French team rules supreme in Saturday's dressage competition

The dressage action kicked off Saturday afternoon with the Grand Prix Special. Emmelie Scholtens - three weeks back in the saddle after having had surgery to her knee - rode a strong test to secure the win. With 10-year-old stallion Indian Rock she scored 75.575 percent.

France's Pauline Basquin won second place once more after Thursday's Grand Prix. 'It's an honour, I'm very proud to be second after Emmelie.' She rode a personal best score tonight with Sertorius de Rima Z Ifce. 'He felt really good, he was really with me the whole time. He wanted to give his all for me, was on my aids and listened very well to me. I'm very happy with this result.'

Morgan Barbançon smiled from ear to ear as she recounted her Grand Prix Freestyle with
Habana Libre A. 'I'm extremely happy with how tonight went. He started a little more tense than he did on Thursday, and it was only the second time I rode this freestyle test with him. There were a lot of people in the crowd, I was a bit worried about how he would react, but after some time he started to relax and listened to me very well.'

First win for the French dressage team since 2018

Corentin Pottier finished second in the Grand Prix Freestyle. He and Gotilas du Feuillard rode to a score of 78.220 %. He is happy with his own and his team's result. 'It was a really special day for me. The pressure on us was quite intense. We tried to do our best and my horse went quite well.'

He went into the ring knowing the French had already secured the victory in the Nations Cup. 'That was a bit peculiar, knowing that we had won but still having to ride myself, but it was also quite a special feeling. I was here for the first time last year with the team. Then, we finished fourth, so to now be the winners is a really nice improvement.'

Jean Morel, chef d'equipe for the French team, was proud of his riders' performance. The last time a French dressage team won a competition on this level was in 2018. 'This was real team work today. It was more than a year of work together that lead to us picking the fruits of our labour today. I hope we can keep improving and keep growing.' Next year's Olympic Games will be a home affair for his equipe. 'Of course doing well in Paris is our main goal, but we are of course not the only ones who want to do well there.'

Harmony and balance in the tests

Eddy de Wolff van Westerrode, head judge in the Grand Prix Freestyle, was pleased with the quality of riding he saw tonight. 'It was a bit hot tonight to be sitting in our booths, but I still enjoyed every moment. The attention given to the welfare of the animals - how well they are taken care of and how good they feel - shines through in how they perform in the arena. In the tests we saw harmony, nice contact and balance, it was a pleasure to watch.'

Patrick van der Meer, tournament director dressage, was happy with how the afternoon and evening went in the Kralingse Bos. 'We had great weather, and saw great sport. It's also great to have a new team - France - win the competition this year. It was a shame the Dutch team did not qualify on Thursday to be able to compete for the Nations Cup tonight, but with Emmelie winning the Grand Prix Special we still had 'an orange lining' to the evening, which is wonderful for the crowd. Of course we're already looking forward to the dressage competition at next year's CHIO Rotterdam.'