Von Bredow-Werndl gives Germany 25th European Dressage championship
Madrid, Sep 8 (EFE).- Since its inception in 1965, Germany has dominated the European Team Dressage Championships, winning 25 out of 29, the latest being on Wednesday at home in Hagen, thanks to a fine performance by world number one Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl and the legendary Isabell Werth.
This is the third European title in a row for the Germans, who also won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Only the Netherlands with three victories (2007, 2009 and 2015) and Great Britain with one (2011), have unseated Germany at the top of the podium.
On the first day in Hagen, Great Britain led the standings with an excellent ride by Charlotte Fry and Everdale (77.671%), Denmark finished second and Germany could only manage third.
Dorothee Schnieder was attending a major tournament for the first time with her horse Faustus, and scored 74.965%; the rider was happy but admitted in an interview with the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) that she had made some mistakes during the passage.
The Germans needed their two top riders to do their best to have a chance for gold; first Werth, on this occasion with Weihegold Old, with 79.721% and then later Von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB with an impressive 84.099% -the highest score of the two days-, did not disappoint, finishing with 238.944%.
Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann’s surprising effort (76.366%), together with that of team leader Cathrine Dufour (79.721%), allowed Denmark to lead during a good part of the program, although Great Britain, with Carl Hester and London and Rio Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin, pipped the Danes at the post.
The British won silver by a narrow margin, 232.345% to the Scandanavians’ 231.165%.
Von Bredow-Werndl is the favorite to win gold in both the Special and Freestyle with Music programs, although Dujardin and Dufour will put in a good fight, as well as her compatriot Werth, who has 24 European medals, two championships in a row and whose mare ‘Weihegold Old’ already knows what it is like to reign in Europe. EFE
jmp/og/lap/jrh
