Great Expectations: Helen's Tribute to Damsey Ahead of Maternity Leave

22 February 2018

Langehanenberg pays tribute to "perfect" Damsey after brilliant Neumünster win

Helen Langehanenberg signed off in style when she stormed to victory in Neumünster last weekend in what was her final event before maternity leave.

 

The German and her 16-year-old stallion, Damsey, have been in superb form in recent months, with high finishes in Stockholm and Stuttgart late last year.

 

However, she will be absent from Gothenburg – the scene of her FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final triumph in 2013 – this weekend as she will be beginning a well-earned break from competition. Helen, 35, is due to give birth to her second child in June, and while she plans on returning to action as soon as the summer, she said she will be keeping a close eye on the build up to the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final in Paris in April. Watch Friday's event on FEI TV and YouTube from 13:30 CET.

"I’ll miss riding, but
it’s the nicest of
reasons to be
taking a break"

"I hope the best will win in Paris"

“For sure I will follow the Dressage World Cup,” she said. “So many good riders are going to Paris - I hope the best will win! I will only ride a little bit at home in the next few months. I’ll only do what’s possible and feels good.

 

“I’ll miss riding, but it’s the nicest of reasons to be taking a break. In reality, the time is so short, and all of sudden it will be summer and I can then compete again.”

 

Helen won the seventh leg of the FEI World Cup™ Dressage in Neumünster with a superb run just a few weeks after being forced to retire in Amsterdam. She produced a stunning test in front of a home crowd in Germany, to score 83.80, but paid tribute to Damsey, who made a superb return after getting his tongue over the bit in Amsterdam in January.

 

 

“Neumünster is a very special show for me,” said Helen. “Not only because I have always been very successful there, but also because the show ring and the audience is always super.

 

“Damsey was just amazing and he was so fresh and relaxed. It was a perfect ride! It's super to stop for a break with results like this.”

 

Damsey has secured a series of excellent results with Helen since the pair first linked up in 2016. Helen believes that the stallion, who helped Germany to the Dressage team title in last August’s Longines FEI European Championships in Gothenburg, is now beginning to enjoy competition and thrive in pressure situations.

helen2202-letters

“Damsey has the strongest character I have ever met,” Helen said. “He knows exactly what he wants from everything. If everything is perfect you can have everything from him. He has no weakness. I really have the feeling he enjoys being on a show and tough for us.

 

“After Gothenburg he got a break. And after this break he was fresher and more motivated than ever. I changed nothing, but I now have the feeling he loves to compete and he understands that it is not done after a good warming up - it starts in the ring.”

 

Watch the world's top Dressage stars in Friday's FEI World Cup™ Dressage event in Gothenburg via FEI TV and YouTube from 13:30 CET.

 

Text by Richard Mulligan

Images by Malte Christians and Stefan Lafrentz