Staut wins Grand Prix and Werth four dressage tests
Hans-Dieter Dreher said goodbye to his home crowd in Stuttgart with a thumbs up, but the 51-year-old show jumper from Eimeldingen had to leave victory in the Grand Prix of the World Cup tournament to France's Kevin Staut. Together with Beau de Laubry, the 43-year-old won the highlight of the five-day tournament, which attracted more than 53,000 spectators to the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle.
"We delivered great sport and I'm happy that I was able to win here again. I was very motivated and had nothing to lose," said Staut after his second triumph in Stuttgart after 2012. Friday's Master's winner Harry Charles and Casquo Blue finished second in the €170,000 competition, just 0.14 seconds behind in the jump-off.
Eight pairs took part - including two German riders, Dreher and Kendra Claricia Brinkop. Dreher, who lives in Eimeldingen, and his horse Elysium finished in fourth place with two clear rounds, while Brinkop, who lives in Belgium, and In Time also went clear and finished in sixth place. Rene Dittmer leads the World Cup ranking of the Western European League. The rider from Stade has recently scored points at tournaments in the USA and leads ahead of Ireland's Richard Howley after five of fourteen stops.
Despite the Global Champions Tour Final taking place at the same time, in which significantly more A-cadre riders were competing and the prize money was around 25 times higher than in Stuttgart, the organizers drew a satisfactory conclusion. "We were worried, but the competition didn't detract from the sport and the atmosphere here," said show director Andreas Krieg. In Prague, the German riders were unsuccessful in the Grand Prix. The 1.26 million Prague Grand Prix was also won by a Frenchman: Julien Epaillard with Dubai du Cedre.
In the dressage competition, Isabell Werth was once again the measure of all things. The seven-time Olympic champion competed four times and won four times. At the end, the 54-year-old from Rheinberg won the Grand Prix Special of the German Masters on her mare Superb with 74.213 percent and said goodbye to the audience with a big smile on her face.
Werth had previously won the World Cup Freestyle at her horse Emilio's last appearance in Stuttgart. She also won both the qualifier for the freestyle and the qualifier for the Grand Prix Special. "As you can say, that was 100 percent," said the now 17-time Master winner, looking at her haul. She finished ahead of Sönke Rothenberger from Bad Homburg with Matchball (72.596).
"I had hoped that Emilio would be in the lead. I was still unsure about Superb, but she was simply fantastic," praised Werth. Her doubts stemmed from the fact that the eleven-year-old horse had been out injured for almost 15 months and does not yet have much indoor experience. "If we can do everything the way I think we can, then it will be fine," said Werth.
Staut's victory in the Equestrian World Cup Grand Prix further solidifies his reputation in the field of jumping. In the upcoming World Cup tournament, dressage enthusiasts will eagerly watch Werth compete once more, aiming to defend her title in this discipline.
Source: www.dpa.com
