Frankfurt (Ger), 20 December 2009

Holland's Imke Schellekens-Bartels took maximum points at the fifth leg of the 2009/2010 FEI World Cup™ Dressage series in Frankfurt, Germany today with a great Freestyle test from Hunter Douglas Sunrise.  Mirroring the result from the yesterday's Grand Prix it was Germany's Monica Theodorescu and Whisper who lined up second ahead of Denmark's Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein and Digby in third while Germany's Ellen Schulten-Baumer slotted into fourth with Donatha S.

Theodorescu has now taken over at the top of the league table with a total of 41 points after her three outings which included the opening leg at Odense in Denmark, the second round at Lyon in France and here again on her home ground in Frankfurt.  And she was very pleased to find herself heading up the star-studded cast.  "For one week at least I am going to be at the top of the World Cup Dressage table - I'm feeling pretty good about that!" she said.

NOT ONE MISTAKE
It was Schellekens-Bartel's precision and attention to detail that gave her the edge.  Ground Jury member, Peter Holler from Germany, said afterwards "it was an almost perfect Freestyle and the spectators were spellbound during her ride.  The horse is in super condition, the half-pass and piaffe were excellent and Imke's riding was really stunning - she was the very clear winner.  They did not make one mistake". 

He said that Theodorescu had "some tiny little mistakes" but that her horse's piaffe has shown "great improvement", adding "and Ellen (Schulten-Baumer) was very good today as well - there was significant improvement in her horse's pirouettes".

UNDER PRESSURE
Imke said she was feeling under pressure to accumulate some points so she was very happy to get the maximum. "Hunter Douglas Sunrise had a long break after the European Championships and Frankfurt is our very first World Cup show so this is the perfect result" she pointed out.  She said its tough being a Dutch dressage rider these days because the others keep going out and breaking world records - "Edward Gal is in a league of his own but the toughest thing right now is to finish ahead of Adelinde and Anky" - the dominance of the Dutch is, of course, indisputable at present.

She is delighted that her mare, Sunrise, is in such great form - "she's feeling very happy and very fit and that makes me feel good too!" said the rider who followed her 2008 Olympic team gold medal in Hong Kong with team gold at this summer's Alltech FEI European Dressage Championships at Windsor. 

The FEI World Cup™ Dressage series continues with the sixth leg at Mechelen, Belgium next Sunday.

RESULT: 1, Hunter Douglas Sunrise (Imke Schellekens-Bartels) Ned 81.45%, 2, Whisper (Monica Theodorescu) Ger 77.90%; 3, Digby (Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein) Den 77.50%; 4, Donatha S (Ellen Schulten-Baumer) Ger 76.90%; 5, Responsible (Helen Langehanenberg) Ger 75.10%; 6, Insterburg TSF (Carola Koppelmann) Ger 74.80%; 7, Le Mont d'Or (Anja Plonzke) Ger 74.05%; 8, Corinth (Marcela Krinke-Susmelj) Sui 73.05%; 9, Triviant (Matthias Alexander Rath) Ger 72.70%; 10, Lamarc WRT (Sabine Becker) Ger 72.60%; 11, Cointreau (Peter Gmoser) Aut 72.50%; 12, Baldessarini (Gina Capellmann-Lutkemeier) Ger 71.40%; 13, Minnerk TSF (Hubertus Schmidt) Ger 70.45%; 14, Lydianus (Charlotte Haid-Bondergaard) Swe 66.65%; 15, Le Beau (Philippe Jorissen) Bel 65.15%.

FEI WORLD CUP™ DRESSAGE - STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 5 AT FRANKFURT (GER) - Provisional:
1.    Monica Theodorescu                         -    41
2.    Adelinde Cornelissen, Matthias Rath, Edward Gal         -    35
5.    Anky van Grunsven                        -    34
6.    Hubertus Schmidt                            -    27
7.    Peter Gmoser                            -    25
8.    Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, Jeanette Haazen, Aat Van Essen    -    24
11.    Imke Schellekens-Bartels, Tinne Vilhelmson            -    20
Full results at http://eventcontent.hippoonline.de/451/451zeitplanDEU.htm?style=hippo

FACTS AND FIGURES:
Today's winning rider, Imke Schellekens-Bartels, is 32 years old and comes from Hooge Mierde in The Netherlands.
15 combinations competed in today's competition - 9 from Germany and one each from The Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden and Belgium.
The four top riders finished in exactly the same positions in Saturday's Grand Prix.
The oldest horse in today's FEI World Cup™ Dressage Freestyle was the 15 year old Hannovarian Donatha S which finished fourth for Germany's Ellen Schulten-Baumer.
The youngest horse was the KWPN 9 year old Triviant which finished ninth for Germany's Matthias Alexander Rath.
The judges for today's class were : at E - P. Holler (Ger); at H - Dr. E Eisenhardt (Ger); at C - G. Svalling (Swe); at H - G. Fouarget (Ned): at B - S. Clarke (GBR).

QUOTES:
Ground Jury member Peter Holler - "The atmosphere at the show here in Frankfurt is really nice - Christmas has definitely arrived!"
Monica Theodorescu who finished second with Whisper today "my next stop will be at Neumunster, then I go to Gothenburg and the final in Den Bosch I hope"
Peter Holler - "what the judges saw today were tests at the highest level".

WEBSITE: www.hippoonline.de

Western European League Calendar 2009/2010:
1 Odense (DEN), 17 – 18 October
2 Lyon (FRA), 29 – 30 October
3 Stockholm (SWE), 28-29 November
4 London Olympia (GBR), 15-16 December
5 Frankfurt (GER), 19-20 December
6 Mechelen (BEL), 26-27 December
7 Amsterdam (NED), 22-23 January
8 Neumünster (GER), 20-21 February
9 Göteborg (SWE), 26-27 February
FINAL 's-Hertogenbosch (NED), 25-27 March
 
FEI World Cup™ Dressage, the only worldwide series in this discipline, has entered its 25th season. The series, created in 1985, comprises four leagues: Western European, Central European, North American (including Canada) and Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Asia). Each FEI World Cup™ Dressage qualifier consists of a Grand Prix test, which in turn is a qualification for the Freestyle to music competition, where league points are accumulated towards places in the Final. Judged on both technical and artistic merit, the FEI World Cup™ Dressage combines art, sport and partnership between horse and rider at the highest level and consistently proves a winning formula with audiences all over the world.
 
Technical Note: The FEI World Cup Dressage™ Champion does not earn points in his/her starts but is automatically qualified to the next Final with two FEI World Cup™ Dressage qualifiers completed. Riders not belonging to the Western European League (WEL) or Central European League (CEL) cannot earn points in the WEL unless they have declared to compete in the WEL 2009/2010. These riders may however transfer the results from a maximum of three (3) WEL qualifiers to their own League. Points earned by CEL riders will be transferred to the CEL standings.
 
THE COMPLETE RULES CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM www.feiworldcup.org
 
The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), founded in 1921, is the international body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and includes 133 National Federations. Equestrian sport has been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines - Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is one of the very few sports in which men and women compete on equal terms. It is also the only sport which involves two athletes - horse and rider. The FEI has relentlessly concerned itself with the welfare of the horse, which is paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences.
 
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