Dressage in the United States is in a transition between the proven powerhouses who are on the brink of retirement and the talented newcomers on their way up. This year’s World Equestrian Games team balances a few experienced pairs with exciting up-and-comers.

“We have no need to hide ourselves,” said team coach Klaus Balkenhol after the selection trials. “We can be very proud internationally coming up against the other riders.”

But the German and Dutch juggernauts are still in place and will be hard to bring down.

Debbie McDonald and Brentina will anchor the team and vie for an individual medal. Although we haven’t seen much of Peggy and Parry Thomas’ chestnut mare since the 2005 FEI World Cup Dressage Final, she’s continued to dominate when she does show. She won the High Performance Grand Prix at Dressage At Flintridge (Calif.) in May where she scored 75.83 percent.

McDonald and Brentina have been heartbreakingly close to an individual medal on numerous occasions, including the 2002 WEG in Jerez, Spain. There, their low freestyle scores were booed by the audience.

Another exciting combination on the team is Steffen Peters and Floriano. They were the reserve for the 2004 Athens Olympics, less than a year after Peters acquired the ride.

And they’ve only improved from there. Peters was the top-scoring U.S. rider for the bronze-medal team in the Nations Cup at the 2005 Aachen CDIO. He placed eighth individually.

Peters also swept the team selection trials in Gladstone, N.J., during the Collecting Gaits Farm /U.S. Equestrian Federation National Grand Prix Championships, June 15-18. They finished on an average of 77.20 percent.

Every time Peters shows Floriano, his scores improve. At age 16, the Westphalian gelding still has remarkable energy, so much so that Peters may be dreading the awards ceremony if they make it that far.

But that spark is combined with three expressive gaits and talent for the movements that count–the ones that are scored with a double coefficient–so if Floriano is on, he’ll be knocking on the door.

Guenter Seidel brings his experience with his Athens Olympic mount, Aragon. It’s hard to remember a U.S. dressage team that hasn’t included Seidel.

He traded places with Peters throughout the spring, winning the Grand Prix Special at Mid-Winter Dressage (Calif.) in February, the Grand Prix freestyle at the Burbank CDI (Calif.) in March and the freestyle at the Del Mar CDI (Calif.) in April.

Although the pair wasn’t in top form at the selection trials, Aragon still averaged more than 73 percent, and Seidel will peak him for Aachen.

The U.S. riders knew this was going to be a challenging year for traveling due to the World Cup Final in Amsterdam and the WEG in Aachen, but it was a surprise to learn that the horses that contested the World Cup would also be in contention for the WEG.

The original plan was for Leslie Morse to get more international experience for her young Grand Prix mount Tip Top 962 at the World Cup Final. The same story was true for Arlene “Tuny” Page and Wild One.

But when injury sidelined some of the top U.S. horses, including Morse’s experienced stallion Kingston, the youngsters stepped up.

Both horses proved they can consistently score more than 70 percent in the Grand Prix. Morse’s specialty is the freestyle, and she impressed the judges at the World Cup Final and the selection trials with her danceable swing tunes for Tip Top.

Page has concentrated on a strong Grand Prix, and this work paid off when she was seventh after the Grand Prix in the World Cup Final (71.00%).

Catherine Haddad is another newcomer for the team. She lives and trains in Germany with Rudolf Zeilinger. Haddad will ride Maximus JSS. She’s been gaining ground on the European dressage circuit, consistently scoring in the high 60s in the Grand Prix and more than 70 percent in the freestyle.

Team Members
BRENTINA: ch. m., 15, German-bred Hanoverian by Brentano II–Lisolette, Langau, owned by Peggy and Parry Thomas.
DEBBIE MCDONALD: age 52, Hailey, Idaho.

FLORIANO: ch. g., 16, Westphalian by Florestan I–Wichita, Wittenburg, owned by Laurelyn Browning.
STEFFEN PETERS: age 41, San Diego, Calif.

ARAGON: gr. g., 14, Bavarian Warmblood by Abydos–La Sabrina, Lorenz, owned by Richard and Jane Brown.
GUENTER SEIDEL: age 45, Cardiff, Calif.

TIP TOP 962: b. s., 12, Swedish Warmblood by Master–Hortensia, Chagall, owned by Leslie Morse.
LESLIE MORSE: age 41, Beverly Hills, Calif.

WILD ONE: b. g., 10, Hanoverian by Wanderer–Graefin, Gutenberg, owned by Arlene Page.
ARLENE PAGE: age 50, Wellington, Fla.

MAXIMUS JSS: ch. g., 12, Danish Warmblood by May Sherif–H�jvangs Lukas mare, owned by the Janet Schneider Trust.
CATHERINE HADDAD: age 42, Vechta, Germany.

Reserve
ARABELLA: ch. m., 10, Danish Warmblood by Rambo–April, Lando, owned by Denise Arroyo.
HEATHER BLITZ: age 37, Palm City, Fla.

COOPER 19: ch. g., 14, Holsteiner by Coriall–Wanderin II, Latino, owned by Suzanne Dansby-Phelps.
SUZANNE DANSBY-PHELPS: age 47, Atlanta, Ga.

DENMARK

Denmark Could Surprise Everyone
With two strong contenders and up-and-coming talent, the Danes might put it all together at the WEG just as they did at CHIO Aachen, writes Birgit Popp.

Andreas Helgstrand is the anchor of the Danish dressage team. This year he and Blue Hors Cavan won the Grand Prix Special and the Grand Prix freestyle at CDI Wiesbaden (Germany), and in 2004 they placed ninth individually in the Athens Olympics.

But Helgstrand’s Grand Prix opportunities are double. He also has the impressive Blue Hors Don Schufro, who has matured into a top-class athlete. This pair won the Grand Prix Special at the 2005 CDI Wiesbaden and is now challenging the top stars. At the CHIO Aachen (Germany) in May, they placed fourth in the Grand Prix, fifth in the Grand Prix Special (both times with scores above 73 percent) and fourth in the Grand Prix freestyle, the latter with nearly 80 percent.

This Danish rider is a true professional. He showed his cool nerves at Aachen when he had to restart his Special test after a 30-minute intermission due to heavy rain showers.

With his help, the Danish team, winner of the European Champion-ships team bronze medal in 1999 and 2001 and fourth-placed in the 2000 Olympics and 2002 WEG, was runner-up in the Nations Cup at Aachen.

The team’s performance was particularly impressive because it was without their second-best performer, Lone Jorgensen and Hardhof’s Ludewig G. Jorgensen, based in the south of Germany, placed ninth in this year’s World Cup Final.

In the Grand Prix at Aachen, Fie Skarsö aboard Münchhausen produced a solid team performance with 68.95 percent. For Skarsö, a student of Jan Bemelmans, the WEG will be the first international championship.

Likewise, it will be an international debut for Joachim Thomson with Mikado Engvang, who did a great job in the freestyle at Aachen.

Anders Dahl, who is competing Fiona Bigwood’s former championship mount Mr. G de Lully, qualified for the 2006 World Cup Final and will contest the WEG.

Princess Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgestein and her new Grand Prix ride Rigoletto dropped out of team contention after the horse incurred an injury. It’s unlikely the combination will return in time for the WEG.

Team Members
BLUE HORS DON SCHUFRO: ch. s., 13, German-bred Oldenburg by Donnerhall–Pik Bube I mare.
BLUE HORS CAVAN: dk. br. g., 16, German-bred Hanoverian by Cavalier–Damnatz mare.
ANDREAS HELGSTRAND: age 29, Randbol.

HARDHOF’S LUDEWIG G: b. g., 11, German-bred Oldenburg by Landfriese I–Ibikus mare.
LONE JORGENSEN: age 44, Korntal near Stuttgart, Germany.

MR. G DE LULLY: b. g., 13, g, by Margin de Lully.
ANDERS DAHL: age 30.

MIKADO ENGVANG: b. g., 10, Danish-bred Dutch Warmblood by Midt-West-Ibi–Light mare.
JOACHIM THOMSON: age 32.

MÜNCHHAUSEN: b. s., 11, German-bred Trakehner by Hohenstein–K�nigstein mare.
FIE SKARSÖ: age 29, Krefeld, Germany.

GERMANY

Germany Is Still The Powerhouse Of Dressage
Germany’s reign will likely continue in Aachen, writes Birgit Popp.

Since the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, the German dressage team has remained undefeated in international championships. And even though they won the 2005 European Dressage Championships, the Germans were bested one month later by the Dutch team in the CHIO Aachen (Germany).

In May 2006, the German team became the undisputed winner again at the CHIO Aachen, but the top Dutch combinations did not compete. No doubt, anything but a successful defense of their team World Championship title would be a harsh defeat at the WEG.

Following the German Dressage Championships in late July, the German team was named: Isabell Werth with either Warum Nicht FRH or Satchmo, Nadine Capellmann with Elvis VA, Klaus Husenbeth with Piccolino and Heike Kemmer riding Bonaparte.

Kemmer’s Bonaparte, who has improved over the past year, was hurt at the time of the CHIO Aachen in May so the German Championships were their final opportunity to make the WEG team.

And they made it happen; she and Bonaparte won the Grand Prix Special, the freestyle and placed second to Werth in the Grand Prix to clinch the ladies title. Werth and Warum Nicht finished the Championships in second place to also earn a trip to the WEG.

Werth’s Warum Nicht, second-placed finisher in the 2006 World Cup Final, and Capellmann’s Elvis, winner of the 2006 Aachen Dressage Championship, are the two newest stars on the German team.

Capellmann, the 2002 WEG individual and team gold medalist (with Farbenfroh), won all three classes of the CDIO tour at Aachen with Elvis and has confirmed their strength by winning the Grand Prix and the freestyle at the CDI Lingen (Germany) in July. They placed third in the German Dressage Championships, ladies division, to secure their place on the team.

Husenbeth and Piccolino, who placed in the top-five in all three tests at the German Championships, earned the men’s title and will represent Germany at the WEG. This will be their second consecutive WEG appearance; they shared team gold in 2002 in Jerez (Spain).

Hubertus Schmidt and Wansuela Suerte, silver medalists of the 2005 Europeans, have improved in form. At the CDI Lingen they were runners-up in the Grand Prix and the freestyle, and at the German Championships they placed second in the men’s division and will be the WEG team alternates.

Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff and Sterntaler-Unicef, who showed strong performances at the CHIO Aachen (sixth in the Grand Prix and third in the Special) lost their bid for the team when the horse spooked badly in the Grand Prix at the German Championships and finished last. Last year at the European Championships, in Sterntaler-Unicef’s first championship, they were the strongest of the Germans who won team gold.

Team Members
ELVIS: ch. g., 10, German-bred Hanoverian by Esprit–Garibaldi mare.
NADINE CAPELLMANN: age 41, Wuerselen.

BONAPARTE: ch. g., 13, German-bred Hanoverian by Bon Bonaparte–Consul mare.
HEIKE KEMMER: age 44, Winsen/Aller.

WARUM NICHT FRH: ch. g., 10, German-bred Hanoverian by Weltmeyer–Wenzel I mare.
SATCHMO: b. g., 12, German-bred Hanoverian by Sao Paulo–Legat mare.
ISABELL WERTH: age 37, Rheinberg.


PICCOLINO: dk. br. g., 14, German-bred Hanoverian by Prince Thatch xx–Ganymed I mare.
KLAUS HUSENBETH: age 50, Soltrum.

Reserve
WANSUELA SUERTE: ch. m., 13, Hanoverian by Warkant–Wachmann I mare.
HUBERTUS SCHMIDT: 48, Borchen.

SPAIN

Spain Is Prepared To Fight For A Medal
Although their team isn’t as strong as in the past, the Spanish are still counting on their veterans to rise to the occasion, writes Birgit Popp.

The Spanish dressage team has written a unique success story in the past years, which is only bested by the Germans. Considering the fact that they had their first appearance as a team at the 1995 European Championships, this is an impressive feat.

After placing a thankless fourth in the European Championships of 1997, 1999 and 2001, their breakthrough was the team bronze medal at the 2002 World Eques-trian Games in Jerez, their home country. (Beatriz Ferrer-Salat and Beauvalais earned the individual silver medal there.)

Since then, the Spanish team has remained on the medal road. Team silver followed at the 2003 European Championships, plus the individual bronze medal for Ferrer-Salat and Beauvalais.

In 2004 they won team silver in the Athens Olympics behind Ger-many and ahead of the United States. Again, they won the team bronze at the 2005 European Championships, even without the favorites Rafael Soto and Invasor competing.

Unfortunately, it’s still not certain that Soto, of the Real School of Equestrian Arts at Jerez, will be able to ride the Spanish stallion at the WEG in Aachen (Germany). In May, in the CHIO Aachen, Soto had to withdraw Invasor before the first competition because a continuing hoof problem recurred.

In the CHIO Aachen, Ignacio Rambla and Distinguido showed improvement with almost faultless tests. They qualified for the Grand Prix freestyle, placing seventh.

In the 2005 European Championships, Spain’s big surprise was Juan Antonio Jimenez and Guizo, who placed fourth in the freestyle with an expressive and harmonic performance with highlights in the piaffe and passage tour.

Beauvalais shall return once more, but it will probably be his final performance on a team as he is 19 this year.

Team Members
BEAUVALAIS: b. g., 19, German-bred Hanoverian by Bolero xx–Grande mare.
BEATRIZ FERRER-SALAT: age 40, Barcelona.

GUIZO: b. s., 18, Portuguese-bred Lusitano by Zasebande–Tivoli mare.
JUAN ANTONIO JIMENEZ COBO: age 47, Madrid.

DINSTINGUIDO: gr. s., 14, Spanish-bred PRE (Pura Raza Espanola) by Bizarro.
IGNACIO RAMBLAS ALGARIN: age 42, Jerez de la Frontera.


INVASOR: gr. s., 17, Spanish-bred PRE (Pura Raza Espanola) by PanaderoVII–Valeroso VI mare.
RAFAEL SOTO ANDRADE: age 48, Jerez de la Frontera.

SWEDEN

Sweden Relies On Brink For A Breakthrough
Jan Brink hopes that Björsells Briar will carry him to an individual medal and lead the Swedish team into medal contention, writes Birgit Popp.

This World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, will be the seventh consecutive international championship for Jan Brink and Björsells Briar. They’re the stronghold for the Swedish dressage team and the hope for an individual medal.

Their expectations are not without reason. In the 2003 European Championships, the combination won individual silver, and in the 2005 Europeans they took individual bronze. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, they placed seventh individually.

In 2005 they were the first non-German and non-Dutch combination to win the title of Aachen Dressage Champion. After winning two World Cup qualifiers in the 2005/2006 season, they placed third–behind Anky van Grunsven with Keltec Salinero and Isbell Werth aboard Warum Nicht FRH–in this year’s FEI World Cup Dressage Final in Amsterdam.

At the CHIO Aachen in May, they didn’t show their best and were seventh in the Grand Prix, fourth in the Grand Prix Special and third in the Grand Prix freestyle, in which they usually score above 80 percent.

Per Sandgaard is new to the Swedish team. He had competed in the 2003 European Championships and the 2004 Athens Olympics for his native country of Denmark. In the latter, he was 10th aboard Zancor. After Zancor was sold to Nadine Capellmann of Germany, Sandgaard, who had lived in Sweden for several years, got the chance to ride Memphis. Thereafter, he changed nationality.

With Memphis, Sandgaard returned to the international scene in 2005 and has forged a partnership with the Rhinelander gelding. They scored above 71 percent in the Grand Prix at CDI Hagen (Germany) and placed 12th in the Grand Prix freestyle at the CHIO Aachen.

While the former World Cup Champion Louise Nathhorst is a veteran member of the Swedish team, it will be Kristian von Krusenstierna’s second team nomination.

The Swedish team shouldn’t be counted out as they placed a close third behind Germany and Denmark at the CHIO Aachen with this same team.

Team Members
BJÖRSELLS BRIAR: ch. s., 15, Swedish-bred Swedish Warmblood by Magini–Krocket mare.
JAN BRINK: age 46, Vankiva.

GUINNESS: dk. br. s., 16, Danish-bred Danish Warmblood by Dolomit–Elizar mare.
LOUISE NATHHORST: age 51, Drottningholm.

MEMPHIS: dk. br. g., 12, German-bred Rhinelander by Larome–Ehrensold mare.
PER SANDGAARD: age 39, Ericsberg, Katrineholm.

WILSON: dk. br. g., 15, Swedish-bred Swedish Warmblood by Norson–Libretto mare.
KRISTIAN VON KRUSENSTIERNA: age 29, �gesta.

THE NETHERLANDS

The Netherlands May Go All The Way
This could be the year that the Dutch team stands on the center of the podium, writes Birgit Popp.

Anky van Grunsven and Keltec Salinero, the reigning individual Olympic and European Champions, are the clear favorites for the individual title at the World Equestrian Games. The leaders of the FEI Dressage World Rankings have been unbeaten this year.

While the Dutch team finished a close second to Germany at the 2005 European Championships, they rallied just one month later to win the Nations Cup of CHIO Aachen, a major upset for the Germans on their home turf. D�j� vu anyone?

But, success and defeat lie close together for the Dutch. At the 2002 WEG in Jerez, the best they could be was fifth when van Grunsven was competing Krack C. Then, when Edward Gal’s Group 4 Securicor Lingh dropped off the team for a short time, they placed fourth at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

At the CHIO Rotterdam (the Netherlands) at the end of June, van Grunsven and Salinero won the Grand Prix, ahead of Germany’s Isabell Werth aboard Warum Nicht FRH and her two Dutch teammates, Edward Gal with Lingh and Imke Schellekens-Bartels with Sunrise.

In this year’s FEI World Cup Dressage Final at Amsterdam, van Grunsven and Salinero earned the title for the third consecutive time. Gal rode Lingh to fourth place there, and Schellekens-Bartels took fifth with Sunrise.

Laurens van Lieren’s Hexagon’s Ollright, seventh in this year’s World Cup Final and member of the silver-medal team at the 2005 European Championships, was hurt during the CHIO Rotterdam. But the pair, which won the Grand Prix at the 2006 Dutch Indoor Championships last February, was named to the team after proving their fitness.

Kirsten Beckers and Broere Jazz, members of the 2005 European Championships team with van Grunsven, Gal and van Lieren, is the team alternate.

Team Members

GROUP 4 SECURICOR LINGH: b. s., 13, Dutch-bred Dutch Warmblood by Flemmingh–Columbus mare.
EDWARD GAL: age 36, Harskamp.

KELTEC SALINERO: b. g., 12, German-bred Hanoverian by Salieri.
ANKY VAN GRUNSVEN: age 38, Gemeert.

SUNRISE: dk. br. m., 12, German-bred Hanoverian by Singular Jupiter–Mr. Cash mare.
IMKE SCHELLEKENS-BARTELS: age 29, Hooge-Mierde.

HEXAGON’S OLLRIGHT: ch. g., 10, Dutch-bred Dutch Warmblood by Rubiquil.
LAURENS VAN LIEREN: age 24, Rijswijk near The Hague.

INDIVIDUAL TO WATCH

FINLAND

Kyrklund Wants To Stand On The Podium Again
With a talented Grand Prix horse and a new-and-improved freestyle, the Finnish rider is ready to take on the world, writes Birgit Popp.

She’s back. It’s taken more than a decade for Kyra Kyrklund to return to the top of international dressage. But she’s been there before, has tasted the sweetest victories–including the World Cup title–and is one to watch at the World Equestrian Games.

Kyrklund earned the individual silver medal at the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm (Sweden) and won the 1991 Dressage World Cup aboard her famous stallion, Matador.

Now she has Max, whose sire Master she also competed. Kyrklund purchased Max sight unseen as a 4-year-old from an auction in Sweden. A good friend suggested him to Kyrklund, and that friend is a better friend now.

Max, at that time, was undeveloped, but he’s become “the” horse Kyrklund has been waiting for. In this year’s CHIO Aachen, the Finnish combination almost won the Grand Prix test. Four of the five judges had placed them first, but one judge made the difference and they were runners-up behind German superstar Nadine Capellmann and Elvis VA.

In the Grand Prix Special at Aachen, two judges had seen the Finnish combination in first place. And with 75.36 percent, the decision was close again, but it was even tighter in the freestyle, in which the German and the Finnish combinations both scored above 80 percent. In the end, Capellmann, the reigning World Champion, had a slight advantage.

Kyrklund has a plan up her sleeve for the WEG–she intends to change her freestyle. “I want to make a more difficult freestyle test,” she said. “Now Max is matured, and also I have heard the critics say that this music composed by Ennio Morricone for the movie ‘Marlene’ would be too trite.”

Kyrklund, who worked for many years at Flyinge in Sweden, now runs her own equestrian center in Great Britain.

MAX: dk. b. g., 11, Swedish-bred Swedish Warmblood by Master–Alpenfuerst mare.
KYRA KYRKLUND: age 54, Coolham, West Sussex, Great Britain.