CDI3 * Competition in the center of the Hanoverian horse breed
In the home country of Diavolessa, the big summer test "Verden International" took place again this year on the first weekend of August. Dia was born nearby, here she grew up, here she was ridden first. It was a journey to the old homeland. On Saturday, the well-staffed Grand Prix started early in the morning, followed by the Grand Prix Special on Sunday.
In the shadows, you could stand it.
We always like to take part in the competitions in Verden. The conditions are excellent. Big solid boxes in ventilated stables, clean toilets, even warm water in the horse showers. The area is tip-top, functional and beautiful to the eye. The racetrack area at Lindhooper Straße is harmoniously designed. A varied gastronomic offer completes the pleasing impression. The helping and organizing hands are always friendly. The atmosphere is cheerful and uncomplicated. Rider and horse feel well. The farm of the family of horse owners is very close and invites to a pleasant stay in the free minutes.
Fortunately, Saturday's Grand Prix was scheduled early in the morning. The last few days were under a stifling heat that did not make it easy for people and animals to work. Tatiana and Diavolessa started at 10:00. It had already warmed up, only a small amount of the early freshness was still in the air. When preparing Dia, she had shown herself wonderfully flexible and easy. The strong trot on the diagonal was wonderful ride out. Piaffe and Passage have been developed in a lively way. In the arena it did not look quite as powerful anymore. The mare pulled together a bit and could not be motivated so completely complication free. Dia showed the lessons well, but not as brilliantly as before. This concerned above all the Trabtour, the strong trot, also the Passage. Transitions and Piaffes get along well in the first part, on the final line Dia did not want to make the transition to the Piaffe so supple. Highlights were the diagonals with the flying changes. Two-and one-flying changes were moved strong, routiniert and carried forward. There were notes by eighth from some judges. Noteworthy the judge's judgment to the always grandiose shown strong step. Three judges seized seven, one nine. This judge once more praised the extraordinary strong step in the concluding commentary. Why is the step repeatedly ignored so pitifully by some judges? The result was somewhat economical with more than 70 percent. Two judges, who did not know the couple, acted with caution. After all, ranked fifth and thus achieved a placement in a strong starting field. You could be satisfied with that.
Two placements and results over 70 percent, that was satisfactory.
The Garnd Prix Special on Sunday took place under better weather conditions. The temperatures settled to a pleasant 24 degrees, white clouds pushed repeatedly in front of the bright sun. The competition started at noon. Tatiana and Diavolessa started as penultimate, a good starting position. The test was different than on Saturday. Dia showed more movement and momentum. You could see that especially in the trot passages, especially in the strong trot. On the other hand, she did not seem to agree with Sunday work. She kept running with an open mouth. In the last few changes between the pirouettes she was then over-motivated and changed independently twice more in the canter than prescribed. The judges confirmed the ranking of the day before with one exception: Inessa Merkulova showed a strong performance and was able to advance to fifth place despite a very uneven and difficult to understand judge's performance. Tatiana and Dia came with 70.7 percent in the following sixth place.
