Double gold and competitive pressure
Bredow-Werndl is unbeatable, Werth pulls off a brilliant piece
September 10, 2023, 7:38 p.m
Double gold successfully defended: Jessica von Bredow-Werndl also excels in the freestyle in Riesenbeck – but feels the breath of her pursuers. Meanwhile, Isabell Werth shows a freestyle with extraordinary elements with Quantaz to the music of rock singer Bonnie Tyler.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl first kissed her horse blissfully and then raised her right thumb in the air. With the mare Dalera, the dressage rider also won her second individual gold at the European Championships in Riesenbeck. She waved profusely towards the audience.
The 37-year-old from Tuntenhausen, Bavaria, secured first place in the free skate and defended her second title after the Grand Prix Special on Friday. She received 92.818 percent. The British Charlotte Fry came in second with Glamourdale (92.379). The British Charlotte Dujardin came third with Imhotep (91.396). “That was close,” commented the winner about the gap to second place. “I know there’s still room for improvement. I’ll continue to work on it in peace.”
Gap behind Gold winner is big
With her freestyle to French music with songs by Edith Piaf, the double Olympic champion thrilled the approximately 4,000 spectators, who celebrated her with ovations. She only made small mistakes in the one-on-one changes. “That doesn’t bother me because the rest of the exam was great. But of course without the mistakes the grade would have been even higher.”
“Jessica has once again shown what an exceptional athlete she is with an exceptional horse,” commented Dennis Peiler, the sports director of the German Equestrian Association. “There was a lot of pressure on her shoulders. And she handled it brilliantly. She is fully focused and highly professional, and she delivered at the very highest level.”
The gap behind the gold winner is currently large. Even if Isabell Werth managed another brilliant performance on the last day of the European Championship. With Quantaz to the music of rock singer Bonnie Tyler, she showed a freestyle with extraordinary elements, took great risks and came fifth with 88.407 percent. After the strong ride, she clenched her fist several times on the warm-up area.
“When he’s in a good mood, he does everything great”
“I am happy and satisfied,” commented the 54-year-old from Rheinberg. “I wanted a special level of difficulty, to do something different than my competition, and it worked out great.” She said with a grin about her 13-year-old gelding: “When he’s in a good mood, he does everything really well.” Your horse made no mistakes in the three tests. “We digested our little relationship crisis from last year well,” said Werth with a grin.
Frederic Wandres was aggressive on his last ride in Riesenbeck, but not everything went as planned. “Sorry about that,” said the 36-year-old from Hagen after his ride with Bluetooth. “I’m disappointed in myself,” commented the sweating rider and praised his horse: “He wanted to shine here on the third day in this heat. We really wanted to show something here.” But that didn’t work to the desired extent; he came ninth with 84.568 percent.
“The result is still very, very good, but you can imagine how high the rating would have been if everything had worked out.” But “if, if, if” doesn’t help anymore. “It was completely my mistake,” said the rider and added with a smile: “That will never happen again.” Matthias Rath from Kronberg missed qualifying for the final freestyle with Thiago during his comeback to the national team after an eight-year break.