Lexington, Ky.—Sept. 27

The Dutch Team met expectations today as they took the lead at the halfway mark in the team dressage championship at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Imke Schellekens-Bartels and Hunter Douglas Sunrise earned the top score of 73.44 percent, and Hans Peter Minderhoud on Exquis Nadine currently sits third on 72.25 percent. German Christoph Koschel on Donnperignon placed second (72.63%).

“I think we have a very good chance [for a team medal], but still we have two riders who have to go and do their test,” said Minderhoud. “Something can always happen. I think for them it’s very good that we started good today, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Listen to an interview with Minderhoud.

Minderhoud got a reminder this week that anything can happen. While hacking Nadine, a 15-year-old Hanoverian, across a road at the Kentucky Horse Park, the mare took a tumble.

“I walked her Saturday and worked her lightly, and when I walked back to the stable she was really relaxed and just on long rein,” he said. “I came around the corner, and she slipped with her back legs out behind her and fell on her knees, and we sort of fell over. It was quite scary.”

Despite some scrapes, Nadine was fine after the incident and was cleared by the veterinarians at the jog. 

“I rode her yesterday, and she was really good so I figured, ‘We’re here, so go for it.’ She really did her job today, and I was really happy,” Minderhoud said.

Schellenkens-Bartels and Sunrise, a 16-year-old Hanoverian mare, put in an energetic, nearly mistake-free test with the exception of a major bobble in the canter half-pass zigzag when Sunrise didn’t change leads.

“It wasn’t her fault, so that was good. She had a really, really good test and felt better than she’s ever been,” Schellekens-Bartels said. “But it was me. My head was thinking, ‘One more step to the left,’ and my body was already riding to the right. So I just didn’t give her the aid for the change. I forgot to prepare her, and we just went sideways. So she did what my body was telling her—she was correct. I just made a stupid mistake myself.”

Listen to an interview with Schellekens-Bartels.

The two pairs for the United States, Todd Flettrich on Otto and Katherine Bateson-Chandler on Nartan, sit 16^th and 5^th, respectively, with Otto earning a 66.55 percent and Nartan a 69.61 percent.

Nartan’s test had two major mistakes, one in the one-tempi changes where Nartan added an additional one at the end, and another in the canter half-pass zigzag. However, the pair presented an overall impression of harmony and power.

“I was happy,” Bateson-Chandler, Wellington, Fla., said. “I had two expensive mistakes so I wasn’t so happy about that but things I’ve had issues with were good. So I’m thrilled with my horse and happy I didn’t get nervous, which I didn’t know because I’d never done a big international competition before.”

Bateson-Chandler and Nartan—a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood owned and ridden by Jeanette Haazan of the Netherlands before Jane Clark purchased him—have only been a team since May. Bateson-Chandler, Olympian Robert Dover’s longtime groom and assistant trainer, is attending her first World Championships as a rider.

“It’s something I’ve dreamed of doing,” she said. “I obviously did it for years with Robert. It’s awesome now, a few years later, to be riding at a World Championship. We have the most incredible team. We have a rapport like I’ve never seen on a team before. We’re all really close, close friends. We’ve had the best time ever, and it’s been a great experience.”

For Flettrich, Royal Palm Beach, Fla., being a part of the team has also been an incredible experience. Problems in his reinback, one-tempis and the last piaffe lowered the scores on an otherwise solid test.

“It’s awesome to be here. Of course, I’d like my score a little bit higher but that’s no one’s fault but my own,” Flettrich said. “His forte is piaffe and passage. He came down the centerline a little quick to piaffe. I thought he was there, and I relaxed for a second, and he said, ‘OK’ and just halted. It was an honest mistake, but unfortunate because we had some really lovely scores before that.”

Team dressage competition resumes tomorrow morning. Be sure to check out all our WEG dressage coverage and results on the WEG website.