Spanish Morgan Barbançon and the 15-year old Dutch warmblood stallion Painted Black (by Gribaldi x Ferro) won the Grand Prix for Kur on Friday afternoon at the 2012 CDIO Saumur in France. The smaller class with only 11 competitors was an easy victory for the Spanish rising star who is fully aiming for her first Olympic Games in London.
Trained by Anky van Grunsven in Erp, The Netherlands, Barbançon took over Painted Black two years ago and has surprised friend and foe with her smooth and successful transition and leap from junior riders to the senior Grand Prix ranks on the black stallion. In Saumur, Morgan presented Painted Black with much energy and elasticity. The trot extensions were outstanding, the rein back was accurate, the passage very regular and bouncy, the piaffe in rhythm but a bit too forward. The walk was well ridden; good relaxation in the extended and nice rhythm in the collected. In the half passes the horse regularly opened his mouth and in the tempi changes he has a sour expression. Unfortunately the Spanish does lean too much back in the saddle to have an attractive seat but Barbancon rode faultfree with much concentration. She finished her test with a very clean and mooth final centerline and the panel of five judges were unanimous about her number one spot with a personal best score of 75.340%. (See Barbancon's ride)
There were major discrepancies in the scores of second placed Edward Gal who made his CDI debut aboard his brand new Grand Prix horse Undercover (by Ferro x Donnerhall). His scores ranged from 71.596% (Holler) and 77.021% (Kruger) to average a total of 73.681%. The black gelding is a very elegant mover and Gal presented the horse with much control and focus throughout the test. Undercover was very obedient but appeared slightly restricted with his tight neck lacking opening in the throat latch. The horse missed overtrack in the trot extensions, despite moving nicely out of the shoulder. The half passes were nice, but needed more bending. The halt for rein back was not square and the horse was not through the back. The passage has potential, but sometimes was uneven with more activity from the left hind leg. Overall the transitions to and from piaffe were very nice and the piaffe itself is rhythmical but too downhill as the horse is unbalanced and becomes wide in front. The extended walk was lovely with three hooves overtrack, but in the collected he started to pace. The two tempi's were nice and straight but tight in the neck, the ones were clean but could improve on ground cover. The pirouettes still need work as they were more small voltes with the horse not really sitting ont he hind legs and lifting the shoulder. The final centerline had good activity and rhythm. Undercover has only been with Gal for two months and has potential, but still needs more work over the next few months to become a serious Dutch Olympic contender. (See Gal's ride)
German based Swedish Michelle Hagman finished third with the charming chestnut Trakehner Rudi's Memory (by Gribaldi). The 12-year old is extremely lightfooted and elegant in his gaits. The trot extensions were very conservative, the half pass to the left too passagey at the start and could have had more bending in the body, but there was much lightness. The passage was refined looking with a rhythmical transition to piaffe but the chesnut needs to take more weight on the hindquarter and drop the haunches in the piaffe. The extended walk was very limited in overtrack. The second piaffe was too forward. The tempi changes were clean but lacked expression and power. The pirouettes were well ridden. Hagman had a problem with the transition from canter to trot and almost walked. The entire test was correct but needed much more go and power for the score to climb above 70.362%. (See Hagman's ride)
Hans Peter Minderhoud made his show debut aboard Silvia Rizzo's Danish warmblood mare Donna Silver (by Don Schufro x Willemoes). The combination came together in January 2012 and made its first show appearance four months later. The pair started with dynamic and active trot work in which the regularity in the half passes could improve. The rein back was slightly blocked in the back but the trot extensions were powerful and ground covering. The passage has much suspension and expression but the transitions to piaffe are weak and the piaffe is still very small, lacking impulsion. The extended walk was outstanding. The two tempi's were large and straight, but there was a big mistake at the start of the ones. The pirouettes were good. Minderhoud scored 69,979% with marks ranging between 68.723% and 73.298%. (See Minderhoud's ride)
Text by Astrid Appels
Photos © Top Iberian - Cava Equestre
Related Links
Scores 2012 CDIO Saumur
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