When initial restrictions and emergency brakes were discussed in the third wave oft he Corona, Tatiana received confirmation of participation in the May Market Tournament 2021 in Mannheim. While tournaments were cancelled in series elsewhere, the organizers at the Neckar river stuck to their plan, although with the spread of the herpes virus among the international top horses a second contagion danger had to be mastered.
Diavolessa showed herself in Mannheim with strong nerves and detached
Mannheim has accepted the two challenges. This was courageous and a great concession to the European dressage scene. For this, i.e. a heartfelt thank you to the organizer, who had to overcome enormous organizational challenges, but without an audience probably had to forego essential revenues at the same time. And yet the organizer was able to weave in considerable prize money for these four-star competition.
Of course, the event was all about the pandemic. A strict hygiene concept required a daily negative test from all who entered the competition grounds. The first action every morning was the walk to the test center when arrived. The organization had paid attention to simple and effective processes, supported by corresponding apps on the mobile phone, so that the data could already be collected at home and retrieved on site with a click. Arrival and departure of the site was logged with an app. You got egg on your face, if you forgot the password for the mail with the test result and the phone had used up its energy just as you were waiting for the test result. The participants were also expected to handle the modern technical aids with confidence. Is it worth mentioning that only horses with a negative herpes test came to the site?
The hygiene concept also included small stable tents with a maximum occupancy of four horses, so that no horse had an immediate neighbour. There was no restaurant on the show ground, no seating, no direct contact with the registration office. But all this was gladly accepted, so that a high-calibre competition could take place once again.
Even in the preparation of the task, Dia didn't let long be asked. She cooperated despite the sudden change in weather
On Wednesday, a Grand Prix was on the agenda to qualify for a Grand Prix Special and a Grand Prix for the Freestyle. Tatiana had opted for the qualifying test for the Freestyle Grand Prix, which was scheduled for late afternoon. She started third. After two days of glorious sunshine and summer temperatures, the weather changed to this test. Thick rain clouds had been raised and strong wind gusts not only caused the flags to flutter, but also provided for a multi-voiced concert of beating tarpaulins and steel ropes on the flagpoles. How would Diavolessa react to this noise, especially since some of the billowing plastic tarpaulins were attached directly to the gang at the judges' houses? It became particularly exciting when holding and running backwards. There was not only a television camera, but also a rain cover flat in the wind. And what happened? Nothing! Dia concentrated entirely on the rider, did not pull herself together, stayed nicely in the lane and reacted promptly to the riders signs. Trot from the stand and on the tour went. Big compliment to the mare. She has mastered this challenge well and remained pretty cool and focused in the exam. We had already experienced this differently. Well done, Dia.
Overall, the test was fairly even judget. The scores varied between 7.2 and 6.8 with a focus on 7.0. There were two outliers: in the left-pirouette, Dia got away and got out of tune. Here the notes slumped to 5. In a strong walk, however, a judge saw a 9 this time! The walk was really good. The judges, who did not yet know Dia, remained 7.0 below, a total of 7.7. We had already experienced this less well. The overall result was 68,978, which meant 8th place. We were very satisfied, Dia had shown herself well and of course we were curious how it would be in the competition on Friday.
Flying changes on a curved line was a highlight of the Grand Prix Freestyle
The competition was the last test of the event. The vast majority of participants had already left, Dia was the only horse in the tent on Thursday. But she didn't seem to mind. Tatiana became the first starter to open the test. Since the Freestyle for Mannheim had not been practiced before, we wondered if it would succeed. And it succeeded. Diavolessa knew the sequences well, almost too well, because she sometimes wanted to initiate the transition to the next lesson herself. At the start of the right-hand pirouette, she made an unplanned flying change with a change back to the track, which of course cost points. That was the only mistake. Otherwise, the two remained flawless. Tatiana had a good feeling. The communication with Dia was successful. She had focused well on Tatiana, who was well received with her commands. In the end, a solid and clean finish was achieved. Technically, the lessons were rated at 7.0 almost consistently. There were no bigger outliers down or up. The artistic score varied widely between 72 and 77 percent for the judges, with an average of 74.4 percent, so the overall score was calculated at a fairly accurate 72 percent. That was eighth place.
That was a good performance, wasn't it?
What can we take home from Mannheim? Dia got much better at the rider in Mannheim. Tatiana rides very precisely and avoids mistakes as far as possible. Now it's about improvements in detail to get more grades in the eight. Thus, for example, the strong trot should be presented even more evenly, the piaffe should be consistently well executed and would also be desirable a little more erection in the gallop. "There's still air up there," Tatiana is sure. We are looking forward to the next test.
Finally, the organizer deserves a big thank you. Despite the Corona requirements, he has succeeded in realizing a very high-quality dressage competition. Many others would have given up under the pandemic conditions. The fact, that the People of Mannheim did not do so, is to be credited to them.
