‘He was like a firecracker’: excitement builds as combinations bid to secure qualification for Olympic dressage finals

Dutch rider Emmelie Scholtens and Austria’s Victoria Max-Theurer have bagged their spots in the individual final after taking the top two places in Group F in the Olympic dressage grand prix today (31 July).

Emmelie and Indian Rock were last to go in their group, putting a solid mark of 74.58% on the board for the team at the Paris Olympics.

“Normally he is so not impressed by anything and today he was like a firecracker,” said Emmelie.

“So my test started differently, but when I did a few exercises, I felt he was more with me and then it was better. Normally I can ride a bit more length, but today in the beginning, he was so willing to go, so I had to hold him a little bit. Now I think ‘that was a pity’, but we have to improvise sometimes.”

The pair were top-scoring Dutch combination at last year’s Europeans and were also part of the team at the 2022 World Championships. To be riding Indian Rock here in Paris is also special given the generational links Emmelie has with this horse’s family.

“I rode his father, Apache, he was really different as he was so much stallion, whereas Indian Rock is no stallion at all – even though he is a breeding stallion,” said Emmelie, for whom Apache was her first senior championship ride.

“I’ve know [Indian Rock] since he was two and a half, so we have really grown into this.

“He’s such a great horse, he’s super sweet. He’s a stallion but you can put him next to a pony or a mare. He just has the best character.”

A direct qualification for Victoria Max-Theurer

Coming into these Games, Victoria didn’t expect to secure one of the direct qualification spots for Sunday’s final aboard Abegglen FRH NRW. She was instead hopeful of potentially earning a place as one of the next best six overall scores with this 14-year-old, owned by Ursula Barth, Valerie Hack, Elisabeth Max-Theurer and Gestüt Vorwerk.

A change of tactics to keep their preparations “very short” paid off and Victoria added she was “so pleased” with the score. Their total of 74.3% is their highest grand prix total at a championships, the top mark from the Austrian team and an assured qualification for the Olympic individual final.

Dante Weltino OLD at every championships since 2017

Sweden’s Therese Nilshagen was filled with pride for her stallion Dante Weltino OLD, who is the only horse to have competed at every senior championships since 2017.

“I think we did a very solid test and we’re really looking forward to the special,” said Therese, referencing the grand prix special in which the team medals will be decided.

“It’s always good when you start the competition with a good feeling. I hope that our score might be enough for the freestyle final, which would be simply great.”

The 17-year-old stallion counts Becky Moody’s British Olympic team ride Jagerbomb among his offspring.

“We are very, very proud of Jagerbomb,” said Therese, who owns Dante Weltino OLD with Dressurpferde-Leistungszentrum Lodbergen GmbH. “I have many colleagues now telling me that they have ‘such a nice Dante offspring’, so that’s very nice to hear.”

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