U25 team celebrates European Championship gold
The German quartet defended team gold at the FEI European Championships for U25 dressage riders. With 217.205 percentage points, the team left no doubt in the Prize of Greiner GmbH: mission title defence is a success! Team Netherlands followed in silver place with 211.647 points - just like shortly before in the Young Riders category - while bronze went to Great Britain with 207.412 points.
Mission title defence - this is how it went
"I've met such great young people in this team, I'm thrilled!" Team manager Cornelia Albrecht suppressed a tear after the U25 team gold. "They ride really well, they have good horses, but they also have a lot of character - and that makes this success even more valuable. It's not about the individual athlete, this really is a close-knit team - that touches me!"
U25 team newcomer Elisabeth von Wulffen was first into the arena with the German U25 riders and produced a personal best of 70.735 per cent on Triple A. Felicitas Hendricks and Drombusch, the three-time medallists from 2023, followed suit with 71.470 per cent. This put the German U25 dressage team in the lead as overnight leader with 142.205 per cent points at the halfway point after day one.
Then came team day two. "I'm very, very proud," gushed riding master Hubertus Schmidt. "She rode so well. That's how it should look!" Schmidt is talking about Anna Schölermann, rider at Fleyenhof, who conjured up a super round with the eleven-year-old Springborgs Guardian on the European Championship parquet. Faultless and, above all, harmonious. It started with a 9 for the first salute, continued with 8s in the piaffe, the right pirouette, the single changes and much more. The final score was 73.147 percentage points - Anna's personal best and she also took the lead in the individual classification - and kept it until the end.
The team's final rider was Moritz Treffinger and Cadeau Noir, the pair who were also members of the 2024 gold team. "Today was turbulent in Moritz's preparation," admitted national coach Hans-Heinrich Meyer zu Strohen. "Things went differently than planned, we ran out of time and as a result there were one or two small hitches during the warm-up. But then Moritz played to his strengths, sat on his arse, gave himself a jolt in terms of concentration and delivered what you know he can do in the arena." With 72.588 percentage points, the cock of the walk proved himself to be a top rider, coming second behind team-mate Anna in the individual rankings and making a significant contribution to the team gold.
The national coach's conclusion on team gold: "It was discussed from the outset that we would do it this way (grins). The team was prepared for it and I'm incredibly happy about it. Especially Anna's performance with the young horse - that was absolutely amazing!"
Three times 'very' satisfied - the Netherlands
"We are very very very satisfied!" Three times 'very' is very important to team manager Monique Peutz-Vegter, because... "There were only three of us and I said to the riders: just ride the way you can ride, without pressure. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. We were unlucky that one horse failed, but we rode normally - and the three of them did that."
The three silver medallists were: Milou Dees on Francesco with 70.294 percentage points, Kris de Vries on Jillz La Grande with 70.147 and Kim Noordijk on Joep with 71.206. Peutz-Vegter summarised: "Kim is a super rider and the horse always wants to fight for her - he did that today too. Milou has already taken part in many championships with her horse and is always there when it matters. And Kris is brand new to the team. She's never ridden a championship before, but she just rides in and does what she's supposed to do - what more could you want?" A team medal was the first goal - achieved. But that's not all when it comes to the individual medals: "There's still more to come," smiles the team manager. "We'll keep fighting."
Eyelash decision for the bronze medal
It was an eyelash-decision for the bronze medal. Tallulah Lynn Nater was the last rider to start for Switzerland in the European Championship quadrangle and put in a very good round with Flynn FRH. The British had to jitter for bronze. Switzerland scored 71.824 per cent, a best performance for the pair and almost made it onto the podium. In the end, Switzerland slipped past a medal with 207.263 percentage points, with bronze going to Team Great Britain with 207.412 points. The bronze medallists were Charlotte Lutener on Full Fusion BS (65.235%), Harrison Ashton on Million Dreams (70.00%), Lilah Gibbs on Dude (66.971%) and Annabella Pidgley on Vamos Amigos (70.441%)
In 2016, the U25 riders competed for the European Championship title for the first time, with their European Championship premiere taking place in Hagen a.T.W.. Since then, the German team has won the gold medal eight times and silver once - team gold number nine followed today!
The first part of the U25 individual competition continues on Friday morning at 9.00 am at the Schafhof, with part two following on Saturday morning. The U21 riders will start with part one of their individual competition on Friday from 2.00 pm and will decide the individual medal on Saturday from 2.00 pm.