“If he were a person, he would definitely be James Bond,” smiles rider and owner Charlotte Dujardin. “He’s so good-looking. He’d be the one emerging from the sea at the end of the film, impressing everyone with his muscles – just like James Bond.” The British Olympic champion raves about the Hanoverian Secret/De Niro son Secret Agent, winner of the qualifier for seven-year-old dressage horses at the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Verden, the “Iwiccy Dressage Prize”.
On a quality score of 86.20 per cent, the winner bred by ZG Nicole and Friedrich Sievers was not the horse with the highest marks for quality; those in second, third, and fourth place scored slightly higher. This was due to a lower mark for the walk. Secret Agent received a 9.2 for the trot, a 9.0 for both the canter and submission, and an 8.9 for perspective, but only a 7.0 for the walk. In the seven-year-old class, however, the judges’ marks at H and B for the technical execution are also factored in. In the technical evaluation, Charlotte Dujardin and Secret Agent scored the highest with 76.607 per cent and 73.571 per cent, averaging 75.089 per cent, which secured them the top spot in the field with an overall score of 80.645 per cent.
“I bought Secret Agent when he was two, and I’ve been riding him since he was three,” Charlotte Dujardin says. Secret Agent is a stallion, but he is not standing at stud. Charlotte has only frozen a few straws of semen from the Secret son; otherwise, his focus is entirely on sport. “I really love this horse, his potential, his incredible character, and the way he is to train. I’ve never ridden a horse that is naturally so supple and elastic. He makes me smile every single day.” The stallion has only competed at a very few shows so far, including this year’s British Championship for seven-year-old horses, which he won, and has certainly never experienced an arena or atmosphere like the one in Verden. “The great thing is, we have such an immense partnership. I trust him 100 per cent and I knew he would go in there and do his best.” There were still some slightly ‘green’ moments in the test, but considering his lack of experience, he proved himself wonderfully. “I’m delighted with his test today, but the ultimate goal with this horse is different – the goal is Grand Prix sport.”
Second place went to the Danish Vice Champion from last year’s World Championship: Brandtbjergs Divya by Hesselhoej Donkey Boy, out of a Don Olymbrio dam, bred by Brandtbjerggaard/the Buhl family. Maibritt Rosenkilde purchased the mare after her success at the World Championships last year, and since then, 20-year-old Theresa Rosenkilde has been in the saddle, presenting her here at the World Championships as well. “She is such an amazing horse, and she was completely focused on me in the arena. I’m so happy.” The goal had simply been to compete at the World Championships, making second place in the qualifier absolutely unbelievable. The mare’s quality was judged with great consistency: she was awarded four marks of 8.8, with only the canter receiving an 8.6. In the technical evaluation, the average was 72.68 per cent, bringing the final score to 80.140 per cent.
In third place, on 79.593 per cent, was the KWPN mare Odi Murona, ridden by Tessa Kole. The daughter of Blue Hors Farrell, out of a Johnson dam and bred by J.J.M. van de Broek, received a quality score of 87.40 per cent – the second-highest in the entire class. “I’ve ridden her since she was three,” Tessa says. “I’ve already competed her in several young horse classes, and she is simply always fantastic. She has a wonderful attitude. It was her first time in such a big arena, but she was completely focused.”
Secret x De Niro was a winning formula for the seven-year-old dressage horses in Verden, with both the winner and the fourth-placed horse sharing this breeding. Fourth place went to Schatzmeister MZ OLD (breeder: Ewald Grotelüschen, owner: Mandy Zimmer) under Ann-Christin Wienkamp – a combination that had already caught the eye at last year’s World Championships with a fifth-place finish in the six-year-old final. Double World Champion Red Viper had to settle for eighth place in the qualifier under Dinja van Liere, but also secured direct qualification for the final.
Forty-one seven-year-olds competed in the qualifier for a spot in the final. The top twelve qualified directly for Sunday’s final. Three further tickets will be awarded in the small final on Saturday, meaning that the top 15 seven-year-old dressage horses will meet in Sunday’s final to contest the world title.