2006 World Cup Finals

Edward Gal and Lingh Under Pressure

When Edward Gal left the ring after his Grand Prix ride, he was shocked to find a major swelling underneath the girth. "I felt something was wrong, but didn't know why. He was responding strangely to my right leg and that's why I made mistakes in the Grand Prix," Gal explained. The Dutch team vet decided to ice the spot and by Saturday morning, the entire swelling was gone and Gal decided to ride his freestyle after all.

Riding his trance kur, Gal scored 79.075% and climbed up from a sixth place in the Grand Prix to a fourth in the Kur. Gal did not ride at his usual level. His highlight half passes were not as steep as usual, the haunches tilted to the left in the extended trots and there was no extended walk. At the end of the ride, Gal presented Lingh (by Flemmingh) more expressively and the final piaffe and passage were more glamourous than at the start.

Gal stated that the swelling, even though gone, had mentally affected his performance. "I had a bad preparation because of it. I'm glad I rode my kur today, but I felt myself going white when I got in. I was so stressed. When I felt it got better, I started riding more at the end."

Dutch Imke Schellekens-Bartels placed fifth with her Hanoverian mare Sunrise (by Singular Joter x Werther). Proclaimed as the new rising star in Holland, Schellekens has made a shooting career in two years time aboard Mr Smarius' dark bay mare. Though an extremely talented horse, Sunrise did not look confirmed in the kur on Saturday. She was constantly swooshing her tail and there was some loss of rhythm in the piaffe. The canter zig zag was beautiful.

Imke was extremely pleased with her fifth place at the World Cup Finals. "We still have to practice a lot, but Sunrise is a top horse and in two years we'll go for the win," Imke told the KNHS press officer.

Text and Photos copyrighted Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed without permission

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