It was a day of Danish dominance at the 2015 European Pony Championships in sunny Malmo, Sweden, on Wednesday 5 August 2015. The first day of competition at the Pony Euros kicked off with the first group of riders contesting the Team Championship test and Danish Louise Christensen took Team Denmark into the lead in the nations' competition.
The 2015 European Pony Championships began on Tuesday with the mandatory horse inspection and that turned out to be a Swedish thriller - Stieg Larsson style. No less than six ponies were referred to the holding box, including Germany's FS Charly Brown and Cyrill WE, but in the end all ponies passed and were allowed to compete. Some blamed the loose footing for the trot-up as cause of the high number of held ponies, others said that the judges and FEI vet were finally critical enough to give tender ponies an opportunity to be properly inspected (and managed to fitness) before the show.
With thirty-two riders lined up for group one on Wednesday, the bar was set high from the start. The third starter of the day -- Danish Sara Aagaard Hyrm on her experienced 13-year old palomino Der Harlekin B -- was the immediate surprize scorer when she put a whopping 72.846% on the board. Young Sara took over the ride on the stallion from elder sister Sandra in 2015 and has immediately claimed a spot on the team. In Malmo, Aagaard Hyrm steered the pony with routine through the ring, but the trot extensions showed clear loss of balance and were on the forehand despite the energy produced. The pony could also be lighter in the contact in general, but Aagaard Hyrm was accurate in her riding.
The judges panel - which consisted of Kurt Christensen (DEN), Heike Ebert (GER), Mariette Sanders (NED), Isobel Wessels (GBR), and Bo Jena (SWE) - were not in agreement about the performance. Swedish judge Jena was the low score with 69.615% (6th place), whereas German judge Ebert had the pair at 75.000 (1st). The duo finished third provisionally.
Danish team mate Louise Christensen produced the superior ride of the day on the 12-year old gorgeous pony Vegelin's Goya. This chestnut eye-catcher is up in the frame and bridle throughout the test and soft in the contact. The first trot extension and both half passes were a highlight. The collected walk in between the walk pirouettes was tense and the walk part after the diagonal was lateral. The end halt was not square but the entire canter tour was extremely well ridden. Christensen scored a well-earned 73.487% which ranked them first provisionally and brought Team Denmark into the lead.
The German pony team, which traditionally is the favourite for team gold, faced unexpectedly strong opposition from Denmark and had to pull out all the stops to keep up. Linda Erbe was the last starter of the day and finished second with 73.000%, though the judges had her from 70.513% (Dutch judge Sanders) to 75.641% (Danish judge Christensen). Erbe and her 9-year old palomino gelding Dujardin B were very solid and secure in the execution of the movements. The palomino is not the flashiest mover here in Malmo, especially the trot was a bit lacklustre, but the extensions were outstanding. Also in the trot half pass right, the pony could have been more up in the bridle. The walk part before the canter strike off lacked collection and was too free and forward. The canter work, however, was wonderful with each stride collected on the hind quarters and moving with an uphill tendency. The counter canter was very well balanced. The walk in the simple changes was quite short, though.
Linda's sister Helen slotted in fourth with 72.513% but she also posed a crux to the judges with British judge Wessels having her on 74.487% and Swedish judge Jena on 68.333%. Helen's 7-year old pony Charly Brown is a spectacular mover in trot with impressive scope in the trot extensions. In the half pass to the right the hindquarters came a bit too parallel with the forequarters. The walk pirouette right was slightly big and there was some tension in the collected walk. The canter work was beautifully collected, but in the simple changes the pony needed to develop more stride. Helen Erbe showed very clear differentiation between the collected and extended gaits.
Britain's Clare Hole and Isobel Berrington ranked fifth and sixth provisionally and put Great Britain in a potential bronze spot. Hole and the Scruton family's 14-year old Rembrandt were faultfree but overall the black stallion needed to be much more closed in the frame. The pony was not really pushing from behind, over the back and into the contact but was too loose and unstead in the topline. Still he obediently responded to the aids of his rider. The walk in the simple changes could have been more ground covering. The pair scored 71.667%.
Isobel Berrington and the 19-year old evergreen Langar produced a concentrated test in which Berrington stayed calm and collected and steered the SL Lucci look-a-like smoothly through the test. There was a mistake in the rhythm in the trot extension and the collected walk was tense. Overall the pony should be lighter in the bridle with better self-sustainining self carriage. They earned 70.667%.
Two Dutch riders followed in the ranking. They still scored around 70% despite a few bigger issues in their test. Zoe Kuintjes and Elin's Noncisdador had to deal with a big break into canter in the extended trot and another mini-spook at E. Her appealing grey gelding could have shown better balance in the counter canter but the second trot extension and the half passes were attractive. The pair scored 70.026%.
Rianne Kooistra and the black Diamonds Are Forever earned 69.667% despite three mediocre halts and a big bobble in the left extended canter. The left counter canter needed more balance, the right one was hurried. The beautiful black gelding showed good simple changes, though, and the extended walk on the second half of the diagonal was ground covering.
The second group of riders in the team test compete on Thursday morning 6 august 2015
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED
Eurodressage's Astrid Appels was on the scene and took photos of all dressage riders . If you are interested in ordering prints, collages, photo albums or digital images, send us an email with your name at info@eurodressage.com
Related Links
Scores 2015 European Pony Championships
Eurodressage coverage of the 2015 European Pony Championships