Dressage

Frederic Wandres and Duke of Britain convincingly claimed the victory in the CDI4* Grand Prix, the HAVENS Horsefeed-Prize, ahead of the World Champion from the partner country of this year’s CHIO Aachen.

Frederic Wandres and his 16-year-old British Hanoverian-bred gelding, Duke of Britain, were the eighth pair to go in the HAVENS Horsefeed-Prize, the CDI4*-Grand Prix. There were 28 pairs in total in the class, and the field of participants was star-studded. Wandres and the Dimaggio son notched up 76.935 percent, which none of the following pairs managed to top.

As the last to go, the British World Champion, Charlotte Fry, still had the chance to spoil Wandres‘ triumph. Fry had saddled the Belgian Negro son, Lars van de Honderheide. However, after receiving a score of 75.196 percent, the pair had to make do with second place.

The Danish rider, the team World Champion, Daniel Bachmann Andersen, was delighted to come third. And especially because he competed with a horse he has only been riding for a few months: the gigantic 12-year-old Westphalian-bred, Vayron by Vitalis, who he took over from Helen Langehanenberg. The pair seem to make the perfect combination. Third place in their first performance at Aachen with a score of 75.131 percent speaks for itself.

It is the first time the double Olympic gold medallist Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is competing at the CHIO Aachen again with her top horse TSF Dalera BB since 2019. We spoke to the 37-year-old about her expectations, her rituals prior to important competitions and her very special connection to her horse.

Jessica, how much are you looking forward to competing in the Deutsche Bank Stadium again this year?

I am mega excited. I was pregnant last year when the CHIO Aachen was on. I was here in person to support my brother and I stood at the entrance rather feeling rather melancholy. So I am all the more happier to be competing myself again this year.

You have brought your top horse Dalera with you to Aachen again for the first time since 2019. Is she in good form?

She is very well. This morning she bucked (laughs). I think she is delighted to be back here too.

What makes Dalera so special for you?

I know every time when I ride into the arena she will give 100 percent and even more. That always leaves me rather emotional, because it is not something that can be taken for granted. On the one hand she is very intelligent and gentle and then on the other she is like a rockstar. This combination is so incredibly nice and something very special.

You two have more or less won everything there is to win over the past two years. The only thing that is missing is an entry on the legendary winners’ board in Aachen. Is taking the victory in the Deutsche Bank Prize your goal this week?

Of course I have stood in front of that board so often and dreamt of being able to read my name on it one day. I don’t know if I will succeed in achieving that this year, but I will certainly try my hardest. And as far as Dalera is concerned, I know she always gives it her best shot.

You have won so many titles in the meantime. Many people believe it is quite matter of course that you win. Do you think that yourself?

No. I know how important it is every time to concentrate on the here and now and get everything together in the decisive moment. If everything goes the way I planned in a test, ideally everything always looks very easy. That often gives the impression that this really is the case. But it is not of course. A lot of work goes into it every successful ride. And it is always possible that things don’t go according to plan.

Tomorrow the Lambertz Nations Cup is on the agenda. How do you rate the chances of the German team?

Our team is very strong. But I know that the other teams are very strong too. Especially the teams from Great Britain and Denmark shouldn’t be underestimated. At the end of the day, the form on the day will be decisive as to who is on the top step of the winners’ rostrum.

Do you carry out any rituals before competitions?

Yes, loads. It starts in the morning already, first of all I always do my fitness exercises. Then, I take Dalera for a walk, then we ride at a walk or I let her jog a bit. Two and a half hours before the class I plait her main and tail and from then on everything is timed perfectly. We have a lot of rituals that give both me and Dalera a sense of security.

Which competition are you looking forward to most this week?

To the freestyle. First of all I hope we qualify, of course. But if we do, I am particularly looking forward to Sunday. Our routine is relatively new. During my maternity leave I occupied myself intensively with it – and I love the result. The music and the choreography, they fit together perfectly. And when I dive into this freestyle with Dalera  and we are really in “flow”, it really is like we are dancing.

Charlotte Dujardin is back. And then some! For the first time since 2019, the three-time British Olympic gold medallist is competing at the CHIO Aachen again. Meanwhile as a mother and with a promising young horse in her luggage, as was shown today in the Prize of VUV-Vereinigte Unternehmerverbände Aachen, the Prix St. Georges.

Charlotte Dujardin brought the eight-year-old KWPN mare Times Kismet by Ampere to Aachen, in addition to her World Championship horse Imhotep. The two of them won the Prize of VUV-Vereinigte Unternehmerverbände Aachen with an outstanding score of 77.588 percent, almost four percent more than the judges awarded the rest of the field. That is a small margin in the dressage sport. Even though this is the mare’s first major tournament away from home.

Their history explains why this is not a problem: “I’ve had her since she just turned five. So, we have known each other for a long time and have been on the same path so far. That’s why our bond is very strong. She can be a bit of a moody mare at home. But she has a lot of trust in me, that she does everything for me. I take her by the hand and she says, ‘Okay, let’s do it’.”

But that is not the only reason why Charlotte Dujardin particularly enjoys riding Times Kismet. “She gives me a magical feeling. Riding a horse like that is a dream, that’s why we do it. I just sit on her back and basically don’t have to do anything.” And the quality is also on point: “She is very, very elastic, elegant, light-footed, a real ballerina. I really hope she stays healthy. I think she can be an Olympic horse.”

Today, Times Kismet already left some highly talented competitors behind her. Second place went to the pair that had won both tests of the small tour last year: Frederic Wandres on the Hanoverian gelding Quizmaster by Quasar de Charry. Today they scored 73.883 percent. Third place went to the pair that won the Nuremberg Burg Cup Final in December: the Swiss rider Andrina Suter, who rode the Westphalian Briatore by Belissimo M, an eight-year-old as well, with a score of 72.294 percent.

Ingrid Klimke and Franziskus FRH will not be competing at the CHIO Aachen 2023. Sönke Rothenberger and Fendi will take their place on the German team in the Lambertz Nations’ Cup.

What an emotional roller coast for Ingrid Klimke and Franziskus FRH. The pair won the bronze medal in the Freestyle at the German Championships in Balve. After being nominated for the Lambertz Nations’ Cup at the CHIO Aachen, Ingrid subsequently fell while riding at the German Eventing Championships. Then, after a successful operation on her shoulder, the 55-year-old announced last weekend that in spite of the accident she would be fit for Aachen. But unfortunately her horse has now sustained an injury that will prevent the pair from competing at the Soers.

Whereby the Fidertanz son had been in good form at the initial training session at the showgrounds. “He must have injured himself on the way to the stable and it was clearly visible,” stated Ingrid Klimke. Together with the team management, the riding master decided to withdraw the stallion from the classes at the CHIO Aachen 2023.

Sönke Rothenberger and Fendi will now take their place on the German team. After their celebrated appearances at the German Championships in Balve and claiming the silver medal in the Grand Prix Spéciale, the team Olympic gold medallist of 2016 was nominated as the first reserve with his just nine-year-old rising star.

The partner country of the CHIO Aachen 2023, Great Britain, not only stands out here at the Soers with its typical, British charm, its most successful dressage rider of all time will also be competing in the Deutsche Bank Stadium. For the first time since 2019, the three-time Olympic gold medallist, Charlotte Dujardin, will be participating at the Soers again this week. We spoke to the 37-year-old about her goals and found out how her young daughter, Isabella Rose, has changed her life.

Charlotte, you are back in Aachen for the first time again since 2019. How much are you looking forward to the next few days?

Immensely. It is always a huge honour and a privilege competing here in Aachen. The conditions are incredibly good, the atmosphere is really spectacular and the spectators who come here to support us athletes are simply unbelievable. I am so happy to be here again.

Great Britain is the partner country of the CHIO Aachen this year. How special is it to experience so much British flair on the grounds of the Aachen Soers?

It is fantastic. Experiencing Aachen in British look is simply wonderful. The Household Cavalry is here and we are all delighted that Princess Anne is also going to be present. Having all of that here in Aachen is something totally special and of course it makes my return after four years even nicer.

You have brought your World Championships horse, Imhotep, with you. What is he like?

Imhotep is still a very young horse. And even though he already took part in the World Championships last year, one mustn’t forget that he is only ten years old. He is my horse for the future. I have great hopes in him. He is making such great progress at the moment and is constantly gaining strength and expression. We recently achieved a score over the 80 percent mark for the first time, which shows how well he is developing.

What goals have you set yourself for the coming days?

I hope that we will be able to repeat our performances of the past weeks. But I don’t agree with putting oneself under pressure. I simply want to enjoy the time here. It is so important to have fun doing what one does. And I love what I do, that makes me very happy.

You already experienced what it feels like to win in Aachen when you won the Deutsche Bank Prize with Valegro in 2014. How motivated are you to have your name engraved on the legendary winners’ board again?

As an athlete one always wants to do as well as possible. And here in Aachen one especially dreams about achieving top placings. It is such a fantastic show. The best equestrian athletes compete here, from Europe and the entire world. Alongside championships it is always the highlight of the year for us riders. So everyone wants to head the field. Me too.

Your daughter Isabella Rose was born in March. How much has that changed your life?

Simply everything has changed. Now that I am a mother, my priorities have changed completely. My daughter is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me. I love spending time with her so much. And I feel so established and so blessed to have my only little family now.

Your daughter and also your partner Dean Golding are here in Aachen with you…

Yes, of course. It is so special for me to have them here with me. Before I used to drive to a show and didn’t let myself get distracted by anything. I was completely focused. Now, I want to try and keep everything together. I would like to be the best mother for my daughter and at the same time still the athlete, who keeps astride with the world elite. Whereby it is not just about me, but about us as a family. I want to make them proud.

You will be returning to Aachen again later this year. You are namely giving your first masterclass in Germany at the CHIO Aachen CAMPUS in September. That is something very special for us. For you as well?

Yes, of course. I have already given masterclasses in many places all over the world, but never in Germany. I love explaining what I do, how I do it and I think it is interesting for people to see, how young horses develop up to Grand Prix level.

You have brought so many horses into the Grand Prix sport. What do you place special importance on in the training?

For me it is important to establish a partnership with the horse. That is also the reason why I love schooling young horses, because that is the only way to establish a very special connection with one’s sports partner. Over the course of time they become your best friends and learn to trust you entirely. For me it is an exciting journey with each horse anew and that is also what makes my work so special.

The double Olympic gold medallist, as well as the double World Champion. On top of that a three-time Olympic gold medallist and – of course – the most successful rider of all time. In total, nine riders from the top ten in the world ranking list will be travelling to Aachen this year. That promises high-class dressage sport in the Deutsche Bank Stadium.