WEG Wrapup: Team Netherlands Leads Driving and Showjumping

Also of note was the drivers’ advanced hat-wearing.

Jeroen Dubbeldam, (NED), Zenith SFN / © Hippo Foto Team – Dirk Caremans

SHOWJUMPING

Individual Qualification

1. Marlon Módolo Zanotelli and AD CLOUWNI (Brazil)
2. Beezie Madden and CORTES C (USA)
3. Rolf-Göran Bengtsson CASALL ASK (Sweden)

Team

1. Netherlands–12.83
2. France–14.08
3. USA–16.72

 Another medal for the Dutch. Great Britain and Germany are still ahead when it comes to overall medal count, but riders from the Netherlands won the showjumping gold today by a slim margin of 1.25 penalties.

Tricky second jump caused a lot of mistakes. “It was a square oxer and you needed to be on your toes,” said Rodrigo Pessoa, “Riders who didn’t work the curve got too tight to it and hit the front rail.”

South African Cara Bianca Frew didn’t make the top 10 by a long shot…but no big, she wants to be a pop singer anyway. Riding well enough to be on the first South African team to ever compete at the World Equestrian Games is just a hobby, I guess?

DRIVING-DRESSAGE

Provisional scores

1. Ijsbrand Chardon (Netherlands)
2. Koos de Ronde (Netherlands)
3. Christoph Sandmann (Germany)

100 x 40 meters, 13 minutes a test, 4 horses, 3 people. All sparkling clean and perfectly turned out–the logistics involved with four-in-hand driving are simply mind-boggling.

Girl Power: There are only three female drivers competing at WEG this year. Granted, there are only 23 drivers total on the final scoresheet, but still, what’s up with that? American Misdee Wrigley-Miller shares her hopes to inspire female drivers to reach the top of the sport in this FEI interview.

VAULTING

Individual Men’s Technical

1. Erik Oese and CALVADOR 5 (Germany)
2. Nicolas Andreani and JUST A KISS (France)
3. Jacques Ferrari and POIVRE VERT (France)

Individual Women’s Technical

1. Joanne Eccles and W H BENTLEY (Great Britain)
2. Anna Cavallaro and HARLEY (Italy)
3. Mary McCormick and PALATINE (USA)

Pas de Deux

1. Jasmin Lindner and Lukas Wacha on BRAM (Austria)
2. Gera Marie Grün and Justin Van Gerven on DANNY BOY 25 (Germany)
3. Joanne Eccles and Hannah Eccles on W H BENTLEY (Great Britain)

The Eccles sisters, FEI TV

Germans challenge the French men’s lead. It’s been a fight to the finish (admittedly, a fight with a lot of sparkles and lycra), but ultimately Germany leaped from third to first place in men’s vaulting, ahead of the French dream team Andreani and Ferrari.

Personal best for Joanne Eccles in individual. Her individual score of 8.513 was her best yet this year, but when her younger sister Hannah lost her footing coming down from a lift, the Eccles sisters slipped to bronze in the pas de deux.

Tomorrow: Vaulting finals, more driving dressage, third qualifying showjumping round