High-class duel to finish the international show trilogy in Achleiten! Isabell Werth celebrated her 10th consecutive victory with Emilio in the Grand Prix Special, the most difficult dressage test in the world, on Sunday.
"Yesterday's Grand Prix was super, today's Special was more of a practice ride and Vici as a good hostess was so polite as to give us the lead," laughed the 51-year-old German grande dame of dressage, who had won with a score of 77.106 percent, only 0.34 percent ahead of Victoria Max-Theurer and Abegglen FH NRW.
"Joking aside, Emilio was unfocused today. It started as soon as he entered the arena. For me and my horses the three shows in Achleiten were very instructive. After all, we are preparing for the German championships in September," analyzed Isabell Werth, who achieved more than 80 percent in 7 out of 10 victories in Achleiten with her sports partners Weihegold OLD, Emilio and Quantaz in the last 6 weeks.
Victoria Max-Theurer had a little trouble with her round with the 10-year-old gelding Abegglen in the Grand Prix Special after the freestyle victory on Saturday with Rockabilly ahead of the German rider Dorothee Schneider and Sammy Davis Jr, “There were expensive mistakes in the one-tempi flying changes and in the pirouette, but all in all it was a very nice test at the end of 6 exhausting weeks.“
In general, the 34-year-old Upper Austrian, who qualified for the Olympic Games for the 5th time in a row, can look confidently into the future under the sign of the five rings, "I am really proud of how Rocky and Aby have developed over the past months and what they have achieved, especially in the last 6 weeks at 3 shows and a training trip. The level we are at is also very positive towards the Olympic Games in Tokyo. But now the two of them will get a well-deserved break and then we will think about the further plan. That also depends on the international development around the coronavirus pandemic.“
Show host Elisabeth Max-Theurer took stock with satisfaction, "3 shows within 6 weeks and we experienced 9 days of great sport. Despite the corona virus, we made every effort to ensure that international shows did not come to a stillstand in Austria. Unfortunately, the strict security regulations are necessary in this unstable situation, as can be seen from the increasing number of infected people. I would like to thank everyone involved for their discipline in keeping their distance and wearing masks".
Result
N°4 FEI Grand Prix Special (CDI4*)
1. Isabell Werth (GER), Emilio 77,106 Prozent
2. Victoria Max-Theurer (AUT), Abegglen FH NRW 76,766
3. Matthias Kempkes (GER), Riccoletto 68,106
All results you can find here horse-events.at