Aachen Denies Carina Cassoe Kruth's Entry for CDI 4* Tour

Dressage

Denmark

The organising committee of the CDIO Aachen has denied Carina Cassoe Kruth's entry for the 4* tour.

On the List - Off the List

Kruth's entry was posted on the DRF website on Monday but by Tuesday it was removed. Denmark selected two riders for the 4* tour: Kruth and Rikke Dupont.

Anne-Mette Binder, Danish team captain, told Eurodressage "it was a misunderstanding." Binder then further stated that, "based on Carina Cassøe Krüth and Danciera's performance and the silver medal at the Danish Championships in Randbøl and a constructive follow-up conversation, they lived up to the expectations for an entry in CDI4* in Aachen. In recent years, Denmark has been lucky to secure two places in the CDI4* in Aachen. But that won't be the case this year."

Carina told Eurodressage, "it was a rejection from the Aachen organizers."

Kruth has been experiencing a bumpy road since the summer of 2024 when she lost her Olympic spot after the airing of a whipping video. Two suspensions by the DRF followed, one she appealed successfully. She has returned to competition in the spring of 2025 and claimed silver at the Nationals three weeks ago with her 2021 Olympic horse Heiline's Danciera.

Aachen Explains

Eurodressage contacted the organizing committee of the CHIO Aachen, which confirmed to Eurodressage that the OC only designated one spot for Denmark in the 4* tour and chose Dupont for it.

Dupont and Grand Galiano at the 2025 CDI Tolbert

"Carina Cassoe Krüth was not removed from the entry list, she did not receive an invitation from the OC," an Aachen spokesperson told Eurodressage.

"Our decision is driven by two main factors: First, our decision is based on our values and understanding of welfare of the horse, which we feel were not always respected by the rider in the past. Secondly, of course the sport and especially current results of the rider/horse combination in question. While there are no international results in 2025 for Carina Cassoe Krüth, the second Danish rider, Rikke Dupont, did well at recent shows."

Aachen Selection Process

Aachen further explained that, "the selection process follows a clear system and always aims to have the best sport. Priority is given to top individual riders not represented by a team in the CDIO5*. Then we have team riders with their second horse plus additional home riders. If on top capacity allows, we look into requests from NFs having already a team but want to bring additional individual riders."

Concerning the 4* tour the demand exceeds the slots available so Aachen decides who gets to go.

"The number of those requests was higher than the number of entries that we could accept," Aachen stated. "Therefore we had to reject various requests, which was also the case for Carina Cassoe Krüth. The Danish NF put forward two requests for the CDI4* tour and we accepted one entry for Rikke Dupont."

Kruth further added, “I’ve served my penalty and have since been deemed eligible by the Danish Equestrian Federation to once again compete internationally. When an athlete is selected by their national federation, I believe that decision should be respected by show organizers – rather than using individual cases to send a message that ultimately ends up hurting us as riders. In my view, that is not fair.”