Dutch Dana van Lierop and Lavinia Arl's German Riding pony mare Day of Diva certainly had their day in the Kur to Music Finals at the 2011 European Pony Championships in Jaszkowo, Poland, on Sunday morning 31 July 2011. The wonderful duo scored a phenomenal 80.750 to take the Kur gold medal. German Lena Charlotte Walterscheidt collected her second silver medal, while Jessica Krieg finally settled herself back on the podium for bronze.
Fifteen-year old Van Lierop, who is trained by her mom Nicolette (van Lierop) Van Leeuwen, made a smart move to choose for ponies instead of taking up a spot on the Dutch junior riders' team this year. With the Belgian owned palomino mare Day of Diva (by Don't Worry out of Chontell), Van Lierop rode to music arranged by Charles Monterie. Her test was expressive and accurate which earned her the highest marks. The judging panel, consisting of Loriston-Clarke (GBR), Wust (GER), Markowski (POL), Mouw (NED) and Baarup (DEN), gave her a total score of 80.750%, a European Pony Championship kur record. Four judges had Van Lierop first, one judged placed her third.
"Diva felt super. One word: 'wow'," an ecstatic Van Lierop told Eurodressage. "Diva came into the ring and when the music started I just had a feeling of 'yes'. She was with me the entire time. I even got 83% from one judge. I'm very happy, I can hardly believe it. I had to cry for five minutes when I heard I had scored 80.7%. I was that happy!"
The spontaneous and sympathic Dana was not 100% confident when she went into the ring. "I had never ridden this freestyle before and right before I went into the ring, I was just hoping that I wouldn't forget how to ride and that I would recognize the notes of the music well enough. Then I told myself, 'don't whine, you won bronze yesterday and you don't need more.' But then I got gold!"
The 8-year old Day of Diva (by Don't Worry x Capri Moon) was already a successful pony as of young age. Under Katja Camp she competed at the 2006 Bundeschampionate in the 3-year old riding pony division. In 2007 the mare sold at the CHIO Sales to Carol Cohen from Wellington, FL, for top money. Carol's daughter Rebecca rode Day of Diva, but when she moved to junior rider's level, German born Jochem Arl from Lanaken, Belgium, bought the pony for his daughter Lavinia. As the Belgian rider was still too inexperienced for the mare, Van Lierop, who had successfully ridden Arl's Lord Champion in 2010 (now under Walterscheidt), got the ride on the palomino for the 2011 show season.
The tall Van Lierop is considering making a definite transition to junior level in the autumn. "I will be riding at the CHIO Rotterdam with my junior rider's horse DJ Tiesto because I'm second provisionally in CHIO Cup," Dana explained. "I'll probably make the transition to horses now." Day of Diva will return to her owner Lavinia on Tuesday, who is going to school her at the 2011 Belgian Championships to get to know her better.
Two More Kur Medals for the Germans
German 14-year old Lena Charlotte Walterscheidt and her own Baden Wurttemberger branded pony gelding Lord Champion (by Le Champion). The Mönchengladbach based rider rode a freestyle with much precision and earned 78.750% from the judges. Trained by Laura Stigler, Walterscheidt placed first with two judges, as well as second, fifth and seventh. (see video)
"With her team gold and two individual silver medals, Lena has performed very consistently," said German chef d'equipe and team trainer Cornelia Endres. "All her riders were tip top."
2010 Individual test gold medalist Jessica Krieg was quite disappointed this year with her fourth place in the individual. However, the Heinsberger based German made up for that in the freestyle and finished on the bronze medal step of the podium with a 78.550% earning ride. Aboard the 8-year old German riding pony stallion Danilo (by Dornik B), Krieg excelled with her concentrated ride. The contact with the bit was at all times light and soft. (see video)
"It were really nuances which decided upon the top places," said Endres. "The freestyle music is also a matter of personal taste."
Small mistakes are the decisive factors for a top ranking and individual test gold medalist Grete Linnemann experienced that first hand. With her beautiful German bred mare Cinderella M (by Constantin) she lost a kur medal when she made a mistake in the strike-off to canter. Linnemann finished fourth with 77.650%. The judges scored her from second to seventh place. (see video)
"All my girls were in top form and rode really well," Endres explained. "We got five medals and reconquered team gold with a big point advantage." Endres was less positive about the show organisation. The team test started a day late but the riders were not able to practise their freestyles. "The day before the kur the girls couldn't ride to their music because there was no sound system at the arena. There were no scores posted on the official EC website."
Text by Astrid Appels - Photos © Malgorzata Frysztak - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED
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