Cathrine Dufour winner of both CDI3 Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special at Herzlake, Germany - photo credit: EQWO.net / Petra Kerschbaum
Today Dufour and Bohemian showed another top test
A Grand Prix Special rewarded with “just” 82,064%. Impressive score but very impressive performance, and watching the detailed scoring there were from H2R point of view clearly missing some 9´s for ex. the centerline with pirouettes and one time changes - this line was a clear 9 mark line. Piaffe tours were at the spot with maximum steps, well balanced transitions, super passage, and the final centerline where Bohemian shows super power supple passage. This test was more like a 85% test.
It´s not always just about the scores
For Danish Cathrine Dufour this event was definitely not at the planned schedule before the Olympics but the circumstances after the “exit” from the 2nd day at Compiégne where Bohemian became tense and very insecure going into the arena and not entering the centerline became a whole new challenge, not just for Cathrine Dufour herself but also for the entire final preparation for the team towards the Olympics.
The team trainer and also personal trainer for Dufour Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, made a quick a clear decision - they needed a “test competition” more before the Olympics and therefore Herzlake was scheduled for Cathrine Dufour, Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Lone Bang Larsen.
Metal coach Rasmus Bagger part of the team in Herzlake
For the sharp viewers a male person was standing at the arena next to trainer Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein when Dufour and Bohemian entered the arena. Mental coach Rasmus Bagger has been working with Cathrine Dufour since she was 12 years old and he was this weekend also a part the team for this particularly event to coach and support Cathrine Dufour.
As Cathrine describes the situation after Compiégne it has been three weeks with hard work “recovering” from the experience at Compiégne for both her and Bohemian.
“For the past two weeks I´ve had some sessions together with Rasmus Bagger guiding me to take back the “leadership” when riding Bohemian after our competition at Compiégne where he got frighten and insecure.
We’ve been taking about my body language and how I can make Bohemian secure again, and for sure it has also been about myself. So this weekend with Rasmus Bagger at the sideline was about bringing the theory together with the practice, and we have also been training together at home before this weekend. I really feel that my body language tells something totally different now, as I now realise that for the last few competitions there has been some issues and instead of facing the facts I was kind of avoiding “the problems” hoping for the best and thinking hopefully I can manage.
It´s been a very valuable help as this part is also very mentally related and about keeping yourself forward thinking and up towards the Olympics. I leaned a lot mentally the last weeks and it´s been very very exciting and I feel really well prepared towards the Olympics now”, tells Cathrine Dufour.