TOP-class Dressage made its debut at the CHI Classics in Basel, Switzerland last weekend where, with all the flair, composure and grace that is their trademark, Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and the elegant mare TSF Dalera BB danced to victory in the seventh leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2022/2023 Western European League.

The 2022 series winners already showed they have lost none of their edge when winning the second leg of the new season at Lyon in France last October where they posted a score of 90.140. And the pair, who are also Olympic and European champions, put 90.795 on the board to leave the result beyond doubt.

Von Bredow-Werndl’s compatriot and five-time FEI Dressage World Cup™ title-holder Isabell Werth finished second with the stallion DSP Quantaz while Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald lined up in third with her new ride Blue Hors Zepter.

And there was great emotion for the Werndl family when Jessica’s brother, Benjamin, announced the retirement of his great ride Daily Mirror after they finished fourth. The 19-year-old gelding was in sparkling form and seemed to be relishing every moment as he racked up a score of 83.995 to leave him ahead of The Netherlands’ Dinja van Liere in fifth and Sweden’s Patrik Kittel in sixth place.

Charming

One of the highlights of the first half of the competition was the charming performance of French athlete Corentin Pottier (29) and her little Totilas gelding Gotilas du Feuillard (12) who, in their first-ever World Cup Freestyle, produced fabulous two-tempi changes on their way to taking the early lead with a mark of 76.775.

However, it was Kittel who held the advantage as the second group took their turn after scoring 81.220 for a great test with the 11-year-old mare Forever Young HRH who showed some lovely passage and canter in perfect harmony with the Swedish showman’s punchy musical score.

Third to go after the action resumed, Werth then seriously raised the bar as her 13-year-old stallion DSP Quantaz showed great elevation, suspension and power in a test filled with class, and the Swiss crowd showed their appreciation when this pair put the new leading score of 85.650 on the board. But, third-last into the arena, von Bredow-Werndl soared way out in front with the first and only over-90% score of the competition.

“I think this might have been our best Freestyle ever! The very first half-pass wasn’t perfect but after that she was 100% with me,” said Jessica von Bredow-Werndl.

Excitement

The excitement wasn’t over yet however because, on their World Cup debut together, Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Blue Hors Zepter gave a great account of themselves. The imposing 15-year-old chesnut, a gelding son of Blue Hors Zack who carried Skodborg Merrald to that historic team gold at last summer’s ECCO FEI World Championship on home ground in Herning, was previously ridden by both Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Sweden’s Patrik Kittel and makes a very nice match with his new partner, showing some lovely work on his way to posting 84.130 for third place.

“He’s new to me and I’m very happy about our first Freestyle together,” Skodborg Merrald said afterwards.

Second-placed Werth was also quite content. “Today was a great class and I am very happy. He improved so much in the past year,” he most medalled rider in equestrian sport said of DSP Qantaz who now looks so very established and confident in the ring.

Winning rider von Bredow-Werndl talked about the recipe for her success with Dalera. It’s about concentration and not getting in the mare’s way.

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and her mare will be back to defend their title when the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2022/2023 Final takes place in Omaha, USA next April.

Meanwhile, next stop in the Western European League is Amsterdam in The Netherlands in two weeks’ time.