The nice thing about dressage riders is that they take care of their horses themselves after work.
Before asking about Isabell Werth’s impressions of the Massa Stud Grand Prix, one had to wait until Warum Nicht had taken his shower and Isabel had borrowed an apple from her German colleague Anja Plönzke, who herself was washing the head of Le Mont d’Or.
JR: Isabell, you seemed disappointed at the announcement of your marks. Why?
ISABELL WERTH: It’s that 71% is below Warum Nicht’s ability to perform: Last week, he achieved 76% at the Grand Prix. But I don’t mean to be critical of the judges, I was just deceived by some mistakes the horse made because he was distracted by the flower decoration that was moving in the wind. That made me mess up the piaffe and change of leg. This morning Warum Nicht was more relaxed, but the flower decoration had not been hung up then… we won, though, and that’s the most important thing!
JR: You participate in Cannes for the first time. What’s your impression of this event that’s different from the ones you usually participate in?
ISABELL WERTH: Ah, it’s amazing! It’s a mixture of competition and vacation. Of course I am here to perform well, but I also have the intention to profit from this place.
JR: How important is the World Dressage Masters during a dressage season?
ISABELL WERTH: It’s a great circuit for us and not only because of the prize money, but rather because it adds a new vibe to the discipline. For me it will have been a good lesson as well, because I had no idea how scared my horse was of flowerpots.
I will ask the organizers of the event to put some on the arena for the training tomorrow, so his problem should be sorted out by Saturday. I already told my groom that it was necessary to spangle our own arena at home with flowers so they won’t ever be a problem again.
JR: How is Satchmo doing and what’s this season like, with the impending World Championship at Lexington in October?
ISABELL WERTH: Satchmo is fine, he did a Grand Prix with 76% last weekend, followed by a Grand Prix special with 77%. He gets better and better!
JR: so you are hoping to be selected for the German team for the World Championship again!
ISABELL WERTH: I’d be very surprised if I wasn’t part of it. Now I just have to see which of the two – Warum Nicht or Satchmo – will be in better shape for the championship… but there are far worse dilemmas!
RESULTS
CDI5* CANNES
Grand Prix WDm
1º Warum Nicht – Isabell WERTH (GER) – 71.489
2º Le Mont D’Or – Anja PLÖNZKE (GER) – 71.447
3º Triviant UNICEF – Mathias ALEXANDER (GER) – 70.851
4º Appolo Van Het Vijverhof – Jeroen DEVROE (BEL) – 69.915
5º Eremo del Castegno – Valentina TRUPPA (ITA) – 69.234
6º Withney Van’T Genthof – Stefan VAN INGELGEM (BEL) – 68.298
7º Randon – Michael RAPCEWICZ – (POL) 67.574
8º Exquis Clearwater – Anne VAN OLST – (DEN) 66.426
9º Galopin de la Font – Daniel PINTO – (POR) 65.064
10º Question de liberté – Johan ZAGERS – (GBR) 64.000
11º Sydney – Dane RAWLINS – (GBR) 63.574
12º Portugal – Rogerio Clementino DA SILVA – (BRA) 63.319
13º Samba – Luiz Novaes TAVARES DE ALMEIDA – (BRA) 63.064