Young Riders Win Gold in Dressage at the European Championships in Pilisjaszfalu

With a score of 216.029 percent—the sum of their three best rides—the German Young Riders Team prevailed over the Netherlands and Denmark at the European Championships in Pilisjaszfalu. Team Oranje scored 214.5 points, which was really just a hair more than Denmark’s score of 214.206 percent.

Marie Sohler Sets a Personal Best

Already yesterday, it was Lana-Pinou Baumgürtel on Escalla and Nele Klaus on Bonfire who put the German team in the lead with rides scoring over 70 percent. This was further reinforced by the performance of the third team rider, the 2024 U18 European Champion, Marie Sohler (who was still riding Global Player OLD at the time) in the saddle of Askehavens Beau Sancy, who, after a very harmonious round, improved her previous best result in the Young Riders team competition by about one percent and took the provisional lead with 71.50 percent.

The three-time European champions have delivered

The last pair to compete for Germany were last year’s three-time European Junior Champions, Julie Sofie Schmitz-Heinen and her Westphalian AC DC son, Attractive. The pair delivered a spirited performance with beautiful contact and harmony, featuring highlights such as the trot half-passes, the very balanced and centered pirouettes (especially the one to the left), and confident flying changes. They were rewarded with 73.588 percent—a score higher than either of them had ever achieved before. With this result, they not only posted the best score from a German perspective but also topped the overall standings. That remained the case until the very end.

Silver Team Led by Jameson’s Sister

The fact that the final results were so close was therefore not due to any mistakes by the German pairs, but rather to the fact that the competition was so strong. For the Netherlands, Lara van Nek and the 12-year-old All at Once daughter Jatilinda were the top scorers.

Jatilinda is a half-sister to, among others, the stallion Jameson RS2 (Marieke van der Putten) and bears some resemblance—both in appearance (a black horse with a lot of white) as in her movement—to the popular sire, who has competed multiple times at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses—which, incidentally, also applies to Jatilinda, who is sending a son, Obsession Taonga, to Verden this year, also with Lara van Nek. But that’s all in the future. Today, the focus was on European Championship results for Jatilinda and Lara van Nek. And in their first European Championship appearance, the pair contributed the lion’s share to the Netherlands’ silver medal with a new personal best of 72.971 percent.

The Netherlands’ second-best pair had already been part of the silver-medal-winning team of young riders last year: Anniek van Dulst with My First Choice – Dutopia. In Kronberg, they had placed fifth in the FEI team competition with a score of 71.853 percent. Now, with a score of 71.588 percent, they’ve secured fourth place, just ahead of Marie Sohler and Askehavens Beau Sancy.

The two pairs who had already competed yesterday—Esmee Boers on Montreux (69.941) and Dominique van Dilsen with Just Johnson (69.412)—finished in 12th and 13th place, respectively.

Denmark – the final race decided it

Theoretically, Denmark could still have won gold or silver going into the final pair. The team management had entrusted Sophia Boje Obel Jørgensen, one of their most experienced riders, with the task of riding last. However, to win a medal other than bronze, she and her nine-year-old mare, Atterupgaards Delahaye, would have had to improve upon their previous best score of 70.588 percent by one to two percent. They did improve, scoring 71.059 percent. But it wasn’t enough to overtake the Netherlands or even Germany. Finishing seventh in the overall standings, they were the third-best Danish pair.

Michella Skovsager and the nine-year-old mare Zimillione, trained by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, posted Denmark’s best score with 72.059 percent. The two “overnight leaders” heading into today’s final, Anna Have Larsen-Ledet and Finnigin-Voitz, finished sixth in the overall standings with 71.088 percent. The fourth pair representing Denmark was Andrea Hamann Sand and Blue Hors Victor (68.529).

The best British pair, featuring a familiar face

The disappointing fourth-place finish went to the British team. The top female rider was Fiona Bigwood’s daughter, Mette Dahl, who rode a horse well known in Germany: Daytona Platinum.

The impressive dark-brown stallion is now 15 and comes from one of Dante Weltino’s first crop of foals. Daytona Platinum was the first indication that the Olympic stallion Dante Weltino had what it takes to keep the legacy of his forefather Donnerhall alive. In 2016, he suddenly appeared at the Bundeschampionat with Lukas Fischer in the saddle. He won the qualifier with a score of 8.9. In the final, he “only” placed sixth, but still—he was the horse everyone was talking about that year. It was later announced that he had been sold to Fiona Bigwood in England, who competed him up to the international Grand Prix level.

Even during her junior years, Mette Dahl rode the impressive gelding in competition several times. This year marks her first season as a Young Rider, and she kicked off her first European Championships with a very nice performance that earned her a score of 70.971 percent and eighth place.

You can find all the results here.