At the international CDIO in
Saumur, France, British Olympian
Emma Hindle bagged a double
victory and a second place in
the small tour aboard her Oldenburg
stallion Diamond Hit. With her Olympic
partner Wie Weltmeyer she placed
fourth twice in the big tour,
achieving 71.950% in the Kur
to Music.
With twenty-eight riders in
the running for the trophy,
Hindle faced tough competition
in the small tour. In spite
of that, her 8-year old licensed
breeding stallion Diamond Hit
(by Don Schufro x Ramino) was
up to the task and the pair
outclassed all with a 68.850%
earning Prix St Georges ride.
In the Intermediaire I they
reigned again with 67.350%.
For the Kur to Music, Hindle
borrowed Sarah Millis' musical
freestyle and with clever improvisation
and good riding skills she steered
her stud to a 70.550% score.
They place second in the kur
and were only 0.225% adrift
from the winning mark of 70.775%
attained by Belgian Sophie Baetens-van
Lent on the Hanoverian mare
Dark Diamant.
"I'm very happy with him
[Diamond Hit]. It was only his
second competition at Prix St
Georges level, so I'm very satisfied,"
Hindle said.
In the CDIO big tour, Hindle
proved to be the anchor for
the British team by being the
top ranking Brit in fourth place
in the Grand Prix. The Hanoverian
licensed stallion Wie Weltmeyer
(by Weltmeyer x Dynamo) moved
with more expression and power
than ever and scored 68.875%.
The British team was 30 points
short of a bronze medal in the
nations' cup in Saumur. Laura
Bechtolsheimer scored 65.417%
(17th) on Douglas Dorsey, Jane
Bredin 64.000% (22nd) with Lucky
Star and Henriette Anderson
got 62.792% (26th) with Astonish,
totalling 4759 points with the
team. In the Kur to Music, Hindle
notched 71.950% with her "Earth,
Wind & Fire" freestyle
and placed fourth, while the
class was won by the Russian
Alexandra Korelova on Balagur.
For Hindle and Wie Weltmeyer
the season kicked off well in
sunny Saumur, especially because
her horse exceeded her expectations
being in such great form. "Wally"
made his first show ring appearance
since the 2004 Olympic Games
in Athens, where he injured
himself by pulling a muscle
in the front leg. Hindle got
the chestnut gelding completely
fit again giving him a long
break and the dynamic duo only
lacked some fine-tuning in their
rides in order to ace the leader
board. "He was really fresh,"
Hindle commented. "I just
need to come out and ride him
again, so that we build up routine."
The
secret to this power and rhythm
in her horses is the fact that
they wear no shoes. "The
experiences I've had riding
without shoes is unbelievable,"
The suppleness with which Hindle's
horses moved in Saumur was remarkable.
Both Diamond Hit and Wie Weltmeyer
bounced off the ground striding
with confidence. The secret
to this power and rhythm in
her horses is the fact that
they wear no shoes. "The
experiences I've had riding
without shoes is unbelievable,"
Hindle explained. "Three
years ago Wally had a problem
after one shoeing, so we wanted
to see how he did without them.
Since then, we've taken off
for three months in winter and
put them back on for the shows.
This year we decided to keep
them off and I think it's brilliant."
Praising her farrier Erwin Zimmermann
for doing a superb job trimming
her horses' hooves, Hindle claimed
that a horse moves best without
shoes. "Like everyone else
I thought a horse needed shoes,
but they aren't born with shoes
on," she joked.
"Like everyone else I thought
a horse needed shoes, but they
aren't born with shoes on,"
she joked.
Based at Brookhouse Stud in
Ehrbach, Germany, Hindle has
been training with German Jurgen
Koschel for the past two years.
"He really improved my
riding by working on the Grand
Prix movements and by making
me concentrate in the arena.
He taught me not to focus on
the wrong things that happen,
but to focus on my mind and
ride a good test."
Hindle has four international
shows coming up on her 2005
show schedule at which she will
compete Diamond Hit, Lancet,
Lillemarkens Archibald and Wie
Weltmeyer. Her goal for this
year is to qualify for the British
team for the 2005 European Championships
in Moscow. With two high scoring
Grand Prix horses in the running,
Hindle is systematically working
at earning a berth by competing
at Munich, Wiesbaden, Bern and
Barzago. "My biggest hope
is that all horses stay fit
and healthy. I am as ambitious
as anyone else. I want to get
better at shows and I'll go
from there," a level-headed
Hindle said.
By Astrid Appels |