Dressage riders to The Dutch Masters en route to World Cup final

The Dutch Masters (13-16 March) is the last opportunity for international dressage riders to score points for the FEI Dressage World Cup final in April in Basel, Switzerland. With only three qualifiers, Neumünster, Gothenburg and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, left, it will be exciting for some riders to collect enough points. Last weekend, Germany's Isabell Werth took the lead in the standings with third place in the Freestyle at Jumping Amsterdam. In doing so, she relegated her compatriot Carina Scholz to second place. Werth rode the 15-year-old DSP Quantaz, whom she will also saddle up at the Brabanthallen in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.”Quantaz is a real macho and I also let him believe he is but know how to steer him in such a way that he does what I ask him,” Werth said. “At home he is also special and there is actually only one groom who really gets along with him. The others he still wants to bite sometimes,” she laughs. Werth loves coming to the Brabanthallen for years. ‘Super atmosphere and everything looks wonderful. The facilities are great.”

Dinja van Liere
While Britain's Charlotte Fry won the Freestyle with her 14-year-old stallion Glamourdale, the Netherlands' Dinja van Liere finished in fifth place with her second horse Hartsuijker. They rode a super test and scored 82.645%. With this placing, she jumped from seventh to third place in the standings. As a result, she is almost certain of a place in the final. Dinja was proud of her 13-year-old KWPN gelding: “I enjoyed every minute of it. Hartsuijker is a real powerhouse. I love him dearly.” Dinja will surely also give everything for a super result in front of her own audience in the Brabanthallen.

Minderhoud
Hans Peter Minderhoud also showed a world-class test with his new trump card, 10-year-old Glock's Taminiau. Minderhoud and the impressive and strong stallion were rewarded with a score of 81.885%. They are now in a shared 12th place in the standings and still have every chance of going to the final. Minderhoud has chosen not to go to Neumünster and Gothenburg, but rather to The Dutch Masters. Taminiau is still young but has everything in him to become an absolute winner. “He really has no weaknesses, he can do everything. He is a bit unrestrained though,” Minderhoud says with a smile. “He behaves tough but can be very spooky. Especially when he was very young, he found everything around him exciting. He needs some time to get used to the surroundings. That is so nice about The Dutch Masters, you get ample opportunity to train in the main arena before you have to ride your test. That way your horse can calmly get used to the entourage.”

The dressage riders are hoping for full stands during the FEI Dressage World Cup Grand Prix presented by RS2 Dressage on Friday afternoon (2pm) and during the Freestyle on Saturday, also at 2pm.

You can find the full programme here. Order your tickets in time via this link and don't miss anything from this edition of The Dutch Masters!