2005 World Cup Finals

Aramis, Barclay II and Escapado

So there are three more horses left to talk about. Hubertus Schmidt and Aramis put in an awesome ride finishing eight with 77.200%. "Wow, that horse grew two inches taller in withers since the Grand Prix," Dove said. "Everything looked easy; piaffe, passage, extended trot, all in front of leg. It showed beautiful training on a good horse. All the transitions were on the beat of music. It was just a pleasure."

Dutch Sven Rothenberger and Barclay II also performed beyond expectation. Riding to Simon and Garfunkel, Rothenberger looked Barclay II fresher than ever and placed 9th with 75.250. "Gorgeous music and it fits the horse. At times, he almost danced! yes even with Sven being a bit heavy handed, they both went through to a level where they both looked happy," Dove wrote. At times, Barclay (by Brentano II x Lungau) did die behind in the piaffe, but the extensions and the passage were lovely."

Brit Carl Hester landed on 10th place with 73.475%, not their personal best. "Escapado is a lovely horse with a nice passage. The piaffe was ok and correct. They lacked sparkle in general and the choreography was not very inspiring," according to Dove.

Text by Lita Dove and Astrid Appels - Photos copyrighted Dirk Caremans
No Reproduction Allowed

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