Without Anky, Just About Anyone Could Claim This World Cup
This year’s Rolex FEI World Cup Dressage Final is up for grabs now that defending champion Anky van Grunsven is on maternity leave. Here’s the starting field.
Tricia Booker and Anne Gribbons
The Rolex FEI 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.
In 2005, the last time the FEI Dressage and Show Jumping World Cup Finals were run concurrently, the atmosphere in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas was loaded with the same kind of tension you’d feel at the March Madness basketball tournament. Dressage even roped in a number of diehard jumper people, who appeared to really enjoy the freestyle.
Not bad for a sport that was introduced during the TV coverage of the 1996 Athens Olympics as “slightly more exciting than knitting.” And I’m sure the excitement is going to be just as high this time.
We’re in store for another meeting of the titans since the Pan American Games and the European Championships are the only international championships this year, and they’re both limited to riders from those regions. So the top-level focus this year is on the World Cup, and the best riders in the world have been burning rubber to be one of the 18 to get a ticket to play.
The World Cup Final is, for riders and judges alike, an intense task, mainly because of the small number of exclusively top-class horses and riders competing. By comparison, events such as regular CDIs, the World Equestrian Games and even the Olympics feature as many as four times the number of horse-and-rider combinations, but the tests are spread over several days and offer varying degrees of expertise and require varying degrees of concentration. The World Cup’s packed-house atmosphere, with the audience up close to the ring, just adds to the excitement.
Especially in a year such as this, when most of the riders will compete on their main mounts, it’s really impossible to predict who’s going to win or take the other top placings. The form of the day, the uniformity of perception among the judges, and for some even a touch of the hand of Lady Luck will determine what happens in Las Vegas.
Of course, we would have liked to have seen the defending champion (from last year and from the last time the World Cup was in Las Vegas) as a contender again, but it looks as if Anky van Grunsven—who’s won more World Cup Finals than anyone else—had more important things to do, since she just gave birth to her second child. You might think that, after all of the World Cup titles she’s won, it would be easy to let it go. But any true competitor knows better. I wouldn’t have put it past her to jump in at the last minute, but that didn’t happen.
The winner and reserve at the U.S. League Final, March 30-April 1 in Burbank, Calif.—which hadn’t yet taken place at press time—will determine the U.S. riders for the World Cup Final. The third-placed rider at the League Finals will also receive an FEI wild card and earn a trip to Vegas.
Catherine Haddad, a U.S. rider based in Europe, earned a wild card with Maximus JSS based on her performances in Europe. Other wild-card recipients include: Jacqueline Brooks of Canada/Gran Gesto; Wayne Channon of Great Britain/Lorenzo CH; and Daniel Pinto of Portugal/Galopin de la Font.
(The United States hadn’t held their League Final at the date of publication, but numbers represent their ranking entering the League Final.)
U.S. League
1. Steffen Peters: age 42, San Diego, Calif.
Floriano: ch. g., 17, Westphalian by Florestan I, owned by Laurelyn and Stephen Browning.
Peters and Floriano led the U.S. team at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany), placing fourth individually in the Grand Prix Special and sixth in the freestyle. They were also the highest-placed U.S. combination at the 2005 Aachen CDIO (Germany) and were the alternates for the 2004 Athens Olympic team. Peters has a wealth of international experience, having participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and he placed seventh at the 2002 World Cup Final (the Netherlands).
Steffen was way out in our league’s lead by January, but in February we were told that Floriano had some health issues and was doubtful to start in the World Cup Final. Thankfully, that’s been resolved, and the combination that was our strongest finisher at the WEG last August will be in contention for a starting spot in Las Vegas.
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2. Courtney King: age 29, New Milford, Conn.
Idocus: b. s., 17, Dutch Warmblood by Equador, owned by Christine McCarthy.
King has steadily climbed the ranks with Idocus in the past two years, winning the Grand Prix at the Dressage At Devon CDI (Pa.) last October and winning the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W (Fla.) freestyle in March. Idocus spent four years in Europe with rider Marlies van Baalen. When he returned to U.S. soil two years ago, King started riding him again. Last year, King was thrilled to be reunited with her Grand Prix partner, but this year she’s looking for glory. U.S. team coach Klaus Balkenhol suggested King change her freestyle last fall, and the resulting new music and choreography have improved her scores. Her music now includes new additions by Terry Gallo and music from The Wizard Of Oz and Fiddler On The Roof.
A delightful new pair likely to give our league final a good shot is the “old” campaigner Idocus, now piloted by rising star Courtney King. After judging their ride at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, I feel Courtney has hit her stride. The horse was right with her there, and the harmony was fabulous. Idocus is not a powerhouse, but rider and horse have a camaraderie. Especially when you sit on the side and watch them perform, you really can appreciate their connection because you see the frame of the horse and his relaxation. It’s really beautiful to watch. It’s quite understandable that she won there.
U.S. Wild Cards
Leslie Morse: age 42, Beverly Hills,Calif.
Tip Top 962: b. s., 13, Swedish Warmblood by Master, owned by the rider.
Morse rode Tip Top for the United States at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany) and earned a team bronze medal. The pair also contested the 2006 World Cup Final in Amsterdam (the Netherlands), where they finished 14th. Although this will be Tip Top’s second World Cup Final, Morse also has two other appearances under her belt when she rode Kingston in 2004 and 2005 (placing sixth) at the Final. Morse and Tip Top have only competed once since the 2006 WEG last August. At the Dressage Affair, March 15-18 (Calif.), they won the Grand Prix Special (67.93%) and placed third in the Grand Prix (65.83%).
Leslie admitted after the Dressage Affair that they have to knock off some rust in the show ring after taking such a long break.
Catherine Haddad: age 43, Vechta, Germany.
Maximus JSS: ch. g., 13, Danish Warmblood by May Sherif, owned by the Janet Schneider Trust.
Haddad rides for the United States but has lived in Germany since 1993. She qualified in the Western European League, where she ranked 14th. Highlights of her season included placing sixth at the Stockholm CDI-W (Sweden) in December, third at the Mechelen CDI-W (Belgium) in December and sixth at Gothenburg (Sweden) in February. She was the alternate for the U.S. team at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany). Haddad trains with Rudolf Zeilinger and has also worked recently with U.S. team coach Klaus Balkenhol in preparation for the World Cup Final. She said Maximus has shown steady improvement in his trot tour and piaffe and passage work through the winter. With Balkenhol’s assistance, Haddad spent time improving the canter tour and has also concentrated on accentuating Maximus’ walk.
Overseas, Catherine has been a consistent presence on the European show circuit, and, although the scores she received at ’s-Hertogenbosch [the Netherlands], the final qualifier, weren’t as high as she’s had in the past, she’s a seasoned international rider who can rise to the occasion.
Canadian League
Evi Strasser: age 43, Ste-Adele, Quebec, Canada.
Quantum Tyme: ch. g., 12, Oldenburg by Quattro, owned by Tanya Strasser and Anne Marie Besl.
Strasser and Quantum Tyme represented Canada at the 2005 World Cup Final in Las Vegas. Strasser also rode as an individual for Canada at the 2006 World Equestrian Games. She has one Olympic Games under her belt when she rode Lavinia in 1996 in Atlanta. Strasser was born in Bavaria, Germany, and is a well-rounded athlete who has competed internationally in downhill skiing, snowboarding and windsurfing.
Evi and Quantum Tyme will represent our neighbors from Canada for the second time. Evi has brought this chestnut horse up through the levels, and he used to be a little bit hot. But over the years he’s matured and gotten better and better. I’ve judged the pair several times, and I remember in 2005 that they were Canada’s last-second substitution starters in the World Cup. Quantum Tyme really wasn’t ready for this level then, finishing 16th in the Grand Prix and fifth in the consolation freestyle for horses that don’t qualify for the big class. But now I think Evi and Quantum Tyme could score high enough to make it to the decisive freestyle, if they perform up to their capabilities in the Grand Prix.
Western European League
(Numbers signify riders’ final league standing. Riders in the roster are those who planned to attend the Finals at press time.)
1T. Isabell Werth: age 37, Rheinberg, Germany.
Warum Nicht FRH: ch. g., 11, Hanoverian by Weltmeyer.
Werth is the current World Champion after her Grand Prix Special victory aboard Satchmo at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany). Her long list of international credits includes winning the 1992 World Cup Final (the Netherlands) on Fabienne. In 2000 and 2001, she rode Antony FRH to second places in the World Cup Final, and in 2006 she placed second again on Warum Nicht FRH in Amsterdam (the Netherlands). She’s competed in multiple Olympics and World Equestrian Games, winning team and individual medals consistently throughout.
Two years ago in this column I discussed Isabell and her choice of 19-year-old Antony as her World Cup Final mount for Las Vegas. She’d also won the Western European League that season with a string of talented horses, but I said that her fascination with this horse eluded me because he always seemed to let her down when she needed him. Unfortunately, Isabell’s experience at the 2005 Las Vegas World Cup was a disappointment, since she had to withdraw Anthony after the vet check, but we hope that didn’t dim her enthusiasm for another trip across the ocean. Late in this qualifying season, Isabell caught on fire and finished tied with Imke Schellekens-Bartels at the top of the standings. Isabell has a multitude of horses to select from, which gives her quite an edge. She’s been playing the qualifying game with a couple of her green ones, but she really wants to “do” Las Vegas, and will bring out one of her main horses, Warum Nicht (on whom she won the final qualifier at ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands [see p. 144], scoring 82.40%). This victory will make her plane reservations worthwhile.
1T. Imke Schellekens-Bartels: age 30, Hooge Mierde, the Netherlands.
Sunrise: b. m., 13, Hanoverian by Singular Joter, owned by P.A.J. Smarius.
Schellekens-Bartels stormed up the World Cup rankings this season with CDI-W wins at London-Olympia (England), Mechelen (Belgium) and Amsterdam (the Netherlands). This young Dutch star also helped her team win silver at the 2006 World Eques-trian Games Germany), placed fifth at the 2006 World Cup Final (the Netherlands) and competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Imke comfortably led the Western Euro-pean pack throughout the season before Isabell caught up to her in
the end. Imke is a young talent from the Netherlands and daughter of Olympic competitor Tineke Bartels and husband Joep Bartels, the man who for far more than a decade was the fire, soul and director of the dressage World Cup. On board her charming and supple mare Sunrise, who made such a lovely impression on us at last summer’s World Equestrian Games, Imke zoomed to the top of the league and stayed there. It appears the mare grows with the task and becomes better at each outing, and with new music composed especially for them by a famed Dutch pianist, Imke and Sunrise should get top billing, at least before the competition starts.
3. Andreas Helgstrand: age 29, Denmark
Blue Hors Matine: g. m., 10, Danish Warmblood by Blue Hors Silver Moon, owned by Blue Hors Stud.
Andreas Helgstrand won individual silver and bronze medals at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany) aboard Blue Hors Matine. He also won the Grand Prix test. He competed in his first World Cup Final in 2005 in Las Vegas and placed fifth on Blue Hors Cavan. He won the Danish Championships in 2005 and ’06 and rode on the Danish team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Andreas fought his way to third in the standings this season with excellent performances with Blue Hors Don Shufro and Blue Hors Matine. He’ll bring the extravagant gray mare Matine, who lately has had some soundness issues but placed second at ’s-Hertogenbosch (see p. 144), scoring 81.65 percent. Andreas is no stranger to major competition as he and Matine starred at the WEG last year as relative newcomers together at that level. At the WEG, Andreas was the first to go in the final set of freestyle rides with Matine and was the first to bring the crowd to its feet, even before his score of 81.50 percent—good enough for the silver medal—was announced. At that point, Matine, then 9, was a new face on the international circuit, so with additional polish since then, Andreas and Matine could go all the way in Las Vegas.
4. Kyra Kyrklund: age 55, Coolham, West Sussex, England.
Max: dk. b. g., 12, Swedish Warmblood by Master 850, owned by rider and Yvette Conn.
Kyra Kyrklund finished 12th in the Grand Prix Special and seventh in the Grand Prix freestyle at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany) with Max. She earned the individual silver medal at the 1990 WEG in Stockholm (Sweden) and won the 1991 World Cup Final (France) aboard Matador.
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Kyra and Max can turn on the heat in the freestyle with incredible precision and drama, and Kyra is the queen of pulling off difficult moves, often riding with one hand. As this World Cup qualifying season progressed, Max looked increasingly stronger. At the Stuttgart CDI-W (Germany) in November, Kyra and Max cracked that milestone of 80 percent and made a clean sweep of the freestyle tour. Her ride on Max in the Grand Prix freestyle to melodies from the musical Cabaret scored an 80.55 percent, which she said at the time was a dream come true. At the final league qualifier at ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands (see p. 144), they kept their consistency going with 76.55 percent for fourth place as they steadily climbed the ladder in the European League.
5. Edward Gal: age 37, Harskamp, the Netherlands.
Group 4 Securicor IPS Gribaldi: blk. s., 14, Dutch Warmblood by Kostolany, owned by J.M. van Uytert.
So far Gal has earned two second-placed finishes at the World Cup Finals with Lingh, in 2004 (Germany) and 2005 (USA). He also took home team silver at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany).
Our favorite from the last Las Vegas World Cup, Edward Gal, will be back, even though he no longer has his intoxicating partner Lingh. He sold the horse to U.S. rider Karin Reid Offield, the sponsor of the 2005 World Cup Dressage Final. Edward finished fifth in the Western European rankings on his new black stallion Gribaldi after claiming fifth at ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands (see p. 144). But he’s planning on having new music—to replace the enchanting arrangement to which he rode Lingh—for Las Vegas. In addition to being a high performer, Gribaldi is the sire of a number of dressage talents, such as Anky van Grunsven’s stallion Painted Black. I expect the Las Vegas audience will welcome Edward back with
open arms!
7. Tinne Vilhelmson: age 40, Stockholm, Sweden
Solos Carex: b. g., 14, Danish Warmblood by Castro-Solos Larex—Lagano, owned by Lövsta Stuteri.
Sweden has counted on Vilhelmson to provide solid scores over the past 15 years. She’s been on four Olympic teams, four European Championships teams and two World Equestrian Games teams. She also rode Just Mickey in the 2004 World Cup Final (Germany) and finished 10th.
Tinne will compete in Las Vegas on the recently gelded Solos Carex. Tinne has hung in there nicely in recent European qualifiers on her bay partner and finished just 1 point behind Ellen Schulten Baumer of Germany, who will not be competing in the Final. Solos Carex has a lovely piaffe-passage tour and a lot of “rubber” in his body and spring in his step.
8. Jan Brink: age 47, Hässleholm, Sweden.
Bjorsells Briar 889: ch. s., 16, Swedish Warmblood by Magini—Krocket, Maraton, owned by H-Y Göransson and K. Gustafsson.
Brink and Briar are veterans of the international dressage scene. They’ve contested five World Cup Finals, finishing in third, their highest placing to date, last year in the Netherlands. The pair also won the individual title at the 2005 Aachen CDIO (Germany), the first time a man has done so. They’ve competed in two Olympic and three World Equestrian Games for Sweden. In 2006, Brink captured his fifth national dressage champion’s title of his career at the Swedish Dressage Championships aboard Briar. They scored 79.15 percent in the freestyle and won the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special for complete domination of the competition.
Jan and Briar won two World Cup qualifiers this season, one in Stockholm (Sweden) in December and in March in Gothenburg (Sweden). Still, he wasn’t rated high in the rankings in March, although they finished fifth in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands (see p. 144) to end up 10th in the league. The flashy liver chestnut Briar and Brink are surely the stars of Sweden, but the World Cup game is a point chaser, and Jan does not seem too interested in traveling all over Europe with the stallion, especially in the winter, when it can be difficult to get in and out of Scandinavia.
9. Marlies van Baalen: age 26, Brakel, the Netherlands.
BMC Kigali: b. s., 15, Dutch Warmblood, owned by syndicate DVB consisting of Coby van Baalen, Jan de Vries (BMC), Henk Krooswijk (construction firm Binnenweg – De Panter) and the firm Zoer.
Van Baalen represented the Netherlands at the 2004 Olympics as well as contesting the 2003 and ’04 World Cups with Idocus.
Central European League
Iryna Lis: age 34, Minsk, Belarus.
Problesk: b. g., 17, Trakehner by Bek xx, owned by the Republican Riding Centre.
Lis rode her homebred Problesk for Belarus at the 2004 Athens Olympics as well as at both the 2002 and 2006 World Equestrian Games (Spain/Germany). She competed in World Cup Finals in 2003 and 2004 (Sweden/Germany) and won the final 2007 qualifier in Warsaw, Poland, with 71.40 percent in the freestyle. “What a wonderful award for my true and healthy champion Problesk,” she said after her victory. “Traveling to Las Vegas and competing there in the Final will be a special honor for me and my horse, as it will be his debut in flying. Problesk had not traveled by plane before, and now this will probably be his last international outing in a championship.” Lis trains with Finnish rider Kyra Kyrklund, also contesting the World Cup Final. Their winning freestyle in Warsaw impressed the judges, including Dr. Wojciech Markowski. “The nice classical music benefited the harmony of the pair. Iryna interpreted the music in a way that accentuated the lightness and easiness of Problesk. Especially its passage received very high marks today as well as the very nice two-tempi changes. Furthermore, it looks like the older the horse is, the better its piaffe! The very fluent transitions accented the lightness of the pair.”
Unfortunately, I’ve never seen Iryna Lis of Belarus on Problesk, the winners of the Central European League after winning one qualifier and placing second and third in two others. So I can’t offer any prediction as to how they’ll do, especially since Iryna didn’t contest any Western European League qualifiers.
Wild Cards
Wayne Channon: age 48, Oud-Turnhout, Belgium.
Lorenzo CH: blk. s., 14, Dutch Warmblood (Ferro—Havana), owned by Debra Channon.
Channon rode on his first team for Great Britain at the 2005 European Championships (Germany). He also competed on the team at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany) with Lorenzo. Early in the qualifying season at the Lipica CDI-W in Slovenia, Channon and Lorenzo scored a winning 70.12 percent in the Grand Prix after a virtually fault-free ride. Their strong points include Lorenzo’s piaffe and passage, for which they received 8s and 9s. In the freestyle, they shined even brighter and topped the field with 75.00 percent. They performed their unique Slings & Kerkhof-composed freestyle “Il Passeggiato,” which earned them a 9 for their music. Channon didn’t start riding seriously until he was 34 and sold his networking and communications company in 1999 to pursue riding fulltime. He described Lorenzo as “a magnificent animal in every way: a real stallion, beautiful opinionated and talented. Riding him is living life on the edge.” He finished 15th in the Western European League standings to earn his wild card.
Jacqueline Brooks: 39, Mount Albert, Ontario, Canada.
Gran Gesto: b. g. 12, Oldenburg by Grannox, owned by Brinc Ltd. and Anne Welch.
Brooks was slated to ride for Canada in the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany), but an ill-timed abscess for Gran Gesto meant they had to sit the competition out. She won the Canadian League Final at the Royal Winter Fair (Ont.) last fall with 71.35 percent, but a qualification mix-up meant she needed to qualify for Las Vegas with an FEI wild card.
Daniel Pinto: age 40, Portugal.
Galopin de la Font: blk. s., 13, Lusitano by Espanto, owned by Sylvain Massa and Ingrid Massa.
Pinto is an Olympic veteran, having competed Weldon Surprise 2 at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He became partners with the elegant, French-bred black stallion Galopin de la Font in 2005 and throughout 2006 their Grand Prix scores climbed to the upper 60s. They represented Portugal at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany) and placed 51st individually in the Grand Prix. In 2007, their performances have improved further, and Pinto was rewarded with an FEI wild card. At the Zwolle International Stallion Show (the Netherlands), March 1-4, Pinto and Galopin de la Font placed fourth in the Best Stallion Finals Grand Prix freestyle (70.75%).
