PRESS RELEASE
Denmark and the National Equestrian Centre Vilhelmsborg host the first division of the prestigious FEI World Cup™ tournament in dressage, where a strong field of international top riders will compete for the first and desirable World Cup points of the season
Cathrine Dufour and Bohemian won the World Cup in Herning last year. They will attent this year at Vilhelmsborg as well. Photo: Ridehesten.com
Due to Covid-19, the Danish leg of the FEI World Cup™ qualification in dressage has moved from Jyske Bank Boxen in MCH Messecenter Herning to the National Equestrian Centre, Vilhelmsborg near Aarhus. This allows the conduction of the World Cup qualifier with few spectators and live streaming via ZibraSport for the many who do not get a seat in the arena.
This year is the 14th time that Denmark hosts the first qualification in the popular, worldwide series, FEI World Cup™ in dressage. The organizers have changed the programme so that there will be international jumping (CSI2 *) from Tuesday evening 13 October to Friday 16 October in the afternoon, where the competitions will end with the Stutteri Ask Grand Prix.
A weekend with dressage in focus
On the weekend of 17-18 October, dressage sport comes into full focus. The FEI World Cup™ Grand Prix presented by Blue Hors takes place from 17.30 to 21.20, and it will be a very exciting field of international top riders performing in the main show hall. The field is led by the uncrowned queen of dressage, German Isabell Werth, who has the opportunity this season to secure her fourth World Cup final victory in a row. Isabell Werth will compete Emilio by Ehrenpreis, and she will be joined by two national team colleagues, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Zaire-E by Son De Niro and Helen Langehanenberg/ Damsey by Dressage Royal and Jessica Süss/ Duisenberg by Desperados. The four experienced German riders are guaranteed to add some glamour to the World Cup qualification at Vilhelmsborg.
Swedish dressage sport is strongly represented by Patrik Kittel/ Delaunay by Dr. Doolittle, Therese Nielshagen/ Dante Weltino by Danone I and Antonia Ramel/ Brother de Jeu by Voice. All three riders were part of the Swedish national team that won bronze at the European Championships in Rotterdam last year.
FEI World Cup™
World Cup Herning is a collaboration between Danish Warmblood, the Danish Equestrian Federation and Equitour Denmark, where Jyske Bank Boxen since 2017 has set the frame for an international dressage and jumping competition in week 42. The purpose of the company is to ensure the completion of World Cup dressage in Denmank and at the same time work on the development of international competitions in Denmark in both dressage and jumping.
This year is the 14th time in a row that Denmark hosts a leg of the prestigious FEI World Cup™ tournament in dressage.
Since 2017, the Danish World Cup qualification has been held in Jyske Bank Boxen in MCH Messecenter Herning, and before that, Odense Congress Center set the frame for the event for 10 years.
Denmark led by Dufour
Denmark is in a strong position with interesting new combinations. The Danish team is led by Cathrine Dufour and Bohemian by Bordeaux, who won the World Cup qualification in Herning last year. National coach Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein has also nominated the following riders to participate in the FEI World Cup™:
Carina Cassøe Krüth and Heiline’s Danciera by Fürstenball were runner-up at the Danish championship this year, second to champion Cathrine Dufour. Carina debuted the now 9-year-old mare in the Grand Prix last autumn and they are now a strong card for a spot on the podium.
Lone Bang Larsen and Bakkely’s Onandt by Onassis have just shown great strength at the CDI in Hagen at the end of September, where they won the Grand Prix Freestyle. Helene Melsen and Aston Martin by Monteverdi have been on the Danish nations cup team several times. Charlotte Heering has several international placings with Bufanco by Negro. After a break due to eye surgery, they came back very strongly and finished in 4th place at the Danish Championships at Equitour Denmark in early September.
Andreas Helgstrand is new in the Danish A squad. Since the European Championships in Herning in 2013, he has not been a national team rider, but has focused on building the company Helgstrand Dressage. In the meantime, he has had great success at the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in dressage, and he will be competing a triple WBCYH winner at Vilhelmsborg. Fiontini by Fassbinder won the WBCYH as 5-, 6- and 7-year-old under Olympic rider Severo Jurado Lopez, but in the spring 2020 Andreas Helgstrand took over the reins. He has only competed the talented 10-year-old mare very few times in Grand Prix, but their collaboration resulted in a bronze medal at the Danish Championships in early September.
Danish Warmblood foals under the hammer
Saturday, October 17 from kl. 15.30 auctioneer 17 carefully selected Danish Warmblood foals will go under the hammer of auctioneer Casper Cassøe. The auction takes place during the World Cup at Vilhelmsborg and in the well-known format with a hybrid auction, where there is an audience in the arena, while you can bid online or on the phone and follow online streaming via ClipMyHorse. The online auction will start on Wednesday 14 October. See more at www.varmblodauktion.dk
First step towards the final
It is of great importance for the sport that the organizers in Denmark succeed in putting together a programme that takes into account the current corona rules, and kick-start the series, which end with a final in Gothenburg in March/April next year.
– We believe that with the changes we have implemented, we can run the event according to all applicable rules and health requirements from the authorities, explains Jens Trabjerg, who together with Casper Cassøe is responsible for the practical running of the Danish World Cup.
Hand sanitizer is set up in several places in the hall, just as it is encouraged to follow the health authorities' recommendations on e.g. to keep distance. In addition, it will also be mandatory for all guests to wear a face mask in the show hall, except when seated in the stands or sitting and eating in the cafeteria.
There is plenty of space in the stands for the accredited. And the few tickets put up for sale to the public are already sold out. There is no public access to the show unless a valid ticket/ accreditation can be presented. See more at www.worldcupherning.dk, where you can also see the schedule for the event.