World Class Dressage Kicks off in Denmark

The FEI World Cup™ Dressage Western European League kicks off this Sunday with competitors all heading to Herning, Denmark for the first of nine qualifiers.

After a spectacular display in last year’s final, we’re expecting the riders to have stepped up their game yet another notch ready for a year of fierce competition as the horses and riders prepare for not only the Finals (to be held in April 2018 in Paris) but also for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in September 2018. After all, good performances on one of the world’s toughest dressage stages would certainly stand you in good stead for a much-coveted spot on a 'WEG' team.

The usual suspects will be there of course, with last year’s winner Isabell Werth sure to put in a good performance on any number of her horses, but all eyes will be on Weihegold who has been on excellent form lately.

Isabell Werth has three horses ranked within the top 6 in the world individual rankings, so the other competitors will be counting their lucky stars that she is only allowed to ride one horse per event.

Fellow German rider Sonke Rothenberger is currently ranked number two in the world and is likely to threaten some of his older counterparts if the 22 year old and his mount Cosmo can keep up the level of performance they managed at the recent European Championships, where they finished second, hot on the heels of Werth.

Crowd favourite and celebrity of the Dressage world Carl Hester is always a joy to watch, especially with Carl’s self-professed ‘big and spooky’ Nip Tuck having the ability to perform an excellent test on the right day. His spookiness and tension is sometimes known to hold him back in the ring though, so the maestro of British dressage will have to play his cards right and hope for things to go his way if he wants to come out on top. Judy Reynolds, although unlikely to finish on the podium, could end up in the top 5 or 6 as she’s been steadily achieving some solid performances over recent years.

Patrik Kittel is one of many who will be riding on home soil

You can also expect to see some familiar names likely to be floating around the mid to tail end of the top 10 – Edward Gal, Patrik Kittel, Hans Peter Minderhoud and Cathrine Dufour, who will be riding on home soil.

With legs following in France, Germany, England, Austria, Sweden and The Netherlands, many of the world’s top riders will have the chance to compete in their home countries with the advantage of the support of a large crowd.