The pressure was on Christoph Koschel as Germany took the win in the FEI Nations Cup CDIO3* at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival for the second year in a row.
Christoph was unaware of what he needed to score in order to propel Germany to the top spot on the podium. He pointed out an expensive mistake in the half-pass.
“I knew that my score would drop a lot,” he acknowledged. “I was aware that there was no mistake allowed in the canter, so I tried to do my best there. It worked out.”
Leading the team as a rider as well as the chef d’equipe was Michael Klimke alongside teammates Christoph, Lars Ligus, and Frederic Wandres.
“Last year it was a really big surprise, and it motivated us for this year,” Michael said. “We all had a top day yesterday, and today it got very close again, a little bit like last year where Christoph had to ride to a certain point to win. It was a lot of fun to ride here again with these colleagues. We are very happy that we won.”
Germany took the top spot with a final team score of 433.337%, while the team from USA were just behind in 432.265% for silver. Canada won the bronze medal with 409.091% in a contest over two days.
“The first day, I had a really good and clear test. I was very happy,” said Michael, who said Harmony’s Sanrino RHP is competing in only its third CDI.
“He’s a little bit nervous. I must say I was also really happy until the half-pass to the right,” he said of yesterday’s performance attaining scores of 72.652% in the grand prix CDIO3* and 70.755% in the grand prix special CDIO3* (both scores including the +1.5% for competing in the large tour classes).
“I lost it a little bit in the change to the right,” he continued. “I was a bit disorganized. He’s already 13, but he has not much experience. I was more happy with my horse today than with me.”
You may also find interesting…
Klimke scores personal best in Nations Cup after lightning storm halts competition
Frederic Wandres pledges prize money from Palm Beach dressage derby to support the Ukraine
‘Taming the tiger – he had so much power’: rider reaches personal milestone as Nations Cup gets underway
Subscribe to Horse & Hound this spring for great savings
Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.
