Ireland’s Reynolds qualifies for 2019 FEI Dressage World Cup Final

There are nine out of 18 places in next month’s Final reserved for Western European riders, and coming into the Dutch Masters, Reynolds had to at least hold on to her 12th position in the standings to secure a spot (as only three of the German riders ahead of her, including defending champion Isabell Werth, can qualify given the quota by country). The top British finisher in the overall standings was Richard Davison in 16th. 

In the end, the 38-year-old Reynolds, currently ranked 24th in the world in the sport, finished ninth in Holland with Vancouver, which moved her up to 11th in the league standings and confirmed her qualification for the Final in Gothenburg, Sweden from April 3–7. Victory went to Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen with his 15-year-old stallion Blue Hors Zack. Highlights of the competition can be watched here. 

For Reynolds, Gothenburg will mark her third appearance in a World Cup Final. “2016 was our first experience of a final – also in Gothenburg – and it was great!”, Reynolds told Horse Sport Ireland. “It was such a feeling of accomplishment to be a part of the FEI Dressage World Cup Final and we enjoyed every minute of it. Finishing eighth was a bonus. The following year we were at the finals in Omaha (United States); this was another great experience and a fourth-place finish was incredible. It was only later that I realised how close we were to the podium.”

As described previously on Eurosport, the history of Dressage is said to date back to ancient Greece, where military officers trained their horses how to manoeuvre in battle. In Dressage, different ‘tests’, or series of movements are judged using criteria corresponding to the difficulty of the techniques, as in figure skating. The movements, with names like the ‘Passage’ (a rhythmic trotting motion), the ‘Pirouette’, ‘Flying Change of Leg’ and ‘Half-pass’ are rooted in the centuries-old training system of the Imperial Spanish Riding School of Vienna, established in the 16th century.

And for Olympian Reynolds, who is always plaits her own horses’ manes at competitions, being a professional rider involves at its core an ongoing exchange between herself and her equine partners: “The horse is an animal and doesn’t always understand straight away what you want,” she told Horseware in 2016. “You never stop learning, especially in dressage. If you’re open to it, every horse will teach you as much as you can teach him.”

Also at the Dutch Masters this past weekend, Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann captured the first major title of the show jumping season. The Swedish rider won the first competition of the Rolex Grand Slam of 2019 in a jump-off, overcoming four rivals, including Swiss superstar — and 2012 Olympic champion — Steve Guerdat. Von Eckermann had the fastest time with a clear round in the jump-off, stopping the clock in 40.45 seconds with his 13-year-old mare, Toveks Mary Lou.