The clash of the titans of dressage in Lyon

Lyon, October 2016 – Never before has Equita Lyon hosted such a stellar line-up at the FEI World Cup Dressage. As part of Lyon’s horse exhibition, several of the world’s dressage legends will be battling it out in the Eurexpo arena on 27th and 28th October.

Germany has been without a doubt the leading nation in world dressage for several decades. Incredibly, the German team has won no less than eight championship titles at the last nine Olympic Games. Ever since Los Angeles in 1984, Die Mannschaft has overwhelmingly dominated the discipline. Well, almost. Just one other country has had a look in: the British team managed to win once on their home ground in London in 2012. The name that stands out in this multiple goldmedal winning German team, a legend who has made a huge contribution to the best moments of German equestrianism: Isabell Werth, who this summer in Rio became the rider to have won the most medals in Olympic history. Five team titles with three different horses, one individual title, four silver medals, currently ranked second in the world, and a staunch mainstay of the Lyon leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup, Isabell Werth will be competing in Lyon once again this year, on Weihegold OLD, her Olympic horse. For this second leg of the FEI World Cup Dressage, Germany are pulling out all the stops as their legendary rider will be accompanied by another Olympic champion, Hubertus Schmidt (Athens 2004, team title), the current world champion, Fabienne Lutkemeier (Caen 2014, team title), and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, third in the last two FEI World Cup Dressage finals (Gothenburg in 2016 and Las Vegas in 2015).

Their British rivals are sending one of their best ambassadors, a certain Carl Hester, 2012 Olympic team champion. Considered the best coach in the world, the man who taught Charlotte Dujardin, who has been the world’s number one individual dressage rider for over four years, (almost) everything she knows, has set his sights on the FEI World Cup Dressage Final for the 2016-2017 season. On Nip Tuck, the horse he rode in Rio, he will be looking to put in a dazzling performance in Lyon, and collect some valuable qualifying points for the final in April.

Competing against the German team and the legendary British dressage rider, other riders to keep a close eye on are the Netherlands’ Hans Peter Minderhoud, winner of last year’s final, and Sweden’s Patrik Kittel, who faithfully returns to Lyon every year and was second in the Lyon leg in 2015.

France, where equestrianism is riding high since this summer in Rio and the team gold medals in show jumping and eventing, will be represented by three of the riders who wore Team France colours at the Olympics: Stéphanie Brieussel, Karen Tebar and local rider Pierre Volla. In 2015, for his first appearance at an FEI World Cup Dressage leg, Volla, from Merle Leignec in Loire, achieved a surprise sixth place in the competition, which earned him a standing ovation, a rare occurrence at a dressage arena. 

The FEI World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle presented by FFE Generali is scheduled on 28th October at 4pm.

24th October 2016