The KWPN-stallion Astrix by Obelisk/Olivi won his second gold medal at the WBFSH World Championships after he became the crowned champion in 2011. The black stallion was again shown by Emmelie Scholtens (Netherlands). Astrix gained the lead with a final score of 8.70, followed by the Rhineland stallion Damon Jerome (8.68) by Damon Hill/Guy Laroche under Uta Gräf (Germany) and St. Emilion (8.42) by Sandro Hit/Ehrenwort under Dorothee Schneider (Germany).
The double World Champion dominated with scores of 9.6 for his trot and 9.2 for his walk. Emmelie Scholtens was a bit breathless, but satisfied, and confessed to having hoped she’d be as successful. And it was the same for the breeders couple ten Bosch from the Netherlands. They followed the World Championship Final full of pride and expressed their thanks: “We need people like Emmelie and the show stable Perlee – we are only breeders, but they turn the horses into what they are today.”
Damon Hill NRW, double World Champion in 2005 and 2006 and sire to the two 2011 silver medallists Damon Jerome and Damon’s Divene, has already a well-established reputation, and he is a perfect example for the importance of the WBFSH World Championships for Young Horses. Following the five-year-old mare Damon’s Divene on Saturday, her half brother Damon Jerome – a chestnut stallion – won the silver medal in the division of six-year-old horses under Uta Gräf. “He has three fantastic basic gaits, and he is very easy to ride,” his rider and trainer happily said. “It is basically very simple – if you have a first-class horse, you can also shine as rider….” Dorothee Schneider and St. Emilion also presented connvincing and perfect performances. The Westphalian gelding earned 9.0 for submissiveness, the highest score of the day. “I am satisfied with him. He was a bit careful and shy today and impressed by the audience, but this is of course the same for all horses,” Schneider said. She competed with two horses in the Final, besides St. Emilion also with the Hanoverian gelding Horatio by Hochadel/Matcho AA who finished sixth.
Rainer Kiel, manager of the International Dressage and Show Jumping Festival in Verden, happily announced a new all-time high. The 2011 Championships attracted more than 50,000 visitors, 20,000 of them attended the competitions on Saturday and the succeeding Show Evening including fireworks, sponsored by the Verden companies. No decision has yet been made about next year’s International Dressage and Show Jumping Festival in Verden. There will be an overlap with the equestrian competitions at the Olympic Games in London. Kiel’s statement: “The Finals in London would be held shortly after the World Championship Finals in Verden, that’s what we have to consider. We are thinking about changing the date of the championships with the date of the Foal Auction that will be held 14 days later. We will discuss this option the following months.”
Results international dressage test, Final WBFSH World Championships for six-year-old dressage horses:
Gold: Astrix (KWPN) with Emmelie Scholtens (Netherlands), score 8.70
Silber: Damon Jerome (Rhineland) with Uta Gräf (Gemany), 8.68
Bronze: St. Emilion (Westphalia) with Dorothee Schneider (Germany), 8.42
4. Lezard (Rhinland) with Matthias Bouten (Germany), 8.40
5. Presidents Avanti (KWPN) with Laurens van Lieren (Netherlands), 8.38
6. Horatio (Hanover) with Dorothee Schneider (Germany), 8.22