Kraut and Woodstock O have consistently been in the ribbons this week in the Youngsters Cup, with clear rounds in the previous two speed classes. "I don't think he rubbed a fence the whole time. I didn't go fast the first two days, even though they were speed classes, because it doesn't really matter. The goal is to qualify for the final and save yourself for the last class," Kraut explained.
They did just that, as Woodstock O, an 8-year-old KWPN gelding, was clear through two rounds today and the fastest in the jump-off to take home the top prize over Philipp Weishaupt (GER) on Urmel 86 and Lars Nieberg (GER) with Coco Mademoiselle.
Kraut said, "We jumped the first round at 9:15 this morning and we didn't have the jump-off until 2:15 in the afternoon. This morning he was actually quite fresh and strong. He was sort of a handful to ride around, but he jumped brilliantly. By the afternoon, he settled down and he was so good in the jump-off. It was his type of course with a lot of galloping. Even though he's small, his stride is very big. He did everything he was supposed to do."
Kraut and Woodstock O began their partnership in April 2010, and Kraut said that the quirky gelding has "come a long way." She described, "He hadn't done a lot when we bought him. Even though he was seven, he didn't have a lot of experience. He was a little bit tricky. I think through the year and in Florida, he got more grown up and relaxed. Since he's been back in Europe, he's jumped really well, everywhere we've been."
She added, "I was pretty confident coming here. I didn't know we would win, but I thought he would go well. I'm really happy for his owner."
Of her victory in Aachen, Kraut said, "It's great to win a class here, no matter what class it is. I won a foal too, and I'm really happy about that! It's a beautiful one, so that is exciting."
Kraut also joined the prize giving presentation in the Prize of Aachen Münchener jump-off class, where she rode Stars and Stripes' Teirra to third place.
"This horse is like a dream come true," Kraut said. "Three starts and three third place finishes in Aachen. She's so brave and tries so hard. I couldn't be happier."
Kraut started riding Teirra in April and they first competed together in May. They won their first grand prix in Chester, England, just a few weeks ago and put in very impressive performances here at the CHIO.
In the Prize of Sparkasse speed class this evening, Beezie Madden and Prima, owned by Neapolitan Holding Co. LLC finished fifth. Americans finished in the top of the Best of Champions class, with Kraut and The Evita Group's Dona Evita placing fifth and Lauren Hough on Arizona Pie 9, owned by Assenmacher Th., in sixth.
The show jumpers will finish tomorrow in the Rolex Grand Prix with four riders from the United States competing: Lauren Hough and Quick Study, McLain Ward and Antares F, Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo, and Laura Kraut on Cedric.
Peters Cleans Up Intermediaire I with Weltino's Magic
Steffen Peters notched his second win of this CHIO competition with Weltino's Magic, owned by Jen Hlavacek, in the Intermediaire I for the Wotax Prize. The class is part of the "small tour" for dressage horses.
Weltino's Magic impressed the judges, who gave scores of 76.579, 72.368, 74.211, 73.158, and 73.42 and won by more than two percentage points with a final score of 73.947%.
Peters and the veteran Ravel competed in the Grand Prix Special CDIO for the Meggle Preis today and finished in fifth place. Ravel, who is owned by Four Winds Farm and Akiko Yamazaki, received judges' scores of 77.396, 76.771, 78.333, 76.042, and 75.000 for an overall percentage of 76.708%.
Peters and Ravel will finish in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO class tomorrow.
Chester Weber continued to show his driving prowess at the CHIO as he competed as an individual for the United States. He and Team Clark's four-in-hand team - Horus du Bois, Para, Splash, and Uniek - finished seventh today in the Wohnwelt Pallen Marathon, which was a rating competition for Individual and Team Classification. The marathon performance left them third overall in some tough company.
"They were second in the dressage, double clear in the cones, and the marathon went quite well - I was quite pleased with them," Weber said of his team. "I haven't driven a lot of marathons with this group. I had Splash in the Right Wheel, and I think this was only the third or fourth marathon for him. He w
as good."
Of the marathon course, Weber described, "It wasn't that technical; it was a bit of a race course. I was pleased with how everything went. I had one knock down, but the team worked well together. I only had two horses from my WEG team here along with two from Jane Clark, so it
was a new team. If I can finish in the top three in Aachen, then I'm doing quite well. The plan was to come together this summer and get to know them."
He continued, "It has been such a pleasure to work with Jane. She's been a huge supporter and she's going to help us achieve all of our goals. She was here the whole week to cheer me on, and she joined us in the prize giving ceremony."
Weber and his team finished third in the individual classification, behind World Champion Boyd Exell of Australia.
For full results, please visit www.chioaachen.de/en/starterlisten. For more information on the Team athletes in Aachen, please visit www.usef.org.
For information on all the competition at the 2011 CHIO Aachen, visit http://www.usefnetwork.com/featured/2011CHIOAachen/.