Edward Gal and Total U.S. have become the overnight leaders in the Grand Prix division at the 2021 Dutch Dressage Championships which are taking place behind closed doors at the KNHS headquarters in Ermelo, The Netherlands, on 4 - 6 June 2021.
Just like in Balve the scores were heavily inflated in Ermelo as is the tradition of national championships anywhere in the world. The all-Dutch judging panel (just like the all-German panel in Balve) just loves its own riders, horses and style, and assesses mistakes, lack of harmony and bridle contact less skeptically in a 20 x 60 arena on home turf.
The first round of the Championships - the Grand Prix Special - was judged by Adriaan Hamoen, Janine van Twist, Maarten Van der Heijden, Mara de Bel Groenenboom, and Jeannette Wolfs.
Newly frocked in a custom made tail coat, Edward Gal can arrive at any competition feeling safe that he will be generously rewarded for the phenomenal ground quality of his horses, no matter what is produced in the arena. Edward's new tailcoat was heavily discussed on social media yesterday and although its cavalry style might not be everyone's cup of tea, the fact that Gal changes things up and plays with fashion within the allowed boundaries of the FEI should be applauded ! Why not play a bit with the traditional dresscode?! We like it.
Not the more mature and settled Grand Prix horse Toto Jr (by Totilas x Desperados) but the younger and even bigger moving Total U.S (by Totilas x Sir Donnerhall) took highest honour in the Grand Prix Special with an enormous 81.128%. The judges' scores ranged from 79.468 (Wolfs) to 83.404 (De Bel). Total U.S showed huge ground cover and scope in the trot extensions and half passes, always uphill oriented. The passage was not always evenly engaged with more right hind leg activity at times, but there was much suspension. The extended walk had massive overtrack but is not marching through the body and in the collected walk the young stallion was tense. The piaffes were on the forehand (but he scored a 10 for that). The stallion's immaturity at the highest level shows in his unsteadiness in the connection and head position throughout, and especially in his lack of self-carriage, most visible in the canter part. The horse moves in two pieces, often losing the 3-beat stride, and the flying changes are unbalanced. However, in the pirouettes he reveals that the ability to collect is definitely there. The final halt could be more polished and square (8 - 9).
Gal placed second with Toto Jr. The black stallion made his 2021 CDI debut in Opglabbeek, Belgium, in May, where he was also beaten by stable mate Total U.S. even though the horse is more complete and settled at Grand Prix level. In Ermelo, the stallion gave his rider a handful, starting with a big booboo right before entering the arena, where the horse became unruly and Gal needed a few circles to get him back together. The live streaming strategically moved the camera away from what happened and just focused on the faces of the bystanders. The entry and halt still earned him 7.2. The first trot extension was too conservative, the others on the track much better, although the left one needed more overstep. The trot half passes were scopey and balanced, the first transition to passage was almost on the spot via piaffe. The passage was lovely with much airtime and regularity. Toto Jr has quite a chunky stallion neck and Gal did keep the nose out as best as possible, even though he rides the horse virtually on a blank curb. Sometimes the horse tilted to the right. The extended walk was outstanding with superb clarity in the 4-beat rhythm, it was the absolute highlight of the test (7.5 - 9). The collected walk, then again, was not collected at all but a medium walk (7 - 7.5). The piaffe work was not that good today with the horse not taking the weight behind but piaffing with the hocks up and out. The rhythm was good though. In the passage on the serpentines (and final centerline) he swung a bit in the body. In the tempi changes the horse got a bit sticky to the aids, not moving in front of the leg, which resulted in a lack of straightness (7.0). Gal regenerated the impulsion with good extended canter, the pirouettes were tiny and could use another stride. While the horse showed plenty of quality, there were numerous imperfections, the final passage on the centerline was a bit crooked, the piaffe at X had the hindlegs out.
The judges rewarded this ride with on 79.681%; four judges had him second (low score 78.298%) and one judge first (81.170%). Gal's skeptical face at the end of the test did not correspond with the whopping score he got.
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