The WDM Exquis Grand Prix Kür presented by Axel Johnson Group resulted in a showdown between the number 1 and number 3 in the FEI World Ranking and was witnessed by approximately 10.000 visitors in Mechelen. First to go was Belgium rider Philippe Jorissen. In front of his home crowd he scored 71,37%. His fellow countryman Jeroen Devroe and Apollo van het Vijverhof pushed the high score up to 75,15%.
Tension was high when Helen Langehanenberg made her appearance in the ring. It turned out this wasn't going to be her lucky day. Just after she had started her Kür the music suddenly stopped due to a technical problem. 'This was very unfortunate, sports director Peter Bollen stated afterwards in the press conference. We will absolutely make sure this will never happen again'. Helen obviously lost her concentration for a moment but instantly regained her confidence and picked up the Kür where she left off. After greeting the judge at C she got a standing ovation from the crowd and a super score of 85,87%.
Adelinde could not afford herself an easy ride. After the GP where she came in second she needed to prove that she and Jerich Parzival are the number 1 combination in the world.
'The judges had warned me that harmony is good to have but it shouldn't affect the power that Jerich Parzival can demonstrate. I gave them what they had asked for', Adelinde stated. 'This was one of my best tests ever but I would really love to hit the 90% once. It is a small difference but it is hard to close this gap'. 'Apart from bribing the judges, she laughed, the only solution I see is to work hard and improve myself every day, inch by inch'.