Hannah Pierucci and Molly Eastridge enjoy shopping at one of the many vendors at the show
Scott Hassler talked to us for quite a while about the Verden horse show, and gave us some interesting information about the history of the show. The World Breeder's Championship for Young Dressage Horses originally started in Holland in 1999, where it was run by the Dutch registry. Later, in 2005, the show was taken over by the Hanoverian society and was moved to Verden, Germany, where it is currently still held. Scott also explained how the qualifying procedures worked for the championship. The number of horses each country can send to the championship is based on the breeding population each year in a given country. That is why Germany is able to send more horses to the championship than the United States. Currently, the United States is able to send two five year old horses, and two six year old horses. In addition, only horses from specific warmblood registries are allowed to compete, such as horses of the Hanoverian, KWPN, and Oldenburg registries to name a few.
The first day we spent at the Verden horse show was almost overwhelming as there were several top quality horses, well known riders, and endless rows of vendors. There was also an extremely large crowd that gathered close around the rings, making the atmosphere electric and exciting. I had never experienced a horse show like this. We first watched the B final for 5 year old horses and watch one beautiful horse after another perform in the ring. The test was used to determine which three horses that didn't make the top twelve in the preliminary test the day before would still be able to compete in the championship class on Saturday. The top twelve from the preliminary test were automatically qualified for the A final (the championship class), while the rest of the horses had to ride the B final on Friday. The major theme I noticed the judges rewarded on Friday was a horse with correct throughness, which was rewarded in the submission part of the score. I really appreciated the judges paying such close attention to this part of the riding and rewarding the horses that maintained a correct contact throughout the ride.
We also watched the 6 year old preliminary test on Friday, and it was especially fun to watch the American horse and rider pair, Charlotte Jorst and Vitalis, perform a harmonious test that was good enough to qualify them for the A final (championship class) on Sunday. Friday afternoon we switched rings and watched the Prix St. George CDI class, where we again got to see several great horse and rider pairs. One famous name we saw ride in the Prix St. George class was Hubertus Schmidt. We finished the day by watching part of the stallion show that took place in the jumper arena in the evening. Overall, it was a fantastic first day at the Verden horse show!
US rider Charlotte Jorst and her 6 year old gelding Vitalis warming up for their preliminary test
Our second day at Verden consisted of watching the CDI Grand Prix class in the morning where we watched top riders like Anabel Bahlkenhol, Hubertus Schmidt, and Nadine Capellmann show. It is really fun for an aspiring young rider like myself to watch accomplished riders like the few I mentioned ride and show. I am inspired by their skill and tact in both the warm up and the show ring, so I found it very interesting to watch these riders. Another really fascinating part of the show was the amount of spectators that came to Verden. There was an incredibly large crowd of people that surrounded the ring, and the crowd was loud and cheery. It was very different than the quiet show atmosphere we have at most of the shows in the United States.
Anabel Balkenhol warming up with the help of her father, Klaus Balkenhol
Saturday afternoon was the 5 year old championship class, and the crowd was bigger than I ever could have imagined. The tent we sat in was so full you could hardly walk through it. It was so fun to see the public's interest in the sport. Although there were many spectacular horses in the class, it was quite clear by the end of the class why the last horse to go, Scara Boa ridden by Lena Stegemann, was the winner of the class. When the mare trotted into the ring, she instantly drew your attention not only because she was beautiful with extravagant gaits, but she was incredibly soft in the bridle and focused on her rider. I got goosebumps just watching the mare float through her test. I don't think I have ever seen a 5 year old perform a test that difficult with such ease. In my opinion, she truly deserved the 10 score she was given for submission.
The five year old Champion, Scara Boa, after finishing a fantastic test
The last day of the competition was on Sunday. We started out the morning watching the Grand Prix Special, where we again were able to watch many top riders compete. The one horse and rider pair that stood out was Nadine Capellmann and her mare Girasol, who ended up winning the class. The mare was a large chestnut with an incredible hind leg and a soft connection to the bit. In the afternoon, we finished up our visit in Verden by watching the 6 year old championship class. Again, there were many top performances, but the horse and rider pair that won was Sa Coeur and Eva Moller. Their performance was mistake free and the horse moved with great looseness through his body.
The crowd starting to gather around the CDI ring
No comments:
Post a Comment