Isabell Werth has achieved a second consecutive World Cup win in the third leg of the Western European League in Stuttgart, Germany.
‘Great year’
It was a great night for the home crowd, with five of the top six places going to German riders.
Isabell cruised to victory riding her wonderful 12-year-old mare Weihegold. Their score of 87.575% was nearly 5% ahead Dorothee Schneider and Sammy Davis Jr. in second place. Fellow-countrywomen Helen Langehanenberg was third riding Damsey FRH (79.615%).
“Weihe has had such a great year,” said Isabell. “After Gothenburg we gave her a long break, but we thought it would be lovely to bring her to Stuttgart for the home crowd to see her.”
Mistake in two-tempis
Isabell admitted their Freestyle wasn’t perfect, explaining “the mistake in the two-tempis was all mine”, but the fluency of the rest of their test kept them off the top spot.
Sweden’s Tinne Vilhelmson Silfven (Paridon Magi) finished fourth, fractionally ahead of Germany’s Fabienne Lutkemeier (Fabregaz) and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (Zaire-E) in fifth and sixth.
Britain’s Hayley Watson-Greaves wasn’t far off the podium places after scoring 75.515 with Rubins Nite, to take eighth place.
Substantial lead
As the defending World Cup champion Isabell doesn’t earn points in the Western European League series. To secure her place in the final she simply has to compete the horse she decides to take to Paris in two qualifiers. Isabell is in the fortunate position of having three top horses to choose from: Don Johnson, Emilio and Weihegold.
Sweden’s Patrik Kittel has a substantial lead on the league table, with Switzerland’s Marcela Krinke Susmelj in second place. Spain’s Morgan Barbancon Mestre is third, while Dorothee Schneider has moved up from 13th to fourth spot.
The Western European League fourth leg is in Salzburg, Austria on 9-10 December, which will be followed by London Olympia on 12-13 December.
Don’t miss FEI World Cup Dressage: Stuttgart when it premieres on 22 November at 8pm on Sky 253 and online via H&C Play or Amazon Video. The show will then be available to watch on Catch Up.