Frederic Wandres and Bluetooth Win the CDIO Freestyle at the Nations Cup Tournament in Hagen

Eleven pairs from the Nations Cup Tour in Hagen had decided to compete in the freestyle. The final three were kicked off by U.S. rider Christian Simonson on Fleau de Baian, the full brother of Parzival who was trained by Adelinde Cornelissen. The pair set the tone for their freestyle with a mix of pop songs set to classical music, such as “In the Name of Love” for the trot and “Man in the Mirror” for the walk, which fit well with the choreography and the pair as a team. Among their highlights were the pirouettes. Unfortunately, they had a slip-up in the double change and performed only eleven single changes. In the trot sequence, the dark chestnut moved with great elasticity and intricate mechanics, but one would have liked to see more evenness and more drive from behind through the back, as well as weight collection and hock flexion in the piaffes. In the canter as well, Simonson repeatedly tried to get the gelding away from the hand and to get him to yield, but could not prevent Fleau de Baian from falling behind the vertical from time to time. Nevertheless, with 76.650 percent, the pair temporarily took the lead.

Farrington – It’s a Celebration

Speaking of the right music—Kool & the Gang’s beat-driven “Get Down on It” isn’t suitable for every horse, but it fits Semmieke Rothenberger’s Farrington, with his accentuated and tight passage work, like a glove. Unfortunately, the eager chestnut seemed to have briefly “bumped” into the bit during the first piaffe, causing him to lift off the ground for a moment, but Semmieke Rothenberger skillfully salvaged the situation. As always, she rode with intense focus from one element to the next, demonstrating clearly defined transitions between passages and collected trot, wonderful pirouettes, and carefully executed and curved traverses in trot and canter. Unfortunately, the pair had a slip-up in the ones and a rhythm error in the final extended trot. A fan-shaped piaffe is required on the final line. The pair got into the piaffe rhythm well, but then the 16-year-old son of Jazz briefly lost his balance. With 78.930 percent, they set the new best score of the day.

Bluetooth Under the Floodlights

When Frederic Wandres and Bluetooth—the two-time Olympic team champions and two-time European team champions—were the last pair to enter “their” arena at Hof Kasselmann, darkness had fallen, and the pair were able to perform their truly challenging freestyle routine under the floodlights. The son of Bordeaux looked fresh and full of energy, performing great piaffes with maximum weight transfer and, in contrast, excellent extended trots as well as flowing and supple half-passes. In the canter, they began with superb double changes, which they performed on a curved line. However, Bluetooth seemed to have briefly lost his balance once during a change of direction. He executed one change in two phases, and the next one on both legs. That cost them just as much as the slip-up in the single changes on the center line. On the other hand, the pair performed very good pirouettes today, and Wandres even rode the one to the right with one hand. Result: 80.735 percent and a well-deserved victory for the pair.

Tomorrow will feature the Grand Prix Special as the grand finale of the Hagen Nations Cup, where the other two German team riders will compete. Raphael Netz and Great Escape Camelot will take the arena at 3:15 p.m., followed by Isabell Werth and Wendy half an hour later.

All starter and result lists can be found here.