Despite retiring in the preliminary round, the Diamond Hit offspring goes on to produce a fl awless test when it matters, to win a gigantic class
IT was a rocky road to the five-year-old final for Swedish Olympic dressage team rider Therese Nilshagen. She eventually topped the board in the huge, 75-strong class on the Lodbergen Stud’s Bavarian-bred licensed stallion DSP Dominy (Diamond Hit x Pour Plaisir).
The 34-year-old rider chose to retire the liver chestnut stallion, whom she’s been riding since May this year, in the preliminary round due to too many tension related mistakes. The eye catching stallion was nervous in the notoriously buzzy and atmospheric Warendorf arena.
The combination managed to qualify for the final in extremis, with a third — the last available place — in the consolation class, but went on to produce a virtually flawless test in the final to score nines across the board, framed by an 8.5 for walk and a 9.5 for his rhythmical, clear canter.
“This is a first win for me in Warendorf,” said the Swede, fresh from winning team bronze at the European Championships in Gothenburg on Dante Weltino. “Dominy is a really nice horse with three good gaits and a good brain, so I’m really looking forward to the future with him.”
This story is from the September 14, 2017 edition of Horse & Hound.
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This story is from the September 14, 2017 edition of Horse & Hound.
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