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2007
World Championships for Young Dressage Horses
Alabastro Surprise Winner of the 6-year old
Consolation Finals
August 4, 2007
 On
Saturday morning August 4, 2007, the 6-year old
Consolation Finals took place at the 2007 World
Championships
for Young Dressage Horses in Verden, Germany.
The surprise winner of the class was the Hanoverian licensed stallion Alabastro
(by Alabaster x Brentano II) under Belgian rider
Nick van Laer.
The consolation finals are the ultimate chance
for youngsters who made mistakes or who did
not show
their full
potential to show off their class one last
time and earn a ticket to the big finals on Sunday.
The top three placing horses of the consolation
finals automatically qualify for the finals
and
fill of a field of 15 horses in total that
will battle for the title of World Champion. |
 Nick
van Laer and Alabastro already proved to be a strong
pair in the qualification round in which they
probably were a bit underscored. But vengeance
was theirs and with a very solid ride, better than
in the first round, they scored a total of 8.04
and topped the leader board.
Judge Stephen Clarke praised Alabastro's absolute
regularity and good impulsion in the trot with
the medium and extended trot as highlights of the
test (this horse performed the best trot extensions
of all competing horses in the World Championships).
The walk was not totally clear on the 1st diagonal
but improved on the second. The canter showed much
energy and expression. While in the first round,
Alabastro was a bit dead in the mouth, his submission
in the consolation finals was far better and
he moved confidently and powerfully forwards. The
horse's scores were 8.7 for trot, 7.0 for walk,
8.4 for canter, 8.0 for submission and 8.1 for
general impression. The total of 8.04 placed them
at the top! |
 While
the judging of the consolation class was good to
follow and the audience in general seemed to agree
with the verdict of the judges, the second place
of Esther Blok and the KWPN branded Ulysse was
a bit of a surprise. This reporter would have switched
the ranking of secoind placed Ulysse with the fourth
place of the KWPN stallion Uphill. The latter was
far superior in his presentation and overall quality
of basic gaits. However, the judges believed that
Ulysse was the second best performing horse in
the consolation class. The long legged Jazz x Roulette
offspring is an elegant dressage horse who was
presented in a very active way and though the judges
said that the tempo was regular, it was way too
quick and there was much balance loss in the bends.
The walk needed more opening in the frame and the
canter needed to be more uphill through the shoulder.
The judges also thought this horse was clear in
his regularity but there was loss of rhythm. The
rider tried very hard to present the horse in an
active, engaged way but overpushed her horse a
bit. Nonetheless, Ulysse is definitely a talented
horse and has much potential for the future. The
judges scored the trot 8.4, the walk 8.2, the canter
7.9, the submission 7.5 and 8.0 for general impression. |
 Qualitywise
the best horse in the consolation finals was
the Danish warmblood gelding Handsome. Bred by
Danish Olympian Lars Petersen and his ex-wife
Mette, Handsome is by Hertug out of a Schwedengruss
dam. The horse is owned by Elin Hove, who got
the chestnut as an engagement present from her
husband Hans Jul Andersen of Gestut Nexen in
Denmark.
Under Holger Sorensen, Handsome showed outstanding
light footed trot work with superb self carriage
and a very clear rhythm. The walk was good, the
canter groundcovering with good differences between
the collection and the medium and extended canter.
There was one problem with the first flying change,
which the horse executed early at his own will.
Also, Holger's seat was a bit strange as the
rider seemed to be standing in the stirrups throughtout
the ride and never really took place in the saddle.
The judges' scores (7.9 for trot, 8.0 for walk
and canter, 7.9 for submission and 8.0 for general
impression) totalled 7.96 and put them in third
position.
Text and photos copyrighted: Astrid Appels/Eurodressage
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