The German national dressage team missed defending its title at the European Championships in Riesenbeck and had to admit defeat to Great Britain.
The mood among the local dressage fans deteriorated early on. The German national team had no chance at the European Championships on Thursday and clearly missed defending their title in Riesenbeck, Westphalia. The host quartet around the brilliantly riding Jessica von Bredow-Werndl with Dalera had to be content with silver at the home game. Gold went to the dominant team from Great Britain.
“The British were better,” commented Dennis Peiler, the sports director of the FN riding association. Nevertheless, he emphasized: “We had four great team performances with an outstanding Jessica. Our form is going up after third place at the World Cup.” Von Bredow-Werndl said: “There was nothing more possible today. The British are simply abnormally strong.”
A good performance by Von Bredow-Werndl is not enough
Defeat was already apparent before the last British pair with individual world champion Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale. The couples from the island dominated the events in the Grand Prix too clearly. “It looks like it’s decided,” said EM host Ludger Beerbaum around midday. The 26th gold medal for a German European Championship team was practically out of reach. As the last German starter with Dalera, Von Bredow-Werndl showed an extremely good performance in the arena, but that wasn’t enough.
The decision could already be foreseen on the first of the two days of the European Championship, when the Briton Carl Hester with Fame received more points than Isabell Werth from Rheinberg with Quantaz and put Great Britain in the lead. On the morning of the second day of the European Championships, the current difference in performance between the British and German teams became even clearer when Charlotte Dujardin with Imhotep rode significantly better than Frederic Wandres from Hagen with Bluetooth. The three-time Olympic champion extended the British lead once again.
Wandres avoids the risk
Wandres avoided the last risk that was necessary. The 36-year-old explained that he didn’t want to “excite more” because the risk of making a serious mistake was too great for him. Wandres delivered a “very harmonious round” that was not comparable to Dujardin’s. “There were no technical errors,” said the professional from Hagen. “Consistency never goes out of style.”
Only von Bredow-Werndl was able to keep up with the two top British riders Dujardin and Fry. With Dalera, the 37-year-old from Tuntenhausen, Bavaria, is currently the only German couple that reliably achieves more than 80 percent. Their ride was by far the best performance of the German team.
Lack of top pairs became clear earlier
It was still not enough for Germany’s best rider to win another European Championship medal with the team. The lack of absolute top pairs had already become clear at the World Championships in Denmark last year, when von Bredow-Werndl was missing due to a maternity leave and only managed to win bronze. Von Bredow-Werndl now wants to try to defend her two individual titles.
Matthias Alexander Rath from Kronberg also belonged to the German quartet. As the starting rider, he had given the hosts the lead in the saddle of Thiago, but in the end his result was canceled. Only the top three pairs from each country will be included in the team rankings.
