After three days of dressage we were eager to get the speed up here in Strzegom and this is what we all have been waiting for – it´s cross-country time!
Strzegom continues be sensational sunny, warm and to just make it perfect there has been a bit of a breeze all day that made us all hang on to our hats, scarves and caps. Before throwing ourselves into the cross country there was still a bit of dressage to round up on Friday morning with three classes remaining.
Taking up where we left off on Thursday, we started the morning in Arena B with CCI 1* where we had a Swedish rider in the lead overnight. 20 riders went before the Ground Jury and now we have a new leader in Julia Gillmaier (POL) in 1st position after a strong dressage being chased by Sandra Auffarth (GER) and Swedish Therese Viklund (our overnight leader) comes in 3rd. The cross country starts today and with many riders eager to win we can look forward to a very exciting day.
In Arena B CCI 2* dressage had 27 riders starting, a nice variety of seasoned riders on a bit younger horses to younger riders starting with more seasoned horses. Quite a mix! The arena B is a neat little arena that allows close access for spectators and it was nice to see some many coming along to cheer on their favorite rider. We ended the day at Arena B with a national favorite and very experienced rider Pawel Spisak in the lead, closely followed by another rider of great expertise Linda Algotsson in 2nd. Alice Naber-Lozeman came in 3rd and with only a few points separating the top five it´s really an open race as we head into the crosscountry.
Nations Cup CICO3*
In the Main Arena it was all about FEI Nations Cup 3* dressage. Six teams had lined up for Friday’s FEI Nations Cup; Germany, Poland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Great Britain and Italy. Strzegom is the first leg of this year’s Series (out of nine) where the best seven scores will be counted for the overall winner of the Series.
Friday’s dressage was a very close thing between the teams. All six countries brought similar level of the teams leaving this class open for surprises and a few certainly came along. The Arena A is wide and open with some distractions, spooking quite a few horses and causing a few “blow outs”. Some riders’ nerves might have added to the tension so all in all not as many top results as we expected but there were still had some very nice rides. Germany rarely lets you down and it probably comes as no surprise to have them in the lead so the leader board currently stands with:
1. Germany 2. Netherlands 3. Great Britain 4. Poland 5. Sweden 6. Italy
CIC1* and 2*
Friday´s cross country courses gave the riders in both 1* and 2* a proper test. Marcin´s courses are known to be technical and the fences come at you quickly. Being a narrow course it´s a challenge to keep the horses, especially the younger and less experienced ones, focused on the task and not having them distracted by all that is going on around them. In both classes, we could see that tension / loss of focus happening especially by the second water complex where the horses had to jump a log into the water followed by two corners directly after the water.
That in itself can be tough question without adding the people, other fences, spectators and cameras just opposite the water complex. Some horses got a bit distracted already before jumping into the water resulting in lost balance, rhythm and line. Others ended up in trouble after the first jump into the water as the horses lost speed and didn’t quite get the momentum and balance back. Overall both courses ended up with some very good rides for those who managed to keep their horses in a steady rhythm, focused on the task and keeping a good line towards the fences.
Finishing off the CIC1* we still have the same top three in the lead as after the dressage; Noora Cederberg/Tilda V in 1st place, Rebecca –Juana Gerken/ Day of Glory 4 in 2nd place and Janet Wiesner/FST Golden Joy in 3rd. The difference between second place and sixth place is less than four penalties so it´s still very much a fight coming into tomorrow’s showjumping
In CIC2* Kai Rüder seems unstoppable, he has had a flying start so far remaining in the lead with Coin Toss and keeping his second ride Charlie Weld in 4th place. Merel Blom riding The Quizmaster in 2nd and Rebecca-Juana Gerken in 3rd - well done by Rebecca to have two horses in top three in 1* and 2*!
XC starts at 9.00am so join us for the live stream at STRZEGOM TV and watch the cross country phase for the CC1* / CCI2* / CCI3* and of course the CCIO 3* FEI Nations Cup!
Article by Leszek Wójcik
