Las Vegas – Isabell Werth is the 2007 World Cup Dressage champion – a title she last held 15 years ago. It was in 1992 that Werth earned her first World Cup victory with Fabienne. This time she did it with Warum Nicht FRH in a ride that Dr. Dieter Schüle, head of the judge’s jury, called a “freestyle you don’t often see.”

“Isabell’s performance was outstanding,” he said. Werth agreed, although she gave much of the credit to her partner. “Today, it was just easy. I didn’t expect that he would be so relaxed when he went in. I could start from the very beginning to take risks,” she said.

Werth’s win was earned with a score of 84.25 percent. Coming in second was the Dutch pair of Imke Schellekens-Bartels and Sunrise with a score of 77.95 percent. Although happy with her finish and her score, Schellekens-Bartels said the mare is capable of even more. “My preparation was not that easy today. She started to go into season before the Grand Prix and today she really was in season. So I had a really difficult warm-up, but I decided that we must just go for it and I gave everything and I was very pleased with the ride. It wasn’t the best form we have had. She can do a lot better, but I’m happy.”

If anything will test the composure of riders it’s the environment of the World Cup. Dressage riders, accustomed to competing in quiet environments with few spectators, were put to the test at the 2007 World Cup Dressage competition and no where was the test more stringent than Saturday evening’s final event to determine this year’s world dressage champion – the Grand Prix Freestyle competition.

The U.S. was well-represented by the team of Steffen Peters and Floriano who finished third with a score of 77.80 percent. It was a superb ride but one in which both Peters and Schüle agreed that Floriano was a bit tired at the end. “I’m still extremely excited for a horse that is 17 years old and still wants to put in so much effort,” Peters said of Floriano. Frequently asked if he’ll retire Floriano, Peters said he takes it month by month and will let Floriano tell him when it’s time. “If he keeps going like he’s going tonight, then we’ll give it another shot for another year. But if at any point he doesn’t want to do it any more than it will be a wonderful finish for him.”

The twelve riders who earned the right to ride for the world title faced a sold-out crowd of more than 12,000 who had packed into the Thomas and Mack Arena at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
DeRosa Photo:Isabelle Werth Tetley Photo: Steffen Peters