Equestrian Sports – Rath puts the dressage team at the forefront – Sports

Riesenbeek (dpa) – Upon his return after eight years, Matthias Alexander Rath put the German dressage team ahead at the local European Championships – but at the end of the first day in Riesenbeek Great Britain was ahead of Germany. The decision will be made on Thursday.

“This feels really good,” Rath said after his performance with Thiago. “It took a long time for me to be able to be involved with a horse again.” The 39-year-old from Kronberg rides Tiago, a son of Totilas, who has gone down in dressage history as a prodigy horse. The last time Rath Totilas rode as part of a German team in a tournament was in 2015, but the horse was not fit to compete in the competition in Aachen at that time. “It wasn’t the prettiest moment to stop in 2015,” Rath said looking back.

Before Rath, Totilas had won three gold medals at the USA World Championships with Dutchman Edouard Gal and set numerous world records. Paul Schockemühl and Rath’s stepmother, Anne-Kathrin Linsenhof, brought the stallion from the Netherlands to Germany in 2010 for an estimated €10 million.

Deserves “full satisfaction”

The dressage rider said of his Riesenbeek ride: “I could have got a few extra points if I had started the right turn at the right time. The mistake was my fault.” Isabelle Werth then rode with Quantaz for the German team. “I’m very happy,” the seven-time Olympic champion said. Qantas is “very collaborative and focused.”

“Overall, it was a really good tour,” the 54-year-old from Rheinberg said. However, that was not enough for leadership. The British passed the end of the first day of the European Championship. The second half of the field begins Thursday. Frederik Wanders from Hagen rides with Bluetooth and Jessica von Bredo-Werndl from Tontenhausen Dalera in Germany.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:230906-99-94716/4