No author or artist could have created a nicer end of the first season of the Exquis World Dressage Mastes than the reality in Hickstead proved.
The fourth edition of the Exquis World Dressage Masters CDI***** delivered an amazing only nine year old winner reaching a world record score in the Freestyle, Moorland’s Totilas and Dutch Edward Gal. Emotions ran high and many tears were spread just because of the undoubted beauty of the contest and the amazing spectacle.
It was like it had to be. Moorland’s Totilas is owned by Tosca and Kees Visser from Moorland Investment and Moorland Stables. When Antony Kies of Exquis initiated the new series Exquis World Dressage Masters, Moorland was the first to step in. Now their own horse took the major prize. “I have no words for this, it’s too much”, Tosca Visser simply said.
Edward Gal agreed: “Moorland’s Totilas gave me a wonderful feeling. Wow, what a horse! Only in the one tempi changes a mistake occurred. This happened to us in our first international contest CHIO Rotterdam as well, in which I tried to correct it. This time I thought, just leave it. So I did.”
Chairman of the judges Stephen Clarke said he had never seen a test like this before. And still it seems there is more to come.
For the Dutch, Hickstead provided the final official chance to get nominated for the Dutch team at the EC Dressage in Windsor in August forthcoming. Edward Gal still officially needed a minimum Grand Prix results of 64% to be allowed to compete at championships anyway. With his exciting new big tour horse Moorland’s Totilas he reached for 15% more and rode no less than 79,745% in Grand Prix, followed by his amazing unofficial world record score of 89,400% in the Freestyle.
He was not the only pair that was surrounded by emotions. The Dutch revelation of the indoor season, three times WC™ qualifier winner Adelinde Cornelissen, again showed her piaffe and passage miracle Parzival to his advantage, becoming the runner up twice with 76,553% in Grand Prix and 82,200% in the Freestyle. Adelinde was very happy and especially relieved because Parzival didn’t show any freaky reaction or fear at all and just was with her doing his job.
The third pair surrounded by emotions was homerider British Laura Bechtolsheimer showing Mistral Hojris in her brand new Freestyle created by Cees Slings. She rode a national record score for Great Britain in Grand Prix in London in December. She now became third with 81,800%.
While British international dressage events have struggled in the past to encourage big names to cross the channel to compete, due to the attractive prize money of €100.000,-, the highest ever for dressage in the UK, more riders than ever took the challenge to compete. Even American Leslie Morse and Tip Top arrived, just like Canadian Ashley Holzer. “If it was not for the highly dotated and well organised WDM, we certainly would not have made the trip”, Ashley Holzer complimented the WDM crew. She became fifth in the Freestyle and turned the Freestyle into sort of an Olympic list. American Leslie Morse took the win in the Grand Prix Special, a test that was dotated with the attractive prize money of € 30.000,-