Canada completed the two-day Grand Prix test with a team total of 210.559, just 0.062 points behind the United States, which finished eighth on 210.621. Germany delighted the home crowd by winning the world team title with 235.063, ahead of Great Britain on 231.445 and defending world champions Denmark on 229.426.
Fraser-Beaulieu leads Canadian scores
Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu delivered Canada’s strongest performance of the Grand Prix, scoring 71.926% aboard Jaccardo.
“Oh, I’m thrilled,” said Fraser-Beaulieu. “It’s his first year of Grand Prix. He’s never experienced the Games before, and especially not an atmosphere and the feeling like it is going into Aachen.”
She admitted she wasn’t sure how Jaccardo would respond when he entered the enormous stadium.
“He trotted down around that ring, and he was like, ‘Here I am,’ and I thought, ‘Wow,’ because you know when you take a new horse to a Games, you’re just not sure of how they’re going to deal with the atmosphere.”
Her concerns quickly disappeared. “He went in there and he owned it,” she said.
A small mistake in the changes during the zigzag proved costly, but Fraser-Beaulieu was delighted with the overall performance. She believes there is considerably more to come as the partnership develops.
“He’s so gummy and soft, and the movements are very easy for him,” she said. “It’s just gaining the control within the movement that I still have to work on a little bit, but that takes time and practice.”
Her 22nd-place finish overall ensures Fraser-Beaulieu a spot in Friday’s Grand Prix Special.
On day 1, Camille Carier Bergeron provided Canada’s second counting score with 70.559%, while Denielle Gallagher-Legriffon’s 68.074% completed Canada’s team total.
Chris von Martels and Londoncrown. (Cealy Tetley photo)
Londoncrown a Horse for the Future
Chris von Martels and Londoncrown scored 66.320%, which became Canada’s drop score.
“Of course, I have mixed feelings because it wasn’t the result that I was hoping for,” said von Martels. “But I’m still very, very proud of Londoncrown.”
The mare is in her first real season of international Grand Prix competition, and von Martels explained how one error during the test contributed to another.
“Normally the zigzag is quite a reliable exercise for us, but I had one little error in that,” he said. “I felt that I lost her a little bit on my seat after that small little mistake.”
He wasn’t able to completely regain the straightness he wanted before approaching the one-tempi changes, where they made another mistake.
“One kind of cascades into the next,” he said. “Those are two expensive mistakes, as they’re both coefficient marks.”
Despite the disappointing score, von Martels sees Londoncrown as very much a horse for the future. She originally came into his stable several years ago to be sold, but he was sufficiently impressed to approach her owner, Daniel Gauthier, about developing her for the long term.
“I also really wanted to take my time with her because she is a very special horse talent-wise and personality-wise,” he said. “I think her best years are the next ones coming.”
Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) and Mount St John Freestyle topped the individual Grand Prix leaderboard with an impressive 82.376%. (Cealy Tetley photo)
Laudrup-Dufour in the Lead
At the top of the individual Grand Prix standings, Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle delivered the performance of the championship so far, scoring 82.376%. Belgium’s Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus were second with 80.885%, while Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale also broke the 80% barrier to finish third.
“This is a humongous arena to ride into and I’m over the moon,” said Laudrup-Dufour. “She was really on her toes today. And it’s also the biggest arena I’ve ridden in with her – it is the biggest arena we are ever going to enter. I think she smashed many of the things we’ve been working on.”
Laudrup-Dufour said she had been able to produce the test she wanted without the costly errors that can quickly change a championship result.
“I put in the best performance I could today without any major mistakes. Of course, you could still improve some things here and there, but quite a few judges were with me on 83 or something. I’m very pleased.”
Germany delivers under pressure
For Germany, victory in front of a home crowd continued the country’s extraordinary championship record.
Gold medalists Team Germany (l-r) Isabell Werth, Frederic Wandres, Raphael Netz, Katharine Hemmer, chef d’equipe Klaus Roeser. (FEI/Leanjo de Koster)
Isabell Werth, Frederic Wandres, and Katharina Hemmer combined for the winning total (Raphael Netz was the drop score) with the pressure of performing at home featuring prominently in the team’s post-medal comments.
Wandres acknowledged that even extensive championship experience doesn’t eliminate the nerves.
“If it comes to a team competition and then, of course, a World Championship, that’s always something special,” he said. “There is pressure in the game and in the team. Of course, everyone wants to deliver a good score for the team.”
He said the strength of the German team extended beyond the competition arena.
“We are a strong team, and we came already very strong together in the training camp,” Wandres said. “Sharing experiences is always a plus point.”
German national coach Monica Theodorescu admitted she “slept very well” after the first day, knowing the first two riders established a good lead. Her confidence was rewarded as all four German combinations delivered under pressure.
Great Britain continued its remarkable run of major championship team medals with silver.
Carl Hester, whose international career now spans more than three decades, said experience doesn’t necessarily make team championships any easier.
“Still 36 years later on the team brings pressures, brings fun, brings sleepless nights,” he said.
Hester said Britain’s sustained success has depended upon developing depth rather than relying on individual stars.
“It’s never any good just being a good individual,” he said. “To make your country proud, you need a team, not just one person and one-off.”
Denmark, the defending world champions, took bronze for only the country’s second World Championship team medal. Laudrup-Dufour praised 17-year-old Freestyle, who has now contested three World Championships.
“I’m really proud of her, and I’m really proud of my teammates, and I think we’ve all shown amazing sport,” she said.
Olympic qualification will have to wait
For Canada, ninth place means the road to Los Angeles continues.
The World Championships offered the first major opportunity to qualify a dressage team for LA28, with six Olympic team quota places available in Aachen. Canada did not finish high enough among the eligible nations to claim one.
The exceptionally small margin between Canada and the United States provided an illustration of just how close championship team competition can be. After eight Canadian and American combinations had ridden over two days, only 0.062 points separated the two countries.
Attention now turns to the individual medals. The top 30 combinations from the Grand Prix advance to Friday’s Grand Prix Special, where the first individual World Championship medals will be decided. The top 18 combinations from the Special will then advance to Saturday’s Grand Prix Freestyle and the championship’s final dressage medals.
Team Final results here.
Individual Grand Prix results here.
Individual podium of Justin Verboomen (BEL)- silver, Cathrine Laudrup Dufour (DEN) – gold, and Charlotte Fry (GBR) – bronze. (FEI/Leanjo de Koster)
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