THE star German partnership of Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and her fabulous mare TSF Dalera BB reigned supreme at the fifth leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup 2021/2022 Western European League on home soil at Neumünster last Sunday.

The pair who dominated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games last July before going on to sweep another three gold medals at the European Championships 2021 in Hagen two months later showed exactly why they stand top of the world rankings when posting the winning score of 90.61%.

The starting field was reduced to 13 following the withdrawal of two top German contenders, Helen Langehanenberg (Annabelle) and Benjamin Werndl (Famoso OLD), but the competition was keen from the outset and Danish riders really rose to the challenge when finishing second, third and fourth.

Sixth to go, Australia’s Kirsty Oatley left the arena in tears for all the right reasons after posting an emotional personal-best 79.84% with her chestnut gelding Du Soleil whose fancy footwork belied his 18 years, and this pair were out in front going into the second half of the competition.

Swedish showman Patrik Kittel took over the lead when first into the arena after the break when scoring 81.32% with his relatively new ride Blue Hors Zepter before Germany’s Isabell Werth - chasing her fourth consecutive series title this season - bettered that when DSP Quantaz put 82.64% on the board. However it was the final four who really shook things up.

Carina Cassøe Krüth produced an exciting Freestyle with Helline’s Danciera who broke in extended trot but who was clapped up the final centreline of one-handed passage by the enthusiastic spectators. Their score of 83.67% gave them a short-lived advantage because compatriot Cathrine Dufour was next into the ring with Vamos Amigos who really raised the bar with a mark of 86.72.

“He’s a very hot little man but very kind. He’s quite new to the game and I love him!” Dufour said afterwards.

The last of the Danes, Nanna Skodborg Merrald, then produced a personal-best with Atterupgaards Orthilia who posted 84.48 to slot in behind compatriot Dufour, but once von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera set off it always looked like a German win.

Plan

It didn’t all go quite to plan for the Olympic champions when the normally very lady-like mare got a little naughty in extended canter while there was a break in the one-tempi canter changes. Such was the quality of the rest of the work however that the result never seemed in any real doubt, the pair earning multiple scores of 10 including across the board from all judges for their transitions to, and from, passage.

Von Bredow-Werndl admitted afterwards that she thought her mare was about to explode when she rocketed off in the extended canter. “She knew she shouldn’t do it, but she was just feeling too good! She’s so full of power and energy, but she trusts me and she came back to me very quickly,” she said with a laugh.

For Von Bredow-Werndl, attention now turns to the last WEL qualifier ahead of the finals which will take place in Leipzig, Germany from April 6th to 10th. There is just one qualifier left, in three weeks’ time at ’s-Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands.

“You need to to compete in three qualifiers to go to the Final and I’ve only done two so I’ll definitely have to go to Den Bosch. We haven’t had a final for two years so we really want to get there this year,” the German winner commented.