amused, and finally Kyra Kyrklund, who was assisting in the demonstration, made Anky leave and exchange the microphone. Kyra entertained in her smooth fashion until horse and rider returned, and the two of them started over like the pros they are. The stallion settled down, and Anky showed her way of warming up.

She demonstrated how she controls the horse’s frame every step of the way, never using her legs at all unless she wants a reaction. Everything she asked the horse for was presented in small portions. Every session starts with at least 10 minutes at the walk. I saw that in action the day before, when she was working Painted Black, and I think I watched her walk for at least 20 minutes.

She emphasized that she wants the horse to focus entirely on her and to “think with me,” as she put it. And, indeed, as we watched, through a series of transitions, the stallion gave up his fears and his own agendas to fall under Anky’s spell.

To correct heaviness, control speed, and create balance, Anky explained that she uses a lot of transitions between walk and halt, and she insists on the horse becoming soft in the hand at the halt before walking again. No rider is stronger than a horse, said Anky, so she seeks to control them when she has the upper hand.

With Kyra filling in with commentary, and Anky explaining as she went, the stallion worked through his entire Grand Prix program. Anky openly and honestly pointed out the horse’s weak and strong points, and she cautioned riders about getting so in-volved with a horse’s weaknesses or a mistakes that they cannot show off the strong points.

“Never look back,” she said. “Always think forward.”

And all of us who have watched Anky in action in the show ring know her as a master of total concentration and an expert at damage control if something doesn’t go well.

At the end of the demonstration, she treated the audience to a Grand Prix freestyle to James Bond tunes, and then she returned dismounted to answer questions. She frankly answered all questions, including those concerning the “Rollkur” controversy. She admitted to being very angry at the attacks on her training method and, especially, the timing of the articles (a couple of weeks before the 2005 European Championships).

But now, she said, she’s taken a different approach by trying to demonstrate her method in action to audiences around Europe.

Anky also rode three horses in the show. Krack C did a creditable job in the World Cup Grand Prix and freestyle, but not even Anky’s magic could make the stallion quicker behind. Her small-tour horse became paralyzed in a corner at the sight of some small birds playing on the ground and had to be excused, but Painted Black, a solid, dark stallion by Garibaldi, was at his best.

It was my first acquaintance with this horse, and what I especially liked was that he lacked that inner tension and sometimes-mechanical movement that both Bonfire and Salinero have displayed at times. Painted Black is more liquid and smooth, while still showing the activity and energy that spells brilliance. As we judges agreed after the show, the horse appears to have no “holes” at all in his repertoire, and every movement looks easily achieved. Perhaps we haven’t seen Anky’s best horse come into his own yet?

Because there’s no worldwide international team competition in 2007, the World Cup Final promises to draw the best, just as it did in 2005. The European riders are already working to qualify for Las Vegas, and I believe we can look forward to a great field from abroad, just like in 2005. Could Anky win it yet again?


Anne Gribbons