| Among
the starters, three-time Olympic dressage gold-medalist Anky Van
Grunsven, riding on behalf of her native land Holland, joins reining
athletes from Denmark and the home nation in back-to-back CRI
competitions today and tomorrow.
At the press event
arranged by the Organizing Committee, when asked to compare the
differences between the two sports, Van Grunsven instead chose
to focus on the similarities, stating "the basics of dressage
are the same as reining. There really is not a major difference
at the very basic level. As a matter of fact, there is much we
have in common. While I wish that some of the smart things from
reining could be adopted by dressage, like the clear, straight-forward
scoring system, the two sports are similar on the desire for an
enhanced and refined display of horsemanship."
When speaking of her
horse, Whizashiningwalla BB, owned by the standing Non-Pro European
champion Cira Baeck from Belgium, Van Grunsven spoke warmly about
the palomino quarter horse, saying "He is a great horse and
we are having a lot of fun together. He is really helping me get
the feeling of reining and he knows his sport-sometimes a little
too well", she laughs. "As a dressage rider you gain
from reining, but sometimes it is hard to remember, for instance
in reining when you stop the horse it is the opposite of dressage:
you loosen your reins, sit down and just say 'whoa' -and the horse
will stop....this doesn't happen in Dressage, Von Grunsven jokes.
The AQHA, on behalf
of its international affiliate, the Swedish Quarter Horse Association,
has supplied major funding for the Bokerberg event as a part of
the Association's continuing effort to increase exposure and awareness
of the American Quarter Horse around the world. FEI reining events
are one way the Association views as a high-impact way to accomplish
this goal.
Born of the maneuvers
a western working horse must perform on the ranch, the sport of
reining is the only western sport in the FEI family and will enjoy
a homecoming, of sorts, at the WEG as they are hosted for the
first time in the USA. However, it's no longer just a North American
Sport. Reining can be found on five continents and more than 30
nations, including Sweden.
Bökeberg, Sweden - April 18, 2010 - Provided by HorsePower,
Inc. - The Sweden National Championship Concours de Reining International
(CRI) came to a completion after the announcement of awards for
the second competition in two days.
Vital to the qualification
process for the Alltech® FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG),
representatives from across Northern Europe scrapped their stifled
air travel plans as volcanic activity in Iceland caused chaos
and closed airports across the continent. Instead, riders drove
into beautiful Bökeberg facility in hopes of gaining the
compulsory scores necessary for the increasingly intense effort
to make their respective national reining teams for the much anticipated
WEG.
Saturday – The
first competition on Saturday evening brought high energy to the
Bökeberg arena as the reining athletes attempted to achieve
their requisite scores for qualification. Taking top honors was
Mona Göransson representing Sweden aboard Mega Jac Dance
and the large crowd on-hand was excited to cheer on their native
champion and proudly hear the Swedish anthem at the close of the
competition.
It was Sweden to fill
out the podium with reserve champion Helene Hokkanen aboard Whizards
Enchantress and third-place Peter Ljungberg competing with Blue
Dry Peppy, both riding for Sweden.
Fourth place honors
went to three-time Olympic gold-medal dressage legend Anky van
Grunsven, who made her initial FEI voyage in the sport of reining
showing Whizashiningwalla BB on behalf of The Netherlands and
completing the top-five standings in the competition was seasoned
FEI competitor Sanne Skovrider of Denmark was riding Lil Spin.
Sunday – More
FEI reining action returned to the Bökeberg facility with
a second chance to gain national qualification and the result
of the competition was even more dramatic than the day prior.
After the second place
horse from Saturday, Whizards Enchantress, was eliminated in the
early morning horse inspection, the starting field was recharged
with possibilities for the top placings.
In the class, riders
gave a full effort and the resulting scores revealed a tie for
first place between Saturday’s champion, Mona Göransson
for Sweden riding Mega Jac Dance and famed dressage icon, turned
reiner, Anky Van Grunsven of Holland aboard Whizashiningwalla
BB. Both of a highly-competitive nature, it was decided that a
run-off would determine the ultimate champion in the international-level
class.
With a quick drag
of the arena and a few minutes to once again prepare, Göransson
and Van Grunsven thrilled the audience as they enthusiastically
supported each rider’s second effort. Set to music including
“Mission Impossible” and “Under Pressure”
Göransson and Van Grunsven each left everything in the arena
with the final result of the run-off in Göransson’s
favor by a mere one-point spread.
Third-place honors
went back to Sweden with Ruf Deal, piloted by Johan Svensson making
the podium complete. Fourth and fifth were Tove Schmidt and Helene
Hokkanen showing Chic Diesel Olena and Sheza Flybaby, respectively.
More on Anky van Grusnven
– At a press event arranged by the Organizing Committee,
when asked to compare the differences between the two sports,
three-time Olympic gold-medalist Van Grunsven instead chose to
focus on the similarities, stating that, “the basics of
dressage are the same as in Reining. There really is not a major
difference at the very basic level. As a matter of fact, there
is much we have in common. While I wish that some of the smart
things from Reining could be adopted by dressage, like the clear
and straight-forward Reining scoring system, the two sports are
similar in the desire for an enhanced and refined display of horsemanship.”
When speaking of her
horse, Whizashiningwalla BB, owned by the standing NRHA Non Pro
European Champion Cira Baeck’s Eifel Gold Ranch Baeck in
Belgium, Van Grunsven spoke warmly about the palomino Quarter
Horse, saying, “He is a great horse and we are having a
lot of fun together. He is really helping me to get the feeling
for Reining, and he knows his sport – sometimes a little
too much”, she laughs. “As a dressage rider you can
gain from Reining, but sometimes it is hard to remember, for instance
in Reining when you stop the horse it is definitely the opposite
of dressage: you loosen your reins, sit down and just say ‘whoa’
– and the horse will stop…. this doesn’t happen
in dressage, Van Grunsven jokes.
AQHA, on behalf of
its international affiliate, the Swedish Quarter Horse Association,
supplied major funding of the Bökeberg event to increase
exposure and awareness of the American Quarter Horse around the
world.
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