Verboomen ahead of Fry in freestyle in Hertogenbosch, Netz and Dieudonné with personal best, Treffinger probably secures place in World Cup final

Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus won the final leg of the Western European League for the Dressage World Cup. The Belgian rider pulled out all the aces he had up his sleeve and delivered technically highly complex lesson sequences: From the halt to the salute, he went into the piaffe, followed by clearly spaced trot traversals alternating with those in the passage. From a piaffe-pirouette transition to a strong walk. When collected, Zonik Hit clearly stomped in the front leg as he had done in the Grand Prix (6.8).

The pair, who are at the top of the world rankings, made a small technical error: At the end of a line with single changes, the Zonik son jumped once with the same leg behind. Verboomen used the joker line to show 13 clear flying canter changes from jump to jump. One would have liked to see more jump-through from behind in the series changes.

Verboomen turns up the heat again at the end – and how!

The technical fireworks did not end there. To finish, the 38-year-old Belgian parried through in the right pirouette to land in a piaffe pirouette to the left. Justin Verboomen finished the ride one-handed in the passage, which was ultimately rewarded with 89.205 percent and victory.

A flight with Glamourdale and “Lottie” Fry

In the technical score, the A grade, the British rider Charlotte Fry was even ahead of Justin Verboomen – Zonik Plus does not have a strong canter for a 9.7 in his program, but he does have pirouettes, which were rated just as highly.

Fry used the theme of “flying” as the musical basis. Probably because “only flying is more beautiful”. The music spanned five decades of popular music – from the Venga Boys’ opening “We’re going to Ibiza” to the Cole Porter classic “Let’s fly away”. These melodies underpinned all the two-beat lessons, wide-crossing trot traversals, piaffes that simply had to involve more lowering of the large joints of the hindquarters and passages in which the 2022 World Champion received high marks.

An artistic coup: from the piaffe-pirouette (which is easier for the black horse than “normal” piaffe) to a transition into walk. John Denver’s 70s tearjerker “I’m leaving on a jet plane” accompanied the pair. Then “Fly me to the moon”, another Las Vegas hit, for the canter. In the two-in-hand changes, the black horse did not jump cleanly through the back once. When Nelly Furtado’s “I’m like a bird” was chirped, the minimum of five double changes required by the guidelines followed, immediately followed by a single change – faultless!

At the end, an on-board announcement sounded: “Thank you for flying Glamourdale Airlines”. And after the greeting, for the first time Lottie Fry no longer looked as focused as an airline captain on a landing approach with side gusts, but like a flight attendant kindly offering tomato juice. Or champagne – 89.085 percent.

Third place for the Netherlands

Marieke van der Putten and Zantana RS2 focused on safety. With the exception of a stumble in the strong trot, which could at least have been seen as an attempt to extend the frame, the Dutch rider managed a safe ride.

Lots of piaffe and passages with perfectly arranged music from a classical orchestra. Strings, wind instruments. Piano for the walk and a female choir can also sing “aaaaah”. No big choreographic surprises, “only” nine changes of one after a pirouette. There was a lot more technical finesse to be seen in the competition. But 82.175 percent meant third place.

Raphi rocks the thing

Anyone who grew up in the 80s (spoiler, there’s someone sitting here at the keys for whom this applies) will have been doubly blown away by Raphael Netz and Dieudonné’s freestyle. Because in addition to the fine riding and Netz’ aids, which always give the horse a moment to think when it gets technically difficult (spoiler two, it did more than once), there are also classics from black music: “Man in black” for the passage and “U Can’t touch this” by MC Hammer in the strong trot. The first strong trot was initially a little stuck, then after ten meters Netz was able to lengthen his neck and the front legs flew, just as the hind legs actively developed thrust. “Where is the love?” by the Black Eyed Peas, then “Return of the Mack” in canter, plus a series of changes on a curved line.

The Dante Weltino son is not quite straight in his body yet, but the way Raphael Netz gave the DSP showpiece the space in front and was able to show the series changes technically faultless – hats off! This makes dressage fun!

In the end, a few unevenly high steps crept in at the hocks during the difficult transition from the canter to the piaffe pirouette. But – characteristic of “Raphi”, who will be 27 years young in ten days’ time – he waited until the Dante Weltino son had sorted himself out to then get the energy of his active hind legs a little further under Dieudonné’s body. He still supports the front leg. But: the journey is the reward. And the way was recognizable.

The reward: a personal best with 80.81 percent and the pair’s third 80% PLUS performance. Raphael Netz can now plan his second World Cup final appearance in Texas in April.

Why an orthodontist has it harder than a big name

No accusation is more offensive to dressage judges than “celebrity judging”, i.e. reaching into the drawer with the high scores as soon as a well-known face appears in the arena. Dr. Svenja Kämper-Meyer also knows a thing or two about faces. She is an orthodontist and as such does not travel to an international show every weekend. Especially as she only has one Grand Prix horse, Amanyara, bred by her family, who can compete here.

Dr. Svenja Kämper-Meyer and Amanyara M FRH. Photo: sportfotos-lafrentz.de

Self-restraint perfectly staged at the last minute

The mare, third in the 2022 Louisdor Prize, has a lot of experience in the arena. She may not have a basic gait for a 10.0. But what the pair showed today in Hertogenbosch was technically complex and successful. The mare has one shortcoming. If she has to exert herself physically and her body sometimes demands just that, she flaps her tail a lot. But not because her rider is pushing too hard. She prefers to do this in practice on weekdays. With a delicate hand that always yielded towards the horse’s mouth, the mother of the family rode a freestyle that became more difficult by the second.

Especially in canter, the two can “work their magic”. Double changes were immediately followed by single changes, which led to a pirouette. And this in turn was “downshifted” to a piaffe-pirouette. The rider took the reins in her left hand and then rode passages with one hand on alternating lines – yes, this is possible if self-carriage is a matter of course – and even the piaffe with one hand at the end. How happy the rider from Nottuln was! Harmony score 8.0 – any celebrity couple would have scored higher. 77.035 percent, seventh place!

Moritz is back on the street

Moritz Treffinger, 23, and Cadeau Noir had experienced a day as black as the coat of the licensed black stallion in the Grand Prix. But the reigning U25 European champions were able to make up for this to the sound of the great hits of the Back Street Boys.

Their choreography is smart. They started at a gallop. And how! “Quit playing games with my heart” and a pirouette from the greeting, followed by 17 changes of one and a double pirouette on the center line. Then a strong canter with the famous question “Tell me why” from “I want it that way”. And how the two “wanten”, they wanted to. Everything worked: 11 double changes on the short side, followed by a full canter traversal to the right.

Great structure

In the collected and strong walk, Cadeau Noir let go better today than in the Grand Prix of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Then “We’ve got it goin on” for passage and traversals.

As we all know, the best comes at the end – as “freestyle pope” Katrina Wüst says in the podcast “Tell me about the horse”. Treffinger delivered: 21 single changes on a curved line. During the transition to the passage, he patted his partner encouragingly on the neck once. At the end, the pair performed a piaffe pirouette with a 360 degree turn. Unfortunately, the Hanoverian went wide at the back twice. That may have cost a couple of points. But tenth place, 74.895 percent, most likely means for Moritz Treffinger – the final field of participants will be announced in the course of the coming week: Off to Texas, Yeeehaaa!

Results from ‘s-Hertogenbosch