She did it! Anky van Grunsven, on her first outing with Keltec Salinero
since their victorious Olympic freestyle in Athens laststummer, swept
aside all opposition to win her hometown qualifier at Indoor Brabant.
The 'queen of Den Bosch' finished nearly four per cent of her nearest
challenger, compatriot and pupil Edward Gal with Lingh.
Germany's Isabell Werth built on Antony's superb Neumunster victory as
she produced a super test on Satchmo to take third place. The former
titleholder has now moved up to fourth place in the standings shoring up
her Las Vegas hopes.
Indoor Brabant provided a dramatic indicator of the top sport expected
at the 2005 FEI World Cup Final. Judge at 'C' Frances Verbeek said: " It
a great standard and so exciting to judge - two and a half hours seemed
more like 10 minutes. Anky and Salinero looked far more relaxed in the
freestyle than they had in the grand prix. She is brilliant at keeping
her nerve so well as Salinero was a bit tense in the first class, but
apart from the first pirouette it was a great test."
Lingh made a few small mistakes, but as Mrs Verbeek reported, this was
another combination to make the most of their freestyle. " In comparison
to the grand prix, Lingh went with lots of energy and power." Edward Gal
now lies in equal fifth place in the standings with Britain's Carl
Hester on 60 points.
Isabell Werth's Satchmo also overcame grand prix tension to shine in the
freestyle. Frances Verbeek said: "She did a super job, we could all see
she enjoyed her ride, and Satchmo really showed the best he can at this
stage."
With just one qualifier to go and a wealth of talent vying for those
eight Western European League tickets to Las Vegas, there is all to play
for in Dusseldorf (March 31 - April 3). Germany's Hubertus Schmidt and
Sweden's Jan Brink could still make a final US-bound leap into the top
eight, but the rest of the pack at the top of the leader board could
only improve their points by discarding previous scores, as only four
competitions will count per rider overall.
Result
Indoor Brabant
FEI World Cup Qualifier Freestyle to Music
Presented by Nashuatec
1, Keltec Salinero (Anky van Grunsven NED) 83.60
2, Lingh (Edward Gal NED) 79.55
3, Satchmo (Isabell Werth GER) 78.525
4, Aramis (Hubertus Schmidt GER) 77.30
5, Bjorsells Briar (Jan Brink SWE) 77.20
6, Salieri (Sylvia Ikle SUI) 75.30
7, Guinness (Louise Nathhorst SWE) 74.00
8, Le Primeur (Marie-Line Wettstein SUI) 73.875
9, Escapado (Carl Hester GBR) 72.25
10, Barclay II (Sven Rothenberger NED) 72.25
Media contact Indoor Brabant 's-Hertogenbosch:
Gerrit Jan Swinkels: phone: +31 653 21230
e-mail: gjswinkels@hetnet.nl
For further information:
www.indoorbrabant.nl
FEI World Cup Dressage Western European League Standings (after 8 of 9
qualifiers and 3 Central League)
1, Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff GER 65
2, Andreas Helgstrand DEN 64
3, Silvia Ikle SUI 63
4, Isabell Werth GER 61
5= Carl Hester GBR and Edward Gal NED 60
7, Sven Rothenberger NED 49
8, Marie-Line Wettstein SUI 47
9= Hubertus Schmidt GER and Lone Joergensen DEN 46
11, Jan Brink SWE 44
Sidneva books Central League trip to Vegas
Russia's Elena Sidneva secured her ticket to Las Vegas with an
unrivalled performance in front of a 5000-strong crowd in Warsaw city
centre. The Central European League, for their first official Final,
took over an ice-hockey stadium to produce a dressage-fest supported by
Computerland and Toyota. The event attracted full TV coverage and proved
a sell-out.
Sidneva and Artax Condor, who finished eighth in last year's final,
finished a full five per cent above their nearest challengers,
compatriots Elena Kalinina and Sydney 2000. Condor looked in great shape
having had a rest since the Athens Olympics.
Results
FEI World Cup Freestyle to Music
Presented by Computerland and Toyota
1, Artax Condor (Elena Sidneva RUS) 75.275
2, Sydney 2000 (Elena Kalinini RUS) 70.075
3, Problesk (Irina Lys BEL) 69.575
4, Buklet (Tatiana Sleptova RUS) 67.67
5, Nehol Yuri Kovshow UKR) 67.65
For further information visit www.polishprestige.pl
UPDATE:
The riders for the FEI World Cup Dressage Final to be held in Las Vegas
(USA) from 20 to 24 April will be selected as follows:
8 riders from the Western European League
1 rider from the Central European League
1 rider from the Canadian League (Leslie Reid)
2 riders from the USA League
1 rider from the South America or Asia
Defending Champion Anky van Grunsven (on completion of two qualifiers) 4 Wild cards will be allocated by the FEI Dressage Committee. (Australia will not be represented this year)
For further information visit
www.horsesport.org
The FEI World Cup Dressage, initiated in 1985, is the only worldwide series in this discipline. It comprises qualifying leagues encompassing Western and Central Europe, North America, Canada and Australia. Each FEI World Cup Dressage qualifier comprises a Grand Prix test, which in turn is a qualification for the Freestyle to Music competition, where
league
points are accumulated towards places in the Final. Judged on both technical and artistic merit, the FEI World Cup Dressage combines art, sport and partnership between horse and rider at the highest level and consistently proves a winning formula with audiences all over the world.
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