Triumph for Team Denmark
FEI World Dressage Championship in Herning 2022: Triumph for Team Denmark and Individual Title for Britain
On August 7th of 2022, at the Blue Horse FEI World Dressage Championship in Herning, the dressage team of Denmark (Chef d’Equipe Anne-Mette Binder) won the gold medal. This became a historical moment for the Danish team as it is their first gold medal at a World Championship. The Danes being strong as a team led to hopes for Danish Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour winning the gold medal in the individual ranking, but Britain’s Charlotte Fry persevered.
Triumph for Team Denmark, Team victory
Team victory on Sunday was secured by anchor rider Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour. She scored 81.864 percent riding Vamos Amigos, which put her into first place in the Individual standings after that test. Teammates Nanna Merrald Rasmussen (76.724 percent aboard Blue Hors Zack), Carina Cassøe Krüth (76.863 percent aboard Heiline’s Danciera), and Daniel Bachmann Andersen (76.584 percent aboard Marshall-Bell) all contributed to a score of 235.451 points. Great Britain (Chef d’Equipe Caroline Griffith) took silver for the third time at a World Championship with a total score of 234.223 percent. The German team (Chef d’Equipe Klaus Roeser) ended up in the bronze medal position with a score of 230.791 points.
Triumph for Team Denmark, Sunday’s team competition
Heading into Sunday’s team competition, the Dutch were actually in the lead. The performance of Dinja van Liere and Hermes helped them gain the advantage, as she initially had taken the lead in the Individual standings with a score of 78.835 percent. The Germans were only a point behind the Dutch team, and Denmark sat in the bronze position. Yet the standings were far from final. Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin, an Olympic champion, and Imhotep finished on 77.407 percent to put her team into contendership for the podium. Dujardin remained second after van Liere while defending Individual champion Isabell Werth of Germany was in third. Werth had finished her test with 77.127 percent on her new teammate, DSP Quantaz. The 80 percent score was broken by Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale, who ended up shifting the individual ranking by taking the gold medal position. Fry, a medalist at the Tokyo Olympics and 2021 European Championships, earned a final mark of 80.838 percent, helping the British team into the lead.
Triumph for Team Denmark, more riders to perform
However, several more riders were still awaiting their moment. Dutch rider Emmelie Scholtens rode to a score of 74.410 percent on nine year old Indian Rock. However, her score was only enough to keep the Netherlands in second at the moment. Danish rider Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour changed the course of the competition aboard her ten-year-old Westphalian Vamos Amigos. She scored 81.864 percent, moving both herself and her team up the leaderboard. Team Denmark ended on a total score of 235.451 points beating Great Britain’s score of 234.223 points. It was down to the final competitor to determine the final ranking. Frederic Wandres on Duke of Britain FRH required a score of above 80 percent to lead Germany to the gold. The pair ended with 76.661 percent, moving Germany up into the bronze position while pushing Sweden down to fourth.
Triumph for Team Denmark, The Danish flag flew high
The Danish flag flew high as the team of four prepared to address the crowd before the prize-giving ceremony. Two of the team members, Merrald Rassmussen and Cassøe Krüth showed their true gratitude to the enthusiastic fans. All team members expressed their excitement about the victory. Laudrup-Dufour stated: “Now we are the World Champions, and that’s really cool!” Laudrup-Dufour also expressed her gratitude towards the viewers who remained quiet throughout the tests so that the pairs could focus. Bachman Andersen stated: “We put everything into this, every waking hour into achieving these goals.” With the final scores out all riders were ready to celebrate. Laudrup-Dufour stated excitedly: “Let’s just have a party!”
Other nations rankings
As for the rest of the nations, team Sweden ended one spot away from the podium in fourth while the Dutch, the Americans, Spanish, Australian, Austrian, Portugues, Finish, French, Belgian, Swiss, Japanese, Irish, Norwegian, and Polish teams followed. New Zealand was unfortunately disqualified after several of their horses failed the vet check, leaving their team down to two riders.
With the team standings finalized, the individual title was still in question. The team event, other than serving as a qualifier for the 2024 Olympic Games at Paris for the top six teams, allowed for top 30 individuals in the ranking to qualify for the Grand Prix Special test. Monday’s Grand Prix Special win went to British Charlotte “Lottie” Fry and her 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood Glamourdale. She ended the event on a score of 82.508 percent, gathering several 9s and 10s throughout the test. After helping her team win bronze, Danish rider Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on Vamos Amigos scored 81.322 percent, finishing in the silver position. Dutch rider Dinja van Liere and Hermes finished with the bronze medal after riding the test for a score of 79.407 percent. This put the defending champion Isabell Werth and DSP Quantaz into fourth place, with a score of 79.073 percent.
Grand Prix Special
After the Grand Prix Special, the top fifteen riders would battle it out during Wednesday’s Freestyle event.
A separate medal ceremony would occur to crown the Dressage Freestyle World Champion. All eyes were on Charlotte Fry to see if she could become the all-round World Champion. Benjamin Werndl of Germany on Famoso OLD was first to top the competition on a score of 78.237 percent.
The Dutch Dinja van Liere gave a beautiful ride aboard Hermes, recovering quickly from a wobble during a transition. However, her score of 79.407 percent was beaten by Ladrup-Dufour’s score of 81.322 percent. Yet the Danes weren’t quite lucky enough to get another gold medal.
Fry and Glamourdale wowed both the audience and the judges once again in every way. Glamourdale showed his talent in every element, from the passage to the last halt and salute. Fry left the arena on a final score of 82.508 percent, but she still had some strong riders waiting to ride their tests.
Germany’s Isabell Werth is an extremely decorated dressage rider who fights. Yet since DSP Quantaz is still a new partner to her, the pair ended on a score of 79.073 percent.
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Triumph for Team Denmark, Charlotte Fry comment
After finding out that she became the all-around champion, Fry was full of emotions. Fry stated: “It’s pretty unreal, it’s just unbelievable right now.
I feel like I’m about to burst into tears. Glamourdale gave me everything, and the atmosphere was incredible. It gave me the most incredible test I’ve ever felt. I feel like the sky’s the limit for Glamourdale, “he’s really one in a million”. Just like the Danish team, Fry expressed her appreciation for the atmosphere created by the fans. The show was in the Stutteri Ask Stadium: “It’s the best feeling in the world. Glamourdale really appreciated it!”
Triumph for Team Denmark, Finale results
The final results other than the top three at the podium were as follows: Germany’s Isabelle Werth and DSP Quantaz finished fourth, Benjamin Werndl of Germany on Famoso OLD placed fifth, after that came Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain on Imhotep. The top ten also consisted of Gareth Hughes of Great Britain on Classic Briolinca, Daniel Bachmann Andersen of Denmark on Marshall-Bell, Andrienne Lyle of the USA on Salvino, and Patrik Kittel of Sweden on Touchdown. In addition to well-known names, the World Championships honored some lesser known talents. João Victor Marcari Oliva of Brazil aboard Escorial Horsecampline and Nicolas Wagner Ehlinger of Luxembourg on Quater Back Junior FRH gave well-known dressage riders a run for their money by getting into the top 30 to compete in Monday’s Grand Prix Special.
References
“Fry Flies to Victory in the Grand Prix Special.” FEI.org, Fédération Équestre Internationale, 8 Aug. 2022, https://www.fei.org/stories/sport/dressage/fry-flies-victory-grand-prix-special.
“Laudrup-Dufour Leads Denmark to Victory.” FEI, Fédération Équestre Internationale, 7 Aug. 2022, https://www.fei.org/stories/sport/dressage/laudrup-dufour-leads-denmark-victory.
