The atmosphere in the sold-out Holstenhalle in Neumünster, Germany for the Grand Prix freestyle CDI-W, resembled a soccer final more than a stately dressage competition. Each ride in the finale of the Neumünster CDI-W, Feb. 15-18, received roaring applause from the crowd of 5,000 spectators.

And their enthusiasm was matched by the quality of the performances–12 of the 14 competitors in the World Cup freestyle test scored above 70 percent. But it was Isabell Werth who took victory aboard Warum Nicht FRH with 83.60 percent.

The day before, the German combination had already secured victory in the Grand Prix with an outstanding performance. For Werth and Warum Nicht–who were the runners-up in the 2006 FEI World Cup Final in Amsterdam (the Netherlands)–the freestyle score was a personal best.

Werth, who earned team and Grand Prix Special individual gold medals at the 2006 World Equestrian Games (Germany) aboard Satchmo, was thrilled that Warum Nicht was back in action. ” ‘Hannes’ has matured after an injury forced us to take a break last summer [including missing the WEG]. He feels better not only in his body but also in the execution of the movements. Today, I took a lot of chances, but he came always back to me easily,” Werth said of their freestyle, performed to Edward Elgar’s Last Night of the Proms.

Andreas Helgstrand finished just behind Werth in both the Grand Prix and the freestyle on the Oldenburg stallion Blue Hors Don Schufro, scoring 79.55 percent in the freestyle. The combination lost valuable points by starting to canter in the trot, losing rhythm in the trot and a mistake in the flying changes.

Nevertheless, Helgstrand was satisfied with his result. “I rode my new program–to the music of a Pink Floyd medley–for the first time. It was very nice, but I have to get more familiar with the music to work on the final touch,” he said.

Helgstrand mentioned that his ride for the WEG freestyle individual silver, Blue Hors Matine, has recovered from the injury sustained late last year and should compete again soon.

A rousing performance with excellent, well-settled, very active, and rhythmical piaffes gave the Russian rider Alexandra Korelova third place in the freestyle with Balagur.

Her test to a swinging medley of musical melodies from My Fair Lady and West Side Story earned her a score of 77.50 percent. “Placing third in such a strong field of competitors is the most meaningful success I have achieved so far,” said the student of Georges Theodorescu.

But Korelova doesn’t have travel to the FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas, Nev., as a goal. “I have started too late into the World Cup season due to some visa problems. I will instead concentrate now on the European Championships later this summer,” she said.

For the Final, to be held Apr. 19-22, the eight best riders of the Western European World Cup League will qualify, but only three riders are allowed to represent each nation. Title defenders automatically qualify and do not count among those three.

Four Dutch riders appear in the top eight of the standings, with just two more qualifiers to go. Imke Schellekens-Bartels leads the ranks, with Edward Gal third, Laurens van Lieren fifth, and Marlies van Baalen seventh. Only two German riders stand in the top eight–Isabell Werth in second and fourth-placed Ellen Schulten-Baumer. This is a very unusual situation, since in most of the recent years more German riders had qualified than were allowed to compete in the final. The next German rider follows with Sonja Bolz, who stands 24th.

German team coach Holger Schmezer knows some reasons for this situation. “With the finals overseas at Las Vegas, the World Cup has lost some attractiveness for the riders. Many riders shy away from the long trip. Besides this, many German top riders have just one top mount for international championships and this they save for the European Championships in the summer.”

But Schulten-Baumer has decidedly set her sights on qualifying for Las Vegas. “After it had been obvious that, as a reserve rider for the German WEG team, I would not be going to compete at Aachen, I immediately got down to realize plan B, to qualify for the World Cup Final,” she said.

Unlike her 2006 WEG gold-medal teammates–Heike Kemmer and Nadine Capellmann–Werth has two absolute top mounts at her disposal. While her Special World Champion and WEG freestyle bronze medalist Satchmo will presumably not be competed before the outdoor season, Werth has realistic chances with Warum Nicht FRH.

“Hannes has shown at Neumünster what he is able to achieve. What comes after that, we will see. Also Andreas Helgstrand and Imke Schellekens-Bartels have already won some World Cup qualifiers in this season. In any case Las Vegas will be an exciting event,” said Werth.

Traveling to Las Vegas will present Werth with some problems, since Hannes stands more than 18 hands. “He must have a stall to himself during the flight. I was promised that it will have the same conditions like for the flight to the Sydney Olympics, where there were only two horses on a pallet.”

Still open is the question of whether the eight-time Final winner Anky van Grunsven will compete at Las Vegas. Her second child is due in March, but as the title defender she and Salinero are qualified.


Blitz Has A New Path
Two American riders–Catherine Haddad and Heather Blitz–also competed at Neumünster. Blitz had come to Europe as a short-listed rider for the U.S. WEG team. After the WEG, she moved to Denmark to Ove Mortensen’s stable in Esbjerg. There, she trains about eight horses, which are mainly owned by Mortensen, and she plans to stay for another two years.

“After Hurricane Katrina in 2005 forced me to move with my horses from the New Orleans [La.] area, I was more or less homeless. I am trying to settle down at the moment, to find myself again and to plan my future,” Blitz said.

In the CDI-W Grand Prix, Blitz rode the 11-year-old, chestnut mare Arabella. Though with 58.88 percent and 21st place, she was not able to qualify for the freestyle, Blitz was in general satisfied with the mare’s performance.

“In the beginning she was a bit too eager and started cantering out of the halt at X. It was pretty hard to recover from that mistake in the beginning, but I think she did some of her best passage work ever; also one piaffe was really nice. I was also pleased with her tempo in the trot half-passes. I had the feeling with this test we are on the right track,” said Blitz.

Blitz also rode Mortenson’s Otto to ninth place in the Intermediaire II test, qualifying them to compete in Otto’s first national-level Grand Prix ever, in which she also took ninth, with 61.68 percent. “I am super pleased with him, but he still needs a lot more experience to show all his qualities. I will compete him now in several national shows in Denmark and maybe also in Germany to get him more experienced,” she said.

Haddad earned 10th in the Intermediaire II with Cadillac and placed seventh (63.29%) with the brown gelding in the Grand Prix.

Birgit Popp