Young Riders kur to music podium.
Silver for Lotje Schoots - Gold Valentina Truppa - Bronze Christin Schutte |
Valentina Truppa on Chablis |
A happy Truppa |
Valentina Truppa reclaimed the gold medal after ther 2006 European Young Riders' Champion's title (back in the days when European Championships were still read Championships when the scores of all three tests counted to determine the overall Champion). |
Valentina Truppa and her father O-judge Enzo Truppa. |
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Dutch young rider Lotje Schoots recovered well after a lesser individual test (her horse Reine B (by Rubinstein) spooked from a falling billboard) and won Kur silver.
The European Championships in Nussloch attracted a big audience as the show was a specialty for the small town of Nussloch. Local school kids visited the show grounds on the day of the individual test and many uninterested kids crowded round the ring making noise and distracting the horses. Not the best management of the Nussloch organizers who couldn't keep the noise and commotion down during the rides. |
Jan Nivelle is the new coach of the Spanish Junior and YR teams,
and Carmen Naesgaard-Rodriguez is one of his most primising talents.
Together with her spectacular Ciowa, she flew into the hearts of the
crowds -- and made it into the YR finals. She's only worked with Nivelle
for a couple of shows -- let them continue for a while, and the future
should be theirs. The four photos below are all Naesgaard |
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Carmen Naesgaard-Rodriguez and her spectacular "Grande
Opera" freestyle were one of those examples for strange judging. Yes,
she has less routine than Valentina Truppa, but her choreography has
more chutzpah, and her horse was better on the aids. The fact that there was a seven-percent-gap between them is hard to
believe. Still, she left the arena applauding the audience and trainer Jan
Nivelle was very happy with her fifth place.
Jan Nivelle
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Francisco Boaventura Freire and his Lusitano stallion
Peralta Pinha.
This young man is another example of style and
horsemanship going unrewarded, but the crowds loved him. He scored
69,75% in the freestyle finals and 65 resp. 67% in the two other tests,
maybe because his horse is a Lusitano with the typical "knee" action. It certainly can't have been because of the harmonious style he
shows in the saddle. |
Also, the way he treated his horse outside the ring was fun to watch, whether he shared his water bottle with him or just refused to hand him over to a groom after his rides and took care of him himself. |
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Portuguese Francisco Boaventura Freire
Portuguese Mafalda Galiza Mendes would have deserved a better result for her beautiful freestyle as well .
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Well done, Luxembourg -- Veronique Henschen & Fontalero. After her ride, a kingdom for a wet towel.
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