Denmark's Next Top (Mare) Model! Danish Warmblood Elite Mare Show
| September 15, 2011 | Posted by Eiren Crawford under Dressage - Competition News |
Denmark's Next Top (Mare) Model!
All photos by Eiren. – This past weekend, was the Elite Mare Show in Vilhelmsborg, Denmark. I went Sunday specifically to watch the finals of the Youngster Cup, where the best Danish branded six and seven year-olds compete in dressage and jumping.
The jumping was too early for me to drag myself out of bed, but we went to see a little of the mare presentation before the dressage classes.
Watching horses presented and judged in hand can be interesting and very educational; however, when you don’t understand the language, it can get boring.
One after another, beautiful and talented young mares were presented, followed by a “walking ring” and then a lot of babbling about the scoring, which I couldn’t understand more than an occasional word. Bummer.
However, the top “gold medal” mares were undeniably gorgeous, no matter what language you speak. The top jumping mares trotted in hand like you’d expect a top dressage horses should, and the winning dressage mare was simply stunning.
Prima Donna (Don Romantic x Andiamo) convincing the judges to give her top honors.
On to the Youngster Cup!
Saturday was the qualifying class, where the top six horses in each age group went on to Sunday’s finals. The finals saw the six year olds competed in the FEI Six Year Old Championship test, and the seven year olds did the Prix St George; this was some serious competition!
Unfortunately for the six year olds, the class started almost one hour late and most of these youngsters were in the warm up ring for a very long time. While the riders were very considerate of their horses, doing A LOT of walking, it is still a long time to wait.
The first horse in, Marshall Lightfoot (Michellino x Aktuell), was a very elegant picture but sometimes strong in the contact, and he lost rhythm in the walk. We saw him be a bit stinky in the warm up, but it was all business and good riding in the big ring. Final score of 8.12
C'est La Vie used up all his sparkle in the warm up but still put in a nice effort.
C’est La Vie (Londonderry x Blue Hors Romancier) was probably in the warmup the longest, and his nerves showed in his walk. His trot was soft & harmonious, but without any excitement or energy. His rider did a very nice job with what he had, scoring 7.36
Hønnerups Ecstacy (Romanov x Kalahari) was a lovely, leggy mare ridden with good energy and confidence. Super in all three gaits, only her third flying change was something of a disaster when she got distracted and forgot all about her hindlegs. However, the judges didn’t seem to care and gave her a very good score of 8.8
Honnerups Ecstacy delighted the judges.
The fourth horse to go, Toftegårdens Colorado (Solos Landtinus x Comback II), is a very handy looking bay with a lot of bounce and swing. However, a tight walk and messy canter tour knocked them down to a 7.8.
The fun really got started when Aston Martin (Mondeverdi x Sixtus) came in the ring. This gorgeous black stallion finished 5th in the small final in the World Championships for Young Horses this year. Under rider John Hvalsøe Saul, he finished with a 9.0, rewarded for his lovely, uphill trot, super frame and self-carriage, great bouncing canter and general impression. Wow!
Aston Martin (one of the few easy names to pronounce!), on his way to a 9.0
Who could beat that? Andreas Helgstrand and Tørveslettens Stamina, that’s who. They placed 10th in Verden this year, and showed us all how it was done in the last ride of the six year old class. The trot had perfect rhythm, never changing between collected to extended and with the speakers pumping out J Lo’s “On The Floor,” it really looked like they were dancing and the judges scored it a 10! Stamina’s ears were up, she was happy and swinging with a relaxed walk and jumping canter. Andreas is a masterful rider and piloted the mare to win with a 9.62.
Stamina gets a 10 for that!
The seven year olds in the Prix St George were an impressive group, and it was easy to forget how young they were.
The first rider, Nana Christine Christiansen and her mare Nyholts Nicoline (De Noir x Woernitz) had a unscripted flying change in the beginning but overall a nice test. The mare still looks weak in the topline (right, she’s seven years old!) and her lack of strength showed in a flat cater and not much sitting in the pirouettes. Still, it was a nice pair and they scored 64.21%
Maria Falkner Hansen’s mare Atterupgaards Dido (Royal Hit x Donnerhall) had a much more mature look in the body with great, round muscling. After some disobedience in the first halt she had lovely trot work with great swing & rhythm. The collected and extended walks were tense, but then she had a nice canter tour. Her score was 64.91%
Next in the ring was the beautiful stallion Hofftanz (His Highness x Rotspon) ridden by Michael Søgaard. We had watched him school outside earlier in the day and enjoyed the harmony between the two. Their test was nice, but not quite as exciting as I think it could be once the stallion is older and more confident. The score of 66.67% was good for 4th place.
Michael and the beautiful Hoftanz.
When Maria Anita Andersen rode in on the big mare Karina Lihmskov (Blue Hors Don Romantic x Temple Wind XX), my mouth just dropped open and stayed there. First of all, this girl can RIDE! She looks so elegant and easy in the saddle, I had major envy. Once you recover from rider envy, you can’t help but be dazzled by the mare. She is big and powerful, with a super hindleg, but light on her feet and handy. She was sitting at a 77+% after the trot work, and finished with a 73.60%. I believe this pair from Blue Hors is one to watch for the future.
Of course everyone was waiting for the final two rides. Next up was the 2009 World Champion Five Year Old, Hønnerups Driver (Blue Hors Romanov x Don Schufro) and his owner Anna Kasprzak. This horse is ridiculously fancy. He is elegant, light on his feet and hasn’t lost any of that talent he showed in Verden, and Anna rode him beautifully. Here is the video of their ride, scoring 77.02% for second place.
Once again, the only rider who could top that is Andreas. He brought in the 2009 Reserve FIve Year Old Champion and 2010 Six Year Old World Champion, the beautiful mare UNO Donna Unique (Blue Hors Don Schufro x Falkland). This black beauty is everything you could wish for in a dressage horse. Even going off-course in the walk, they scored a ginormous 79.21% for the win. Not bad for a seven year old!
It was a rare sunny day and it’s always fun to discover a beautiful new place. The equestrian center is huge with three indoor rings, more outdoors, a cross-country course and gallop-track, even a restaurant, all set on beautiful parkland. As we were leaving we saw lots of “normal” riders enjoying the facilities, people biking along the roads and trails, and some even enjoying a BBQ near the pond. Very civilized!
My navigation system took us the back way to the horse center, and this was our first glimpse of the property's beauty.
The outdoor arena surrounded by stables.
Michael Sogaard schooling 7 year old Hoftanz.
Local riders enjoying a hack around the huge, park-like property on a sunny afternoon.
A gold medal mare informs her entourage she has had quite enough posing and good behavior for one day!
The warm up arena and competition hall behind it.
Though dressed like a Dressage Queen, this girl practices her jumping skills while mom shops.
Proud owners of a new gold medal mare walk back to the stables with their loot!
Anything goes - it might be hard to see, but this guy had a very short, funky ponytail at the top of his head that bounced like crazy when he ran the horses. Everyone was giggling!
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