Brits travel to World Breeding Championships

Two British riders made the trek across the continent to Verden, Germany with their six-year-old equine counterparts for the FEI World Breeding Dressage Championships (7 – 12 August 2015).

Together, the FEI and WBFSH have organised the World Breeding Championships for sport horses in dressage, jumping and eventing since 1992, with this year marking the last time the championships will be held in Verden as the competition moves to Ermelo, Netherlands for the next three years.

The tournament office registered a record number of participants this year with 48 entries from 20 different nations in the five-year-olds and 37 young horses from 15 different countries entered into the six-year-old class.

28-year-old Emma Woolley piloted her mother, Jane Woolley’s Eldorado in the six-year-old championship. Their first time away from British soil, Emma and the Dutch-bred stallion scored well in the qualifying round with 7.30, although their 29^th placing meant they missed the top 15 and qualified through to the consolation class known as the ‘small final’. Experienced international rider and fellow Brit, Vicky Thompson Winfield also contested in the six-year-old class. Riding Kym Merritt’s son of Biasini, Botero, she scored 7.02 for 34^th.

Upping their game in the small final, Emma and Eldorado improved on their earlier score, claiming 13^th with 7.42 – a fantastic achievement for the pair, who have also qualified for the LeMieux National Dressage Championships at elementary and medium – their future is looking very bright. Vicky and Botero also moved up the placings to 20^th with their mark of 7.00.

The six-year-old championship was taken by Danish warmblood stallion, Sezuan who was ridden by German Dorothee Schneider and scored a jaw-dropping 9.72, claiming full marks for his canter and final impression.

More information on the World Breeding Championships can be found here.

Photo courtesy of WSC Dressage.

Results

Class 4: Qualifying competition – six-year-olds
29^th – Emma Woolley with Eldorado, 7.30
34^th – Vicky Thompson Winfield with Botero, 7.02

Class 5: Small final
13^th – Emma Woolley with Eldorado, 7.42
20^th – Vicky Thompson Winfield with Botero, 7.00