He is young, talented, ambitious and has a superb string of horses. Could 22-year-old Harry Charles become only the third-ever British rider to claim the coveted Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ title when the 42nd Final gets underway in Leipzig (GER) next week?

In the space of a few short years he has rocketed to the top of the sport, but he is realistic and level-headed, perhaps not surprisingly since his father, Peter Charles, is his guiding light.

Peter was riding for Ireland when he won individual European gold at St Gallen (SUI) in 1995 and European team gold at Arnhem (NED) in 2001. He reverted to British citizenship to win historic team gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games and has passed on his passion to all of his three children who are now making their way in the world of showjumping. He is also passing on his wisdom about the ups, and downs, they will experience on their journeys.

The hardest bit

“I got a proper taste of the top level of the sport in 2018, but my Dad said ‘getting there isn’t the hardest bit - the hardest bit is to stay there’ - and he’s right!”, Harry says.

He enjoyed a good run in 2019, but with the onset of the pandemic he, like so many others, was out of top-class competition for more than 18 months. However once he picked up the reins in earnest again in 2021 his career went into orbit. “I did my first 5-Star show again in May and it went from there really. During Covid my focus had been on really working on my riding and getting a great team of owners and horses around me, and I came out swinging last year and got some great results. At the end of the year I was on the first page of the world top 30 - it was quite crazy and it all happened so quickly!”, says the athlete who continues to hold that number 30 slot and who also leads the FEI U25 rankings.

His meteoric rise in the sport was aided by a new association with America’s Ann Thompson who he first met “around the end of 2020”. It would be a very significant turning point. “She was my first real owner and I was very fortunate, she gave me Romeo to ride”, Harry says. The now-13-year-old horse had previously been very successful with Ireland’s Darragh Kenny in the saddle.

“When he arrived at the stable he was already established at top level and the aim was to get to the Tokyo Olympics. Ann has been an amazing supporter of mine and owns one of my other amazing horses, Aralyn Blue, who is this year’s candidate for the World Championships.

“I have a lot to thank her for, kick-starting my career, once Romeo came into the stable I got access to the big shows, and the rest of the team has been built around him”, Harry explains.

Tokyo

And he did indeed make it to the Tokyo Games last summer. “It was incredible, the best experience of my life! The whole journey there was special, and being on that team with Ben when he won the gold medal and to see what it took to win it was really cool!”, he says.

He is filled with admiration for team-mate Ben Maher who emerged to take the individual Olympic title with Explosion W. “Of course he’s got what I think is the best horse in the world, but he’s worked incredibly hard and he’s one of the very best riders in the world. He put all his life into that gold medal. For the past few years he knew he had the horse to win it and in Tokyo the pressure on him was huge. To go there, to plan so that your horse will perform on that day, and to succeed - all credit to Ben and his team, it was incredible!”, he says.

From Harry’s own perspective, another of the great highlights of last year was his performance with Romeo that clinched the Challenge Cup for Great Britain at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2021 in Barcelona (ESP) in October.

“Nothing compares with competing for your country on a team”, he says as the memories come flooding back.

“That was such a great night, we jumped the only double-clear in the class and the horse jumped amazing, Ann (Thompson) flew over specially to see him, it was her birthday so it was an absolutely perfect weekend!”, he recalls.

His father was a proud man that evening as he placed the winner’s sash around his son’s shoulders. You could sense the strength of the relationship between the two in that moment. “He’s been my trainer my whole life - no one is going to want better for me than my Dad!”, Harry says.

Peter is completely devoted to supporting his family now instead of competing himself and Harry’s sisters Scarlett, aged 21, and Siena who is 19 are both also progressing up the levels.

Huge influence

Their father has been a huge influence on them all. “He stopped his career early to support us and says he enjoys the sport more now than he did when he was riding! He’s passionate about it but he doesn’t put us under any pressure. We can very much choose our own paths, and he has encouraged us to do that, but by the time I was 16 I realised that this was what I wanted to do,” Harry says.

“I got the taste of success in ponies and juniors, and that winning feeling - well you just can’t beat it!”, says the young man whose first big success was taking the Pony Showjumper of the Year title at the Horse of the Year Show riding Scoubidou back in 2014. He remembers it all like it was yesterday…

“The pony I beat was Tixylix who was probably the most famous pony ever in England, she was in the lead and I went in on Scoubidou, and actually I hadn’t won anything with him before that and I did a crazily fast round and it was amazing - a video of our round went viral afterwards!”, he says with delight.

He’ll be hoping that another video will go viral at the end of next week in Leipzig and he’s relishing the excitement ahead of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2022 Final which kicks off on Wednesday April 6. However if he is to follow in the hoofprints of the two previous British title-holders then he has very big boots to fill….

The legendary Yorkshireman, John Whitaker, won the first of his two back-to-back titles with the magnificent Milton in Dortmund (GER) in 1990 at the age of 34 and, difficult as it is to comprehend, he will line out again for Great Britain next week alongside his 20-year-old nephew Jack Whitaker and Harry.

The only other British winner of this most prestigious of trophies is now-retired Rio 2016 Olympic champion Nick Skelton who steered Dollar Girl to victory in Gothenburg (SWE) in 1995 at the age of 38.

Steps of giants

But Harry isn’t intimidated by the prospect of tracing the steps of giants on his World Cup Final debut. He’s talking the day after returning from Saut Hermes in Paris (FRA) where he posted a good win with his mare Stardust and he says he’s taking the next two weeks off to prepare for Leipzig where Stardust, winner of the Western European League qualifier in London (GBR) in December, and Romeo will both compete. He means business.

“The reason I’m taking the two horses is because they are both super-consistent.  Stardust has an extremely high clear-round rate at 1.60m and Romeo has so much experience behind him”.

So who will be his biggest rivals when it all comes down to it? Swiss superstar Martin Fuchs who won team gold and individual silver at last year’s European Championships and who finished second at the last Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in 2019, and his compatriot and defending World Cup champion, Steve Guerdat, are the first two that spring to mind.

“Martin has probably some of the best horses in the world in his stable at the moment. He’s on very good form and very motivated for it this year. And Steve has a bit of a magical relationship with the World Cup Final. He’s always one who will be there or thereabouts I would say”, Harry points out before adding, “but I’m not going there just to make up the numbers!”

He’s looking for more of that winning feeling he enjoys so much, so watch this space…..

More details about the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2022 here  

Cape Town, South Africa’s oldest and second largest city, will host the FEI General Assembly at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 9 to 13 November 2022. The decision was taken by the FEI Board at its monthly teleconference on 22 March.

t is the first time that the FEI’s biggest annual meeting will travel to Southern Africa. The event has been held on the African continent only once before, in Morocco’s capital Rabat in 2002.

“We are delighted to be going to Africa for this year’s General Assembly,” FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said. “The South African Equestrian Federation had generously invited us in 2020 but the event had to be cancelled twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Africa is a vibrant continent with a huge potential for equestrian sport. The countries of the region have been involved in many FEI Solidarity projects and it is a fantastic opportunity for our community to gather in South Africa and learn more of their progress over the years.

“The online and in-person hybrid General Assembly format we used last year in Antwerp (BEL) permitted wide participation, especially for the National Federation representatives who were unable to travel. It was a successful formula, which we will put in place again this year. I know South Africa will be an excellent host and we look forward to reuniting with the worldwide equestrian family in Cape Town in November.”

“We are very excited to play host to the FEI General Assembly 2022 and to showcase the achievements of our country and our continent,” Professor Ian Sanne, President of the South African Equestrian Federation said. “We have waited patiently for this opportunity, and we are determined to provide the very best backdrop for the important decisions that will be made. Cape Town is a vibrant city, and we are already working hard and are excitedly planning for a week of hard work and unforgettable African celebration.”

With two Olympic and three European gold medals all collected over the last eight months, Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB look hot favourites to take the FEI Dressage World Cup™ title when the 2021/2022 Final gets underway on home ground in Leipzig (GER) in just over two weeks’ time.

While driving her lorry full of horses home from CDI*** in Ornago (ITA) yesterday where she steered the ever-improving 13-year-old gelding Ferdinand BB to win both the Grand Prix and Freestyle and where her student-rider, Raphael Netz, won three U25 competitions, she talked about the path that has taken her to where she is now in her career, and her future plans. But when it comes to predicting results she won’t be drawn. She doesn’t take anything for granted.

“Of course you have to have a clear vision and you must set your goals, but over the last 20 years there were times when I didn’t believe in myself anymore. However I always tried to push myself and I held on to my dreams and hoped the opportunities would come”, says the 36-year-old based at Aubenhausen in southern Germany who holds the No. 1 spot in the Dressage World Rankings.

Key to success

Jessica says that the key to her success was the decision “to stop trying to be someone else”. By the age of 19 she had already earned six gold and two silver medals at European Championships, but it all went wrong in her early 20s. “I had some difficult years with hardly any success and I struggled a lot. I had been Junior and Young Rider champion many times so I dreamed of it at Senior level. But for more than five years it didn’t happen”, she says.

It was a light-bulb moment during which she decided to just “be more Jessica” that turned everything around.

“I stopped trying to imitate other riders and began to focus on doing things my own way - the way I always loved to do it, going back to being the little girl who loved to play with her horses. The horses began to enjoy it more and I don’t ever want to lose that joy again!”, she explains.

She describes herself as “very lucky” that Beatrice Bürchler-Keller entrusted her with Unee BB in 2012. This was the horse that would turn her life around. In 2015 the pair were on the bronze medal winning team at the FEI European Championships in Aachen (GER) and they finished third at three FEI Dressage World Cup™ Finals in Las Vegas (USA) that same year, in Gothenburg (SWE) in 2016 and again in Paris (FRA) in 2018.

“Unee was one of the most important teachers for me”, Jessica says. “He wasn’t interested in me when he first arrived so I had to find a way to make myself interesting to him. He was nearly ready for Grand Prix when I got him and I really wanted to win his heart but I couldn’t do it the way I used to do it because I always grew up with the horses I’d ridden before. He already knew what he was doing and had his own way, so I had to learn his language before we could both learn a common language. I learned that it’s not just about the horse doing things my way but about doing what is best for each individual horse and being more flexible”.

Top trainers

Along the way she worked with many top trainers including Paul Elzenbaumer, “a very patient, loving and calm man” and then Stefan Münch, compatriot Isabell Werth who will be defending her title at the 2022 Final with Weihegold, then Jonny Hilberath, Morten Thomsen, Andreas Hausberger and Monica Theodorescu. “However I always have my own ideas, and I rely also on my brother Benni (Benjamin Werndl) who is very important to me - it’s our goal to be in the German team together some day!”, Jessica points out.

Now of course her career at top level revolves around the brilliant 15-year-old TSF Dalera BB who she has been riding since the mare was eight years old. “It was when she was 10 and we won the Louisdor Final in Frankfurt that I realised she could be very special, and when she was third in the Freestyle in 2019 (at the FEI European Championships in Rotterdam) that was the day I thought everything is possible. Then two years later (at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and FEI Dressage European Championships in Hagen) we proved it!”

And making their prospects even more exciting is the fact that Jessica believes Dalera has further room for improvement. “She feels she can give even more and when I enter the arena I always know she will try her heart out and give her best. I think she loves me and the life she is living. She loves travelling and she’s a real showgirl! But we both enjoy cantering through the forest as much as competing. She’s grateful for that, and so am I”.

Many talents

Jessica is a woman of many talents. During lockdown she wrote a book - “Heaven on Horseback” - about her life, her struggles, her inspiration and her positivity, and she’s currently working on a second publication, a children’s book. She says a near-death experience, when she almost drowned, changed her view on life and helped her become more reflective and to move forward. She wants this latest book to be “a nice story, with a lot of learning”.

Her five-year-old son, Moritz, may be a little too young to enjoy it as yet because it will be aimed at children aged 10+. Moritz travelled with her to Ornago and it was the first weekend Jessica was without the support of her husband or parents, but it worked out well thanks to the help of grooms and riders. With another baby on the way - due in August and therefore negating any possibility of a tilt at the World Championship titles - she knows she’s going to have even more on her plate in future. “I’ll have to manage my life even better and I’ll need more help for sure. It’s really important to have a good work/life balance”, she says. However she’s aiming to return to action as quickly as possible after baby number two arrives. “I was competing four weeks after giving birth to my first son, so hopefully I can do that again!”, she says with a laugh.

For now however, the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2022 final has her full attention. For Dalera the preparation will be kept very simple - “nothing special, just keeping her motivated, healthy and happy, hacking in the forest and if the weather is good then going on the gallops”, she explains.

And as for preparing herself, it will be about focusing on the reason she does what she does. “Sometimes we need to remind ourselves why we started in the sport - because we love horses. So many people focus too much on the outcome - the success rather than how to get there. I try to focus on how to get there, rather than the outcome”.

Being more Jessica….that seems to work…..

More about FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2022 here

Mexico earned the series title when the North and Central America and Caribbean division of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ series last took place in 2019. In front of a home crowd at Coapexpan in Xalapa (MEX), the home squad set the tone for a strong 2022 season with a statement victory over Canada and the United States.

Led by newly appointed Chef d'Equipe Mark Laskin, the veteran squad of Nicolas Pizarro (Pia Contra), Federico Fernandez (Romeo), Patricio Pasquel (Babel) and Manuel Gonzalez Dufrane (Hortensia van de Leeuwerk) established a commanding three-rail lead in the first round with a perfect "0" score thanks to clear efforts from Fernandez, Pasquel and Gonzalez Dufrane. They finished things off with two rails in hand on a final score of 12.

"I've been very impressed with the Mexican riders. I have a lot of depth and a lot of riders for us to select from," Laskin said. "Obviously, my idea was to really start things off with a bang, and I think we accomplished that."

It was not quite as smooth of sailing for the United States, as a young American squad was shockingly eliminated in the first round, and with no drop score, every rail counted for Canada, who sat on 12 faults entering Round 2.

But the Canadians rallied. The team's youngest rider, Jacqueline Steffens produced a critical clear round to add some pressure, while Pizarro and Fernandez each recorded 8 faults in their respective second rounds. Pasquel and his spectacular homebred Babel bolstered things with a double-clear effort, and Gonzalez Dufrane and Hortensia van de Leeuwerk, who so often have acted as team anchors, delivered once again to cement Mexico's status atop the podium. 

"I'm very comfortable being the anchor rider, and I had no pressure in the second round," Gonzalez Dufrane said. "My teammates had already [all but] clinched the win."

The North and Central America and Caribbean division of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ continues in Vancouver (CAN) on 5 June 2022.

"I'm just very grateful to my fellow riders for giving me this amazing gift to win a Nations Cup in our hometown," Fernandez said, "because that's the best feeling ever."

Full results here.

Division standings here.

The opening leg of the 2022 FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ series hinted at a competitive season to come, as defending series Champions Germany bested the United States by just over a percentage point in Wellington (USA).

Strong starts defined the weekend, as the opening day results from Michael Klimke (Harmony's Sanrino RHP), Christoph Koschel (Dünensee), Lars Ligus (Soccer City) and Frederic Wandres (Dolciario) could not be caught by the American contingent, who were the first official series champions in 2016. Canada took the bronze. 

"Last year it was a really big surprise, and it motivated us for this year," Klimke said. "We all had a top day yesterday, and today it got very close again."

Klimke and Wandres each pulled weight for their team, with Klimke winning Thursday's Grand Prix (72.652). Despite Big Tour combinations receiving a 1.5 percent boost to their scores, Small Tour combination Wandres and Dolciario gave Germany its best Day 2 score in winning the Intermediate I, receiving 73.176 from judges Stephen Clarke (GBR), Carlos Lopes (POR), Michael Osinski (USA), Mariette Sanders - van Gansewinkel (NED) and Knut Danzberg (GER). 

"The team can only be successful if all of us are fighting until the end, and we really did that," Wandres said. "[Dolciario] is just 8 years old, and this is his first CDI tour this season. I was already very happy yesterday, but today was his first Intermediate 1."

Down to the wire

While Thursday's results provided a slight cushion, the United States rallied strongly on Friday in the Grand Prix Special to keep the standings incredibly close. Twenty-two-year-old Ben Ebeling took won the deciding event—the Grand Prix Special—receiving 73.649 aboard Indeed, a mount he's only campaigned since the beginning of the year. Beatrice Berktold (Imperial) won the Prix St. Geroges (72.441) added a 72.676 score to finish second in the Intermediate I in her first senior Nations Cup.

"I think my teammates can be really happy with their rides. I’m certainly very happy with my ride," Ebeling said.  I love riding Indeed. I think it’s so much about my riding, but more about my coaching, from Christoph Koschel and also my dad Jan Ebeling, who did a fantastic job training this horse. I’m just lucky that I get to ride her. She’s got a lot of power in there and today you could really see it, and I really felt it. For me, that’s something that I’m really excited about."

"I was not aware of how close it was. It was very exciting," added Koschel, who finished second to his student in the Grand Prix Special. "There was team spirit, and I’m happy that we won. I have to say big congratulations today to Ben for winning the class, well done."

With just three teams competing, Wellington's leg will not offer series points. The FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ season will resume 05-08 May at Mariakalnok (HUN).

Full results here.

After two abbreviated seasons, the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ is set for a celebratory return in the heart of winter dressage in Wellington (USA).

The 2022 season will span six nations between March and July, when a series champion will be crowned. The uniquely formatted competition rewards both consistency and strategy, as teams may compete across Big and Small Tour events.

Team medals are decided after the Grand Prix (or Prix St. Georges for Small Tour combinations) and the Grand Prix Special (or Intermediate I) tests.

Back to the beginning

The Global Dressage Festival CDIO3* in Wellington (USA) will put the United States on home soil as Team USA seeks to reclaim the series for the first time since the first official title was awarded in 2016. That year, the country did win the series’ opening leg, setting them in good early standing.

This year’s American squad features a group of rising stars in Bianca Berktold (Imperial), Katie Duerrhammer (Quartett), Susan Dutta (Don Design DC) and Ben Ebeling (Indeed). Both Berktold and Duerrhammer will start in their first respective CDIO competitions, while Susan Dutta and Don Design are fresh off their Grand Prix Freestyle debut, in which they finished second to kick off their 2022 season. This pair has made the podium in their last four international starts.

The team’s youngest rider, Ebeling, 22, might be considered the veteran. Ebeling was the second alternate for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympic Games and made the Nations Cup team at CDIO5* Aachen in September. Those results came aboard the Belgian Warmblood Illuster van de Kampert; this time around, he will partner with the Danish bred Indeed, a newer mount that was developed by his father, Olympian Jan Ebeling (USA).

Duerrhammer, Dutta and Ebeling will compete at the Big Tour level, while Berktold will ride at the Small Tour level. The U.S. squad will be led for the first time by newly appointed Chef d’Equipe George Williams.

Canada and Germany have also fielded teams. The Canadian squad will consist of Beatrice Boucher (Summerwood’s Limei), Pia Fortmuller (Frieda), Megan Lane (Zodiac MW) and Evi Strasser (Déjà vu Tyme). Michael Klimke (Harmony’s Sanrino RHP), Christoph Koschel (Duenensee), Lars Ligus (Soccer City) and Frederic Wandres (Dolciario) will fly the flag for Germany.

Six legs

Wellington’s opening leg will be followed by the CDIO3* in Mariakalnok (HUN) and the CDIO5* in Compiégne (FRA), both in May.

CDIO5* competition will resume in June at Rotterdam (NED) and July at Aachen (GER). The series winner will be decided just a week later at Falsterbo’s (SWE) CDIO4*. Sweden has claimed the series title in three of the last five seasons.

Further details about the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ series can be found here.

The FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2021/2022 qualifying season came to an exciting conclusion at Motesice in Slovakia last Sunday where Freestyle victory secured a place at next month’s Final for former champion, Helen Langehanenberg, while Moldova’s Alisa Glinka was confirmed winner of the Central European League.

Only top spot would be enough to help Langehanenberg make the cut to the 35th showdown of the series that dates all the way back to 1986. The German rider, who won the FEI Dressage World Cup™ title with the great Damon Hill back in 2013, was lying ninth on the Western European League leaderboard with 33 points going into yesterday’s last-chance competition. 

Compatriot, Frederic Wandres, was holding third place on the league table with 52 points, so she needed the maximum 20 cross-over points from the Central European series to overtake him and to clinch that last of three qualifying slots on offer to German riders. 

Having steered the 14-year-old mare Annabelle to a narrow victory over Poland’s Katarzyna Milczarek in the Short Grand Prix, Langehanenberg put more distance between them when posting 77.905 in Sunday’s Freestyle. She will now fly her country’s flag alongside defending champion Isabell Werth and reigning Olympic and European champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl when the Final kicks off on their home turf in Leipzig (GER) in three weeks’ time.

Final standings

Saturday’s win in the last leg of the Western European League at ’s-Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands boosted von Bredow-Werndl to pole position in the final standings while success in Slovakia saw Langehanenberg rocket up to second place ahead of Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour in third. 

A total of nine athletes can qualify from this league but only a maximum of three from any country, so Wandres, who finished fourth, has missed out by an agonising single point.

Sweden’s Patrik Kittel, Denmark’s Nanna Skodberg Merrald and Spain’s Juan Matute Guimon fill the next three placings ahead of French rider Morgan Barbançon and The Netherlands’ Thamar Zweistra who finished in equal-eighth place. As Wandres cannot compete, tenth-placed Briton, Charlotte Fry, has made the cut.

Just two slots are available to athletes from the Central European League which kicked off in Minsk (BLR) in April 2021 with victory for the eventual league winner, Glinka. The 35-year-old athlete then went on to win three more rounds of the 19-leg series, at Zhashkiv (UKR) and Kunkiai (LTU) in May 2021 and in Kharkiv (UKR) in June partnering her super-consistent horse Aachen, and the impressive pair also posted two runner-up finishes during the season. 

Katarzyna Milczarek finished eight points behind on the final leaderboard but showed just how competitive she is when putting former champion, Langehanenberg, under plenty of pressure over the weekend. The veteran Polish athlete who, with Ekwador, represented her country at the London 2012 Olympic Games posted a win with Guapo at this season’s fifth qualifier in Samorin (SVK), and last weekend’s second-place result with the 11-year-old stallion bought her ticket to the 2022 Final. 

Across the globe

Meanwhile across the globe Ashley Holzer and Anna Buffini claimed the two qualifying spots on offer in the North American League. 

Former Canadian Olympian Holzer, who took up American citizenship five years ago, posted a double of wins in Ocala, Florida (USA) in October and December 2021 and added further points in Wellington, Florida (USA) in January and February this year with her 15-year-old mare Havanna to top the league standings.

Buffini’s FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final ride is also a 15-year-old mare, FRH Davinia la Douce. Victory and a personal-best score at the last of the eight qualifying legs in Wellington earlier this month sealed second place in the North American rankings and has confirmed a slot for the 27-year-old amongst the total of 18 world-class Dressage athletes who will battle it out for the coveted series title at Leipzig Exhibition Centre from 6 to 10 April 2022.

Further details here….

Germany’s golden girls - the Olympic and European champions Jessica von-Bredow Werndl and her 15-year-old mare TSF Dalera BB - were the undisputed winners of today’s sixth and last qualifying leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2021/2022 Western European League at ’s-Hertogenbosch in The Netherlands. Another outstanding performance from the pair who bagged two gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games last August and another three at the FEI European Championships the following month saw them awarded the winning score of 90.555 to leave the result beyond doubt when last to go.

The harmony between the dynamic duo was more palpable than ever today, the mare perhaps taking extra care of her dancing partner because this week the World No. 1 athlete announced that she is expecting her second baby to arrive in August. Last time out they also won on home ground at Neumünster despite a giddy moment from Dalera in extended canter. Today however the mare was the picture of calm and control. “I’ve never had this feeling with her before, it was like doing the test in there was the most normal thing in the world and it was so much fun to ride her!”, said von-Bredow Werndl who pinned defending series champion and compatriot Isabell Werth into runner-up spot ahead of Sweden’s Patrik Kittel in third.

Contrast

The busy atmosphere in the Brabanthallen at ’s-Hertogenbosch was in stark contrast to that experienced at many of the previous rounds of the series which were restricted due to pandemic regulations. The Dutch venue was buzzing so it was all-the-more pleasing for British veteran, Richard Davison, to find himself holding the lead with Bubblingh at the half-way stage.

The 17-year-old gelding is sometimes inclined to boil over due to tension, but today he really held it together to present a lovely steady picture during a pleasing Freestyle that clocked up a score of 77.205 that would prove plenty good enough for fifth place at the end of the day.

Kittel was the first to break the 80 percent barrier when fourth-last to go with the charming 10-year-old mare Forever Young HRH. He said this evening that he had no great expectations for her coming to the show “but she gave me the best feeling!”. With her big ears pricked and listening to his every prompt she seemed to grow through the test, showing lovely elevation and great power in passage before striding home to the strains of Billy Idol’s “Hot in the City”.  When 82.500 went up on the board then his was the mark to beat, but Werth and DSP Quantaz posted 84.870 to dethrone the Swedish duo right away.

The 52-year-old German superstar is chasing her fourth consecutive FEI Dressage World Cup™ title and her sixth in total - her very first recorded exactly 30 years ago in Gothenburg, Sweden. She is very happy with the progress she is making with the 12-year-old stallion. “He felt very well today and it was a super test for him”, she said. When Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Dark Legend were awarded 82.325 then only von-Bredow Werndl could edge the reigning champion, and they succeeded with a masterclass in communication.

The Olympic and European champion might have expected a bigger score, but as she pointed out afterwards she doesn’t fret about that. “I decided a few years ago I don’t care too much about the score because I can’t influence it - the only thing I can influence is my riding and my performance and today Dalera was just incredible!”, she said. “Technically I think it was the best Freestyle I’ve ever ridden, it felt so effortless and so smooth, there was not a single second when I was not 100% sure that we were going to make it!”

Fully assured

So now she is fully assured of a place at the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2022 Final next month. It’s no easy job being German and booking one of the three places on offer to your country because defending champion Werth is automatically entitled to one of them, so a sub-plot of fierce competition is playing out in the background as the rest of the super-talented German contingent try to make the cut. 

 

Today’s result boosted von-Bredow Werndl to the top of the Western European League rankings so now she has safely booked the second spot. However tomorrow will be a nervous day for Fredric Wandres who lies third in the rankings after a successful winter season.

Because Helen Langehanenberg, series champion with Damon Hill back in 2013, lines out at Motesice in Slovakia tomorrow and, should she win and collect those precious 20 qualifying points, then she will edge Wandres out of his chance of a tilt at the coveted title by just a single point. That’s all still to play out….

Result 

Standings 

The win for Ireland’s Bertram Allen at the eighth leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2021/2022 North American League in Ocala, Florida last weekend marked the last of the qualifiers that have taken place right across the globe over the past 12 months.

The last invitations to the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2022 which will take place in Leipzig, Germany from 6 to 10 April have now been sent out, so the countdown has already begun.

Despite some disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to cancellations in North Africa, China and South East Asia, a total of 11 leagues were completed. While Allen reigned supreme last Sunday it is his compatriot, Conor Swail, who swept to victory in the North American series bolstered by a hat-trick of wins - at Vancouver, Sacramento and Fort Worth - along with two runner-up placings.

Canada’s Tiffany Foster clinched second place while the USA’s Natalie Dean finished third ahead of Australia’s Rowan Willis in fourth place. A total of 19, including five extra athletes, are invited from this series which consisted of eight legs staged across Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Spectacular

The Central European League Final 2022 took place two weeks ago at the spectacular Tauron Arena in Krackow, Poland and this was a thrilling fight to the finish. There were three qualifying spots up for grabs, with Hungary’s Zoltan Czekus leading the standings going into the final showdown ahead of Lithuania’s Andrius Petrovas in second and Angelos Touloupis from Greece in third. 

The athletes with the best five results from the eight-leg Northern Sub-League and the four-leg Southern Sub-League made the cut to the Final which was staged over three rounds of competition.

And it was a super-close contest to the very end, with Lithuania’s Petrovas coming out on top by a narrow one-point margin ahead of Hungary’s Czekus in second, while Polish veteran, Jaroslow Skrzycznski, pipped Greek athlete Touloupis for that third spot. 

Earlier in February the two Arab Leagues were completed. Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Alsharbatly topped the Middle East Sub-League when collecting 60 points from six starts including victory at the opening leg of the eight-competition series on home ground in Riyadh in November. Syria’s Amre Hamcho finished a close second while the UAE’s Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi clinched third ahead of Jordan’s Ibrahim Hani Bisharat in fourth place.

A total of 51 athletes competed in the Middle East, but just seven Egyptian athletes contested the Arab League North African Sub-League in which Mouda Zeyada was clear winner when collecting points at four of the six legs. Abdelrahman Shousha finished second ahead of Mohammed Osama El Borai in third, and there are five slots available at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2022 to athletes from this region.   

Definitive victory 

In January Tegan Fitzsimon posted a definitive victory in the 2021/2022 New Zealand League. With four brilliant wins from five legs, the 31-year-old athlete collected a massive 90 points to claim her third series title.

At the exciting final in Hawera she clinched it with a double-clear with Windermere Cappuccino but was chased to the line by talented 20-year-old Sophie Scott who claimed second and third places. Scott finished third on the league table, behind Maurice Beatson in second. 

Irishman Denis Lynch found himself topping the Western European League when it came to an early conclusion in London (GBR) in December. He competed in five of the six qualifiers, finishing with a total of 39 points which left him just ahead of Great Britain’s Harry Charles in second on 38.

Charles’ victory in London confirmed his arrival at the very top level of the sport as he brought a hugely successful year, that included his Olympic debut in Tokyo and victory for his country in the Challenge Cup at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2021 in Barcelona (ESP), to a close. The 22-year-old Briton, who is quickly establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with, finished ahead of Brazil’s Eduardo Pereira de Menezes in third while Swiss star and reigning European team gold medallist Martin Fuchs finished fourth on the WEL leaderboard.

December also saw the South American South League draw to a close. This was an all-Brazilian affair in which Flavio Grillo Araujo reigned supreme. 

Runner-up spot at the second leg in São Paulo, and good results at both Rio de Janeiro and again at the last qualifier in São Paulo last December secured pole position in the series in which Stephan de Freitas Barcha and Daniel Cesar Khury finished second and third.

Across the globe

Meanwhile across the globe Lisa Williams and her bold, brave gelding Campbell topped the South African League standings - and not for the first time. The pairing whose long and fascinating journey to compete at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 in Tryon, USA was well-documented, posted wins on three of their five outings in the six-leg series including pole placings at Shongweni in June and September and in Kromdraai in October 2021. 

The dynamic duo finished 21st at the last Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in 2019. Runner-up spot here went to Nicole Horwood, while Christopher van der Merwe and Ashlee Healy finished third and fourth.

Kazuteru Kitai came out on top in the Japan League which concluded in Miki in December. A total of 13 athletes lined out over the seven-leg series in which Jun Takada finished second and Ryuma Hirota finished third.

The Eurasian League Final took place in Moscow (RUS) last October where Uzbekistan’s Bekzod Kurbanov and Umid Kamilov clinched the top two places. Kurbanov will be the sole representative from this series in Leipzig in four weeks’ time.

The 2021/2022 Australian League was a brief three-leg tour that visited Werribee in March, Gatton in June and Caboolture last June. Both Thomas McDermott and Amber Fuller racked up 36 points apiece, but McDermott got the nod for the league title when final placings in all three competitions were taken into account. Third place here went to James Arkins and a total of 39 athletes competed in this series.

Full details here 

The FEI Tribunal has issued a Consent Award in an equine anti-doping case involving a Banned Substance.

A horse trained by Elena Loseva (10015343/RUD), tested positive for the Banned Substance Meldonium following samples taken at the CEIYJ*120 Novotersky (RUS), 28 -30 May 2021.

Ms Loseva admitted the rule violation and accepted the consequences. In its final decision the FEI Tribunal disqualified the horse from the event and imposed an 18-month ineligibility period on Ms Loseva; the provisional suspension she already served shall be credited against the imposed ineligibility period. She was also fined CHF 5,000.

The full Decision is available here.

Notes to Editors:

FEI Equine Prohibited Substances

The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are those that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.

In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.

**Specified Substances

The FEI introduced the concept of Specified Substances in 2016. Specified Substances should not in any way be considered less important or less dangerous than other Prohibited Substances (i.e. whether Banned or Controlled). Rather, they are simply substances that are more likely to have been ingested by horses for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance, for example, through a contaminated food substance. Positive cases involving Specified Substances can be handled with a greater degree of flexibility within the structure of the FEI Regulations.

Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.