Valentina Truppa reclaimed the gold medal after ther 2006 European Young Riders' Champion's title (back in the days when European Championships were still read Championships when the scores of all three tests counted to determine the overall Champion).
Dutch young rider Lotje Schoots recovered well after a lesser individual test (her horse Reine B (by Rubinstein) spooked from a falling billboard) and won Kur silver.
The European Championships in Nussloch attracted a big audience as the show was a specialty for the small town of Nussloch. Local school kids visited the show grounds on the day of the individual test and many uninterested kids crowded round the ring making noise and distracting the horses. Not the best management of the Nussloch organizers who couldn't keep the noise and commotion down during the rides.
Jan Nivelle is the new coach of the Spanish Junior and YR teams, and Carmen Naesgaard-Rodriguez is one of his most primising talents. Together with her spectacular Ciowa, she flew into the hearts of the crowds -- and made it into the YR finals. She's only worked with Nivelle for a couple of shows -- let them continue for a while, and the future should be theirs.
Carmen Naesgaard-Rodriguez and her spectacular "Grande Opera" freestyle were one of those examples for strange judging. Yes, she has less routine than Valentina Truppa, but her choreography has more chutzpah, and her horse was better on the aids. The fact that there was a seven-percent-gap between them is hard to believe. Still, she left the arena applauding the audience and trainer Jan Nivelle was very happy with her fifth place.
Francisco Boaventura Freire with his Lusitano stallion Peralta Pinha is another example of style and horsemanship going unrewarded, but the crowds loved him. He scored 69,75% in the freestyle finals and 65 resp. 67% in the two other tests, maybe because his horse is a Lusitano with the typical "knee" action. It certainly can't have been because of the harmonious style he shows in the saddle. Also, the way he treated his horse outside the ring was fun to watch, whether he shared his water bottle with him or just refused to hand him over to a groom after his rides and took care of him himself.
All photos copyrighted Barbara Schnell
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