Flashes

Daniel Pinto tops B-Final

A special report by Claartje van Andel dressagedirect
(also sent out as a FEI press release)

An ecstatic clapping audience and drums accompanied the first Lusitano horse in World Cup™ Final history and Portuguese Daniel Pinto (39) in his lap of honour. The pair topped the B Final. All judges agreed on the win, although the question ‘why’ was a difficult one, chairman of the judges Cara Whitham admitted. “I would say Daniel Pinto made the best advantage of his horses strengths, which are the very well performed canter pirouettes and the piaffe and passage. He intermingled this points very well in an interesting choreography. The difficulties also showed an extended canter ridden with one hand on the reins, with a transition to a canter pirouette to the left easily performed with one hand too. A suggestion we judges would like to make to Daniel is that he is quite capable to do the pirouette to the right with one hand too, which would make his choreography more symmetrical.”
The pupil of Kyra Kyrklund was extremely happy with his win and so was the audience. “I really was moved by the reactions of the public. I feel very honoured to have been invited to present my horse and the reactions here make me feel it’s important to have an exotic horse like mine in a World Cup™ Final”, Pinto commented. He and his wife choose Portuguese bullfight music for his test. Daniel Pinto commented on the meaning of the music that he feels bullfighting and dressage both are about discipline, control and tradition and about being able to show a horse which is feeling good.
Runner up in the B final was British Wayne Channon partnering Lorenzo. The practicing during the music test in the early morning and the losing of his horse finally had brought the solution for Wayne Channon why his horse had behaved so badly during the indoor season. “I do see the light in the tunnel now as I discovered that Lorenzo through his enthusiasm drops the right reign in the warming up and then simply starts to run away. I was happy with our ride today”, Channon said.
The Canadian riders Strasser and Brooks ended third and fourth. Jacqueline Brooks said she was very impressed by the standard of the riding she had witnessed. When home the focus needs to be switched to the younger horses and the Pan Am Games immediately to try to qualify for the Olympic Games. “In Canada we are not used to huge crowds at competitions. This ride here in the World Cup™ Final sure has given us food for thoughts. When we would make the qualification, we’ll have to consider with our team coach Norbert van Laak to come to Europe to compete, otherwise we will never meet the standard which is needed nowadays.”

Daniel Pinto and the first Lusitano horse in a World Cup™ Final Galopin de la Font on their winning way in the B-final, picture courtesy Kit Houghton©

FEI dressage judges like to market themselves better

Together with the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Final Dressage in Las Vegas an FEI O-judges Forum is held in the Thomas and Mack Center. Points for discussion are the new codex for judges, the new series of competitions for Young Riders, proposals for rules revision and evaluation of technical difficult moments in tests. One of the general points that was shared with the press in the meeting of he IAEJ (International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists) was the concern of the judges to improve the relation with the press. “We are open for the press, we have the open scoring now and we like to share our thoughts, but we want to improve the transparency and the contact with the press even more”, Mariette Withages shared the concern of the official judges with the gathered press.
Mariette Withages stressed the point that judges will come forward with some improvements in the interest of the growth of the knowledge and appreciation for dressage, still being a difficult discipline to get a more insight and knowledgeable view. Some ideas are having organised a welcome reception with press and judges in advance of the first test at a show, spending time with the riders after the test with the press like was established in Athens, work on biographies of the judges with probably mobile numbers available for the press and practice in easy language to explain differences and specialties of horses and riders.
In the end both press and the FEI judges were happy with the promised step forward made.

More on The Rolex FEI World Cup™ Finals in Las Vegas at www.worldcuplasvegas.com