American Steffen Peters and Akiko Yamazaki's 9-year old Rhinelander mare Rosamunde aced the CDI 3* Grand Prix at the 2016 CDIO Rotterdam on Friday 24 June 2016. The 3* Grand Prix was judged by the same panel as the 5* class to create a level field of play at this Olympic selection trial for Dutch, American and Australian short listed riders.
Steffen Peters rode Legolas in the 5* tour and finished fifth with 76.040%. Aboard Rosamunde (by Rock Forever x Fidermark) he grabbed the trophy with a score of 75.920%. Judges Saleh, Lang, Baarup, Holler and De Wolff were not entirely unanimous but their scores did not vary that much. The low score was 74.600%, the high score 77.700%.
Peters' ride might have appeared a challenging one as a helicopter was annoyingly and loudly hovering in the air non-stop for 15 minutes taking camera footage of the show grounds. Rosamunde was undisturbed by the noise and the bay mare showed good trot extensions and big sweeping half passes with good suppleness. The passage was bouncy, but the hindlegs could engage more under the body. The first piaffe travelled a bit forward, the second was more on the spot even though the rider sat crooked in the saddle. The extended walk had much overstep but could have been a bit more active. The canter tour was strong with a well ridden zig zag, nice flying changes even though in the ones the horse swung in the hindquarters. The final centreline was neat.
Dutch Emmelie Scholtens scored a personal best mark on her temperamental Dutch licensed stallion Apache (by UB 40). The 11-year old bay stallion is known to get easily distracted and a month ago had to be withdrawn from competing at the CDIO Compiegne because he would not settle in his stall there. This makes it interesting to consider whether would cope with the Rio environment and stabling?! In the Rotterdam 3* Grand Prix Apache had his game on though and was fully focused on his rider. The compact stallion with much knee acion has incredibly ground covering trot extension but tends to run in them. The rein back was nicely diagonal, the passage very elegant, the piaffe in good rhythm. The extended walk had good overtrack but the nose could have been a bit more out. The stallion was not really chewing on the bit and appeared numb in the mouth but he stayed nicely up in the bridle and good in the frame. In the extended canter the horse could have opened more in the ribcage. The one tempi changes were correct but the horse swung in the body. The pirouettes were lovely. In the final piaffe at X the stallion got very narrow behind but kept a good rhythm. They scored 75.780%.
American Allison Brock secured her spot on the U.S. Olympic team by riding a test up to her standard. Fritz Kundrun's chunky dark bay Hanoverian stallion Rosevelt (by Rotspon) executed very smooth half passes. His rider waited for the horse to properly stand still before the rein back. Rosevelt can be slightly more even in stride length in the trot extensions but he achieved good overstep. The extended walk had good activity and lengthening. The passage was well engaged but sometimes the horse was slightly more active with the right hind. The second piaffe lost a bit of forward tendency. Rosevelt was strong in canter with straight two tempi changes. The ones could have been more ground covering. The pirouettes were small. They posted a score of 73.860%.
Swedish Therese Nilshagen and the 9-year old Oldenburg licensed stallion Dante Weltino OLD (by Danone x Welt Hit II), which is owned by Dressage Performance Centre Lodbergen, landed a respectable fourth place with 73.500%. This young duo is knocking at the door for Swedish Olympic team selection and put in a convincing round in the Rotterdam arena, which is located in the Kralingse forest. The muscled black stallion is extremely engaged and active in passage, and even gets a bit too exuberant. He stayed better up in the bridle than usual as he is gaining strength month after month, but in the two tempi's he swung in the hindquarters. The extended canter and trot were impressive. In piaffe he tends to grind his teeth even though the contact is very soft, supple and light. The final centreline was impressive.
Madeleine Witte-Vrees and the 9-year old Dutch warmblood stallion Cennin (by Vivaldi x Donnerhall) are also knocking at the door for Dutch Olympic team selection, but in the 3* Grand Prix they were bested by compatriot Scholtens on Apache.
Cennin showed fantastic trot extensions and big sweeping half passes. The passage was very bouncy with great suspension but it could have been more collected overall. The piaffes were nice but slightly forward and the horse loudly ground his teeth in them. The extended walk was good, the collected lacked collection and was on the edge of losing its 4-beat rhythm. The second piaffe was good but the horse can take more weight on the hindquarters. The second passage had a few uneven steps. Cennin is true talent for the future, even though he's very numb in the mouth, but he showed great promise in canter. He produced big one tempi changes, in the two's one change was short. The left pirouette was too big and in the right one he dropped into trot, which is where his score also dropped from 75% to 72%. They finished fifth on 72.240%.
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - No Reproduction allowed
Eurodressage's Astrid Appels is on the scene in Rotterdam taking photos of as many riders as she could. Contact us if you are interested in prints or digital files for your social media use.
Related Links
Scores 2016 CDIO Rotterdam
Minderhoud and Johnson Shine in 2016 CDIO Rotterdam Grand Prix
Final Show Down for Belgian, Australian, American, British Olympic Candidates at 2016 CDIO Rotterdam