Werth Unbeatable in Stuttgart

Patricia Salem

(Patricia is a former professional equine massage therapist
and recreational rider. )

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Isabell Werth thrilled the home crowd at Stuttgart, Germany on Saturday, winning the Grand Prix Freestyle in FEI Dressage World Cup™ competition for the Western European League.

Paired with Wendy de Fontaine, her partner when she won an Individual silver medal at the Paris Olympic Games, the “Queen of Dressage” earned 86.745 percent from the five judges.

Werth may have placed more than 6 points above second-place finisher Larissa Pauluis, but the Belgian athlete’s score of 80.395 percent was a personal best with a horse that shows great promise for the future. Germany’s Bianca Nowag-Aulenbrock and Florine OLD took third place on a score of 79.225 percent, after an evening where nearly each performance surpassed the one before it.

Klimke's early lead

Werth won the Grand Prix Test on Friday, with Pauluis and Nowag-Aulenbrock echoing their Freestyle podium positions. But there were a host of talented contenders on the start list for Saturday who wanted to take home a top prize too.

At the end of the first half, Ingrid Klimke — the German Eventing powerhouse whose father Reiner Klimke was an ambassador at the first Stuttgart German Masters — led the field with First Class, having posted 76.790 percent.

Two rides into the second half, Germany’s Carina Scholz took over the lead aboard Tarantino, thanks to high artistic marks that gave the combo a total of 77.230 percent.

Netz impresses

The precision and accuracy of young Ralphael Netz, also of Germany, and Great Escape Camelot — his partner from the 2023 Dressage World Cup Final at Riyadh — earned them 78.015 percent to move to the top of the leaderboard.

But their status didn’t last long, as Bianca Nowag-Aulenbrock’s super clean programme to a medley of Disney tunes won them 79.225 percent. Would Werth beat that to take a record 11th Stuttgart win as the defending champion of the event in 2023?

She and Wendy showed they meant business from the start of their programme to mellow classic pop songs, with Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” changed to “Wendy” in the lyrics for a bit of fun.

Scoring well into the 80s for technical marks, the two finished with a 94 from the Dutch judge at B to put a massive 86.745 percent on the board and move well into first. The crowd in the Hans-Martin-Schleyer-Halle were on their feet to support the most decorated Dressage athlete of all time.

PB for Pauluis

It was a tough act for Larissa Pauluis to follow as the last athlete of the night, but she and Flambeau completed a lovely, energetic programme that saw her break through the 80 percent barrier for the first time in her career. With 80.395 percent, they claimed second place, with Nowag-Aulenbrock taking third.

Netz finished fourth in the end, followed by Scholz and Klimke in the top six.

That fifth-place finish for Scholz in Leg 3 of 11 for the league put her at the top of the overall standings in the fight to win qualifying points for the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final at Basel (SUI) next April. She’s tied on 48 points with Nowag-Aulenbrock, with Werth in third with 40 points, having also won the Lyon leg. Netz and Klimke round out the top five.

The action moves to Madrid (ESP) in two weeks’ time for the next leg in the “Battle for Basel.” Catch it all live on FEI TV!

Words by Patricia Salem

Images by Leanjo de Koster