CDI Tolbert Grand Prix Special

A few weeks ago, Charlott-Maria Schürmann and Dante’s Pearl made their international Grand Prix debut in Lier. The CDI Tolbert was now the first outdoor show at Grand Prix level for the Dante Weltino daughter. After a Grand Prix with highlights, but also a few problems, she was able to show what she is made of today in the Grand Prix Special.

Charlott-Maria Schürmann and Dante’s Pearl began the second Grand Prix Special of their lives in a relaxed, energetic and expressive manner. The mare’s hind legs were still not quite even in the passage, but this time without a “double beat”. In collected walk, Schürmann was just able to keep her in walk. The transition into the piaffe was prompt, the piaffe itself diagonal, in time and diligent, but still over little ground. In the long run, Dante’s Pearl should gain in composure and grandeur. She needed a few steps to find the passage beat. The second piaffe also went quite well, as did the transitions.

In canter, the mare scored points with straight and easily jumped series changes, whereby she even seemed to become more stable towards the end of the diagonal with the single changes than at the beginning. The strong canter was expressive, the return was secure and the left pirouette afterwards was wonderfully balanced and centered. The nine changes of one on the centerline were also very well executed – only slightly swaying, but relaxed and securely jumped through to the front. In the right pirouette, Dante’s Pearl briefly lost her balance once, but Schürmann was able to save the situation.

All in all, a great performance by the pair, who are still at the very beginning! The judges agreed: 74.064 percent, a personal record, but still room for improvement.

Second place to Sweden

The winners of the Grand Prix, Therese Nilshagen and Navarro, had to settle for second place today. One had the impression that Nilshagen had more to do with keeping the mighty stallion with her today. He seemed quite interested in everything that was happening outside the arena, but did his job very well. His passages were not always completely even and he should work more with his hind leg under the center of gravity, but what was pleasing about both pairs placed in front was that they were clearly separated from the collected trot. The pair really scored in the canter tour – at least until the second pirouette, where Navarro seemed to be thinking about the long side again and Nilshagen had to remind him energetically that there was still a lesson to be completed. But here, too, this ten-year-old Negro son put in a great performance with the Swedish Olympic rider from the Lodbergen Dressage Performance Center. They received 73.574 percent.

Nilshagen and Navarro thus left another Swedish duo behind them, Cecilia Bergkrå and My Friend. The likeable duo competed in the U25 Tour last year and always stand out with their beautiful rides. Today was only their second international special and the first time they broke the 70 percent mark. Third place with 70.404 percent was a small milestone.

Sensitive Diamante

The second German pair in the special were Juliane Brunkhorst and DSP Diamante Negro. The ten-year-old DeLorean son is a highly sensitive horse and today there was something on the short side with the judges (possibly the camera?) that he didn’t like at all. Even during the short warm-up before the task began, he didn’t want to go there at all. But he and Brunkhorst are a well-rehearsed pair and he placed his trust in his rider. But every time he went in that direction, his eyes widened. When he approached the corner at an angle in the canter traversal, he lost his composure for a moment. He stopped abruptly and wanted to follow his instinct to flee. But Brunkhorst was able to convince him to continue. The fact that Diamante Negro simply carried on after this incident and also showed some highlights speaks just as much for the partnership between the two as it does for the gelding’s attitude. And even though he was distracted at times today, his great talent shone through time and again. All in all, they scored 67.489 percent this time and came seventh. But there is still plenty of room for improvement.

You can find all the results here.