Yesterday’s Grand Prix’ winners Mads Hendeliowitz and Autograf Q danced to their own beat also in the International Dressage Freestyle. The duo delivered a stunning program that earned them 74,43% from the judges and took the victory. Home favourite Ville Vaurio with Dante NL claimed second place with a strong score of 72,24%. The winner’s compatriot Sofia Möller aboard Flawless completed the podium scoring 71,47%.
Hendeliowitz saw Vaurio’s performance and score before going in so he couldn’t go too easy and had to take some chances.
“I saw he (Vaurio) put some pressure on me, but it felt really good today. He (horse) was even better today and felt really relaxed so I felt I had him. We had little mistakes, and I was very pleased with him. I was happy with my horse, and my riding and the rest is up to the judges.”
“When we compete like this, we don’t have a set difficulty, so the judges don’t really know where we are going. You can change it a little bit but not do many changes as you still have to adjust it to the music”, Hendeliowitz said about their freestyle.
The second placed Vaurio found place for improvement in their performance but felt the audience was on his side.
“In the warm-up I felt he (horse) was a bit tight so I’m just happy we went through the thing without anything big. Grand Prix riding is so difficult so there’s not so much time to chill and enjoy. But best part was probably the feeling I got from the audience and of course the bond with the horse, he’s a fighter.”
“We started with a line of passage and piaffe – this freestyle is actually made for a previous horse so it’s not the perfect fit for this one. I think some of my half passes were OK, you have to ask Paula (the judge), I was too busy surviving”, Vaurio said of his programmer’s highlights.
The judge C, Paula Nysten, enjoyed both freestyles.
“Mads horse is much more consistent nowadays. He was really with Mads today. There were no big issues, and I really like the lightness of the horse, it’s never heavy, he self-carriers well and has the ease. Ville’s horse was also more with him today and he was more collective.”
International Dressage Freestyle. Starts 9, placings 5.
1) Mads Hendeliowitz – Autograf Q, SWE 74,43%,
2) Ville Vaurio – Dante NL, FIN 72,24%,
3) Sofia Möller – Flawless, SWE 71,47%,
…5) Anu Sironen – Ypajan Fioretto, FIN 70,28%,
6) Katja Kuokka – Fillyhill’s my Special, FIN 67,44%,
…8) Peggy Högsten – Frisco, FIN 66,54%
Results: LINK
