It’s going to be pretty emotional, that’s for sure. “When you know it’s the last time – it’s a strange feeling,” said Isabell Werth. At the World Cup finals at the weekend in Leipzig, Werth and “Weihegold” ask for the last dance in the dressage arena, after which the 17-year-old mare goes back to her owner Christine Arns-Krogmann in the Oldenburger Land. “The collaboration was designed for five years, and that’s over now,” Werth told the sports information service.
For the first time at the 2016 Olympics in Rio on the big stage
With Weihegold, this “honest, reliable, loyal mare”, Isabell Werth entered the big stage for the first time at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. At that time, their top horses Bella Rose and Don Johnson were out for a short time, Weihegold was only plan C. Then the night-black mare danced to gold with the team and silver in the individual, there were more than 90 percentage points for second place in the freestyle behind the British Charlotte Dujardin and their unbeatable Valegro. Werth has achieved this magical 90 percent six times in her career.
Hat trick with Paris, Omaha and Gothenburg
And then the World Cup, Weihegold’s very own terrain. In 2017 in Paris, 2018 in Omaha and 2019 in Gothenburg, Werth and “Weihe” dominated the prestigious competition, and the seven-time Olympic champion is the first to win for the fourth time in a row after the corona break in 2020 and 2021. It would be her sixth World Cup trophy overall, the Dutch rider Anky van Grunsven won the final of the indoor season nine times with her super horses “Bonfire” and “Salinero”, but she didn’t make it four times in a row either.
In Leipzig against Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl
But Werth’s path in Leipzig will not be easy. Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is saddled in her last major championship for the time being her golden mare “Dalera”, which is also considered an exceptional horse. At the beginning of August “JBW” becomes mother for the second time, the World Equestrian Games in mid-August in Herning (Denmark) take place without the three-time European Champion. Cathrine Dufour, second at the European Championships, comes from Denmark with her young horse “Vamos Amigos”, from Sweden old champion Patrik Kittel with “Zepter”, from Great Britain Charlotte Fry with “Dark Legend”.
But the story of this finale will be the farewell to Weihegold. “It was great years with her, I could always rely on her, she was always there when I needed her,” said Werth. In Rio or at the EM 2017 in Gothenburg, when Werth and Weihegold prevailed against Sönke Rothenberger and “Cosmo” in a wafer-thin heartbeat final. “She gave me so much,” said Werth, “and that’s why I’m happy that we can bid her a farewell at this level.”
Next super talents are already ready
A few weeks later, Werth’s heart horse “Bella Rose” shows her perfect piaffe passage tour for the last time in front of a large crowd at the CHIO in Aachen, before she too can enjoy her retirement on the spacious pastures in her native Rheinberg. The next potential superstars are already there: with the twelve-year-old stallion “Quantaz”, Werth is going to the World Championships in Herning, the ten-year-old mare “Superb”, called “Super Bee”, is a hot contender for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. So the old ladies can leave with peace of mind.
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Source: MDR