Clearly, French songs agree well with Anky Van Grunsven (NED) and Keltec Salinero. With a result of 85.8% they are the winners of today’s Kür and, to the enthusiastic applause of what seemed to be the entire Orange kingdom, are crowned the 2007 FEI European Dressage Kür Champions. This is Anky’s third individual European title after Arnhem in 1999 with Gestion Bonfire and Hagen in 2003.
Isabell Werth (GER) and Satchmo 78 take the silver to the sound of the powerful bel canto of Spanish soprano Monserrat Caballé (83.20%). Imke Schellekens-Bartels (NED) and Hunter Douglas Sunrise confirm that they are definitely on the way to glory by winning their third medal for this championship (bronze – 81.75%).
September 2, 2007 was a beautiful day for the sport of Dressage. Fifteen of Europe and the world’s finest riders and horses put on remarkable performances that kept improving as the day progressed. It all began in somewhat eventful fashion after Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein and Rigoletto, who had displayed a good Kür initially noted with 72.05%, were eliminated. Was the crowd’s cheer too loud or did the rider congratulate her horse a tad too vigorously, but the 11-year old gelding reared and jumped out of the arena…
The youngest rider of the championship, 21-year old Victoria Max-Theurer (AUT) on Falcao OLD made the crowd enjoy an all-Italian music Freestyle (71.35%). Andreas Helgstrand of Denmark and Gredstedgaards Casmir laid “another brick in the wall” (72.65%). And one could barely resist the temptation to tango along with Switzerland’s Silvia Iklé and Salieri CH on the sound of La Comparcita. The pair, who had decided to stay away from the FEI World CupTM Dressage Final in Las Vegas last April in order to be in the best possible shape for this championship, finish in fourth position with 79.5%.
But the most emotional of them all were perhaps the Russian combination Alexandra Korelova and former-abused-circus-horse-turned-police-horse-turned-Dressage-champion Balagur. The best piaffe of the entire championship combined with excellent passage and smooth transitions put the pair in sixth place with 78.2%. The crowd started a standing ovation before the test was actually over.
The 2007 FEI European Dressage Championship was a competition of firsts. It is the first time that a Dressage championship has been held in Italy which, in Anky’s words, “is really good for the sport.” A new star, Imke Schellekens-Bartels, has been born. The Netherlands won five medals, their best score ever. The sport of Dressage is clearly moving forward but it does so in its own collected manner.
In total an audience of 11.000 spectators visited the European championships dressage.
After the historical surprise of the team competition the Dutch confirmed the status of their team gold medal in the Grand Prix Special and the Freestyle with two individual medals with clear secure tests. In the Freestyle a satisfying seventh position was there for the third rider Laurens van Lieren and Hexagon’s Ollright, the poor walk only preventing a higher score.
This made the total of medals for the Dutch five, for the German three, an historical count.
Anky van Grunsven in the end praised the fact that the European Championship Dressage had been in Italy. “We need championships in a country like this and I love the beautiful environment and the weather.” Imke Schellekens added that fortunately the initial problems with the footing were solved in the last days.
Check the results.