Et is the art of dressage, converting the energy of a horse into a flowing and harmonious choreography with as little strength and effort as possible. Because the sequence of lessons in a Grand Prix, the most difficult test in dressage, is an interplay of tension and relaxation, of slow and fast, powerful and dynamic movements.
A horse that is particularly full of energy will find it difficult to stand completely still to salute at the beginning and end of the test or to walk relaxedly through the arena. However, if he has too little energy, the strong canter on the diagonal will lack power and expression. At the World Cup finals in Omaha, located in the American state of Nebraska, three riders managed in a special way to steer the energy of their three very different horses in the right direction.
Impatient beginning
For the second time in a row, Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl won the title at the end of the indoor season in dressage with the mare Dalera. The two had already won the opening test on Wednesday – despite deductions of points because Dalera preferred to start trotting before her rider had properly greeted the judges. And even in the walk, the slowest gait, she didn’t completely come to a relaxed stride.
“Maybe she had a little too much energy today,” said Jessica von Bredow-Werndl afterwards. But the 37-year-old now knows the mare, for whom it was the first tournament start since January, so well that she knows exactly how she “ticks”: “When I ride with Dalera in a test, I know that she gives now 200 percent. And if we make mistakes, it’s me because she’s my absolute mirror. If I’m not focused then a mistake happens immediately because she doesn’t sense me when I’m distracted. And also when she’s distracted.”
In the decisive test, the Grand Prix freestyle to music, neither of the two allowed themselves to be distracted. Neither from the unfamiliar surroundings, nor from the audience in the stands. In a way, those who watched the World Cup finals in Omaha live were given a glimpse into the not-so-distant future. The Olympic Games will start in Paris in just over a year. Edith Piaf’s voice was heard at 8:15 p.m. local time on this Good Friday in the Omaha arena. Dalera and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl trotted, galloped and piaffeed through the arena to the sounds of French chansons. This time without mistakes, but rewarded with many top marks, for example for the degree of difficulty of the freestyle or for the interpretation of the music.
“Grateful to ride this horse”
90.482 percent was their final result, not the best they have achieved so far, but the only one that night that cracked the 90 percent mark. The two have been unbeaten since the Tokyo Olympics, where they won gold. “This horse is so special and so is the connection we have,” said Jessica von Bredow-Werndl after her second ride and added: “It’s not normal what I’m allowed to experience with her and I’m so grateful to be able to ride this horse to be allowed. She is simply wonderful.” The rider likes to describe Dalera as a mythical creature with infinite trust in her people. It would be a fairy tale for her if the two of them won Olympic gold again in Paris, in front of the Sun King’s fairytale castle in Versailles.
