Justin Verboomen Wins Grand Prix at the World Cup Event in Lyon; Isabell Werth Finishes Second

Lyon is the second of a total of ten World Cup stops on the way to the finals in Gothenburg at the end of March. Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus were the dominant winners last year and, on paper at least, the favorites to win. Nevertheless, there was great anticipation surrounding their performance, as Lyon marked the first tournament for the ten-year-old Rhineland stallion of Portuguese breeding, who—as European champion at the World Championships in Aachen—had been among the clear medal contenders but ultimately left Soers without a single medal.

In Aachen, Verboomen and Zonik Plus made some costly mistakes in their movements, and overall, there was a lack of harmony between the two. Today was different—fewer mistakes, more harmony. The stallion completed the test without any major slip-ups, showcasing highlights such as centered pirouettes with maximum weight-carrying. The flying changes have also improved significantly. These had always been something of a challenge for the pair. But Zonik Plus is now much more relaxed in this area. Verboomen also presented the stallion with a beautiful profile and fine contact. Everything looked as effortless as usual.

In terms of contact, the performance was at times even a bit too light. At certain moments, the positive line of tension from the hind leg through the back to the hand was missing. During these sequences, the black horse’s neck and poll remained stable, but the contact felt “empty.” In both the trot and the canter, his mouth was noticeably open at times. The stallion is not quite back to his old self in the piaffe and passage either. The incredible weight-carrying ability and hock flexion that the stallion displayed in the pirouettes would have been desirable here as well.

Four of the five judges ranked the pair first. Marietta Almas, judging Group H, even awarded them 81.630 percent—the highest score. The lowest score was 75.543 percent, given by Sven Günter Rothenberger in Group B. He would have placed the pair in second place. But in the end, they won with a score of 79.065 percent.

Viva Gold OLD Sets a Personal Best

Isabell Werth’s Viva Gold OLD is once again following in his grandmother’s footsteps. The three-time World Cup champion Weihegold was victorious twice in Lyon with Werth, in 2016 and 2021. It remains to be seen whether her grandson can follow that five-year cycle. But he’s on the right track. Lyon is his first World Cup tournament, and not only in terms of scores (77.580 percent), it was the best Grand Prix Viva Gold has ever competed in. He finished second in the class.

Among the highlights of the test were the supple backing up, the collected passages, the piaffes—in which the stallion showed improvement in rhythm and freedom of the shoulders—the pirouettes, and the zigzag traversals. Still on the wish list: more suppleness in the trot, more fluid traversals, and more collected, less rushed extensions, as well as less use of the curb rein.

Belgium Again

The second Belgian dressage surprise in recent months came from Larissa Pauluis and her Ampere son Flambeau, who, for example, won the World Cup Freestyle in Neumünster in February, qualified for the finals, but chose not to compete in Texas.

Today in Lyon, they kicked off their next World Cup season with a third-place finish in the Grand Prix after a ride that earned 74.630 percent and what were perhaps the best piaffes of the day.It was a personal best for the 16-year-old gelding—and it could be much more if the score were relative rather than absolute.

It will be interesting to see how these horses handle the exercise when they are allowed to chew with the reins out of the rider’s hands. The problem is evident throughout the entire test, so it can be explicitly graded here.

The other placegetters

. Another interesting horse trained by Dutch rider Marieke van der Putten is the 11-year-old KWPN stallion Kuvasz RS2., a son of the four-time world champion Glamourdale, who bears a striking resemblance to his sire both in appearance and in his movement. The black horse displayed excellent extensions and traversals at a trot with a beautiful lateral profile. In piaffe and passage, Kuvasz showed himself to be very active and tactical, lifting his feet almost disproportionately high in the piaffe. At a canter—great two-time changes à la Glamourdale, flawless and long-striding single changes, excellent extension, precise zigzag traversals, pirouettes that were somewhat stiff and twisting, and then, in his overzealousness, several single changes on the center line between the pirouettes instead of just one. Had it not been for those errors, the talented black horse, with its many highlights in the test, would have placed even higher. Both side judges ranked the pair third. They scored 73.456 percent.

Two Portuguese sport horses followed behind him. The son of Don Juan de Hus finished fourth Jedai de Massa with Belgium’s Wim Verwimp in the saddle. The 12-year-old gelding, bred by Sylvain Massa, scored 71.891 percent, narrowly edging out the rider who is two years older Hit Plus from Bretton Woods under Maria Caetano (POR) by (71,630), who, as the name suggests, comes from Portugal’s other well-known sport horse breeding farm, Dressage Plus, where Boaventura Freire will be back home soon. Freire said that, in his view, his uncle’s stud farm is “one of the best companies in the industry.” The Lyon Grand Prix confirmed his statement: 15 horses at the start, two bred by Dressage Plus, one victorious (Zonik Plus), the other placing sixth—an impressive record!

Behind them, Thamar Zweistra ( NED) earned more points riding Hexagons Mr. Magnum N.O.P., a son of Expression who is only nine years old. (70.565) and Spain’s Claudio Castilla Ruiz riding the Lusitano Jota das Figueiras (70.109).