Providing a full display of his goose-bump creating gaits, Moorlands Totilas was ridden by Edward Gal to victory in the Exquis World Dressage Masters Grand Prix Friday before a crowd that held its collective breath in the black stallion's first outdoor competition since last August's European Championships.
This WDM competition was also the first for Edward and Totilas since claiming their first World Cup title two months ago and only the third show in Germany since starting Grand Prix last year.
Despite a couple of mistakes that Edward said were a combination of rain that caused mud to be thrown up into the horse's belly and crowds drawn to watch every step Totilas takes, they recorded a score of 81.958 per cent, Fellow Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen on Jerich Parzival was again the bridesmaid but not far behind on 79.404 per cent, and Isabell Werth on her 2007 World Cup champion mount, Warum Nicht FRH, in third place with 75.76.255 per cent.
The CDI5* carries €100,000 (US$126,000) in prize money plus a €25,000 (US$31,500) Nurger WDM Rider Award, which Edward is now in an almost unbeatable position to collect. The rider award was launched after the inaugural Exquis WDM in Munich in 2009, and includes scores from the other venues, Cannes, France; Hickstead, England, and Palm Beach, Florida.
The unseasonably cold and wet weather did not dampen fan ardor for Totilas, that, Edward explained later, made the horse more tense than usual.
Totilas has become such a superstar not unlike a movie celebrity that organizers of Pferd International at Munich competition in the 1972 Olympic equestrian stadium had to hire extra guards around the clock when the stallion arrived from his home in The Netherlands and residents around the show grounds came by to look at their new world famous neighbor for a week.
The fans turned out in force Thursday for light work and then Friday for the Grand Prix and its €10,000 (US$12,600) prize money. The €30,000 (US$37,000) Grand Prix Special is scheduled for Saturday and the €60,000 (€74,000) Grand Prix Freestyle for Sunday.
During the warm up, Edward said, Totilas became “quite excited” as crowds packed around the arena. Then, the horse had to walk from the warm up to the competition arena–not much more than 30 yards (meters)–but a throng that was more like an Academy Awards red carpet appearance minus the presidential-level security than a horse show.
“There was so much going on around the arena,” Edward said later, “working with the crowds standing next to the ring and then having to walk through the crowds to the competition arena excited him. But it's OK. He'll get used to it.”
Because he has not shown outdoors since last August, the horse startled himself when his extravagant gaits kicked up rain-soaked footing into his belly.
That came out in mistakes going into the first piaffe and then a transition to passage where he broke into a canter.
Even so, they still garnered a rare score of 10, but not in the frequency of the competitions in England in 2009, first at Hickstead and then at Windsor in the European Championships.
“Maybe we need to show more outside in the rain,” he said. “We work outside at home, but it's not the same as being at a show.”
Edward made no excuses, saying he loved riding Totilas in front of crowds that appreciated the horse's brilliance and applauded his success.