Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Dancier Gold Win the Intermédiaire II at Gut Ising

After the CSI obstacles at the Gut Ising Horse Festival had been taken down, the 20×60 arena was set up under floodlights for the Grand Prix. The spectators had plenty of time to enjoy the atmosphere of a late-summer evening on Lake Chiemsee. The best pair was the last to compete, entering the arena at 10:13 p.m.: Sheldon Cooper, winner of the 2024 Louisdor Prize, with his trainer Carina Harnisch.

The impressive son of Sezuan is now eleven years old and danced effortlessly and lightly through the Grand Prix exercises with beautiful posture. All in all, the pair scored a whopping 75.033 percent. That was more than enough to relegate Yara Reichert and Springbank II—who had been in the lead up to that point—to second place (71.933).

Franz Trischberger took third place on Sanrio, a son of San Remo (71.50), followed by Nicole Casper riding Birkhof’s Zabalou (70.1) and Raphael Netz with a ride on Vita di Lusso that wasn’t always smooth but was also peppered with highlights—a horse that actually belongs to Netz’s girlfriend, Selina Söder, but which he is currently riding for an indefinite period, as he told EQUI PAGES. The final score was 69.367 percent.

Dancier Gold Makes Progress Toward Inter II Victory

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl has been riding the Hanoverian stallion Dancier Gold FRH for just a few months. The Chiemsee Horse Festival is the fourth competition for the pair. This morning, they competed in the Intermédiaire II and won with a score of 72.50 percent, ahead of Victoria Nielsen on her elegant Prinzessin Paula after a very beautiful performance—though there is still room for improvement in the piaffes (72.237)—and Uwe Schwanz riding Don Lauris (71.579).

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl was probably even happier with the ride than with the victory. It was, in fact, much more fluid and natural than it had been the week before in Schäftlarn. Especially during the trot sequence, the four-time Olympic champion had the 11-year-old son of Dancier under great control—finely responsive to the bit, beautifully upright with proper frame, and moving evenly through the transitions in extensions, half-passes, and passages. Even at a walk, he seemed to be moving more like a trot today. One drawback is still the pirouettes, during which he tends to rear up and brace himself instead of continuing to canter with a relaxed back. But the first three jumps of the left pirouette were already much better. And most importantly: He’s really trying his best! It should only be a matter of time before he gets the hang of it (in the truest sense of the word). The single changes also went well afterward.

You can find all the results from the Chiemsee Horse Festival at Gut Ising here.