Isabell Werth and Weihegold Old new world Dressage number one

Germany’s Isabell Werth and Weihegold Old are now top of the world Dressage number one thanks to their stellar win at last month’s FEI World Cup™ Dressage in Lyon (FRA), where Werth produced a personal-best Freestyle score of 90.09.

The 47-year-old athlete and her 11-year-old mare, who won team gold and individual silver at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, now top the world Dressage rankings with 2869 points, ahead of Kristina Bröring-Sprehe (GER) and her 15-year-old Hannoverian stallion Desperados FRH (2813 points) who had held the lead since February this year.

The FEI World Cup™ Dressage 2016/2017 series, which is now heading to the third qualifier in Stuttgart on 18-19 November, is certainly making its mark in the world Dressage rankings.

Great Britain’s Carl Hester and Nip Tuck, who placed second at the FEI World Cup™ Dressage in Lyon last month, after winning team silver in Rio, have now jumped into fifth (2448 points) behind fourth-placed Laura Graves (USA) and Verdades (2462 points), and Dorothee Schneider (GER) and Showtime FRH (2679 points) in third.

Spain’s Severo Jesus Jurado Lopez and Lorenzo, who won the opening leg of the FEI World Cup™ Dressage series in Odense (DEN) just two weeks ago – and placed fifth in Rio while grabbing global headlines for their love of Santana and Bon Jovi – has also jumped four places into the top ten (2355 points).

Hans Peter Minderhoud (NED), who won the FEI World Cup™ Dressage 2015/2016 Final in Gothenburg in March with Glock’s Flirt is now not only eleventh in the world Dressage rankings with this same horse, but has also made a phenomenal leap from 176^th to 32^nd in the world rankings with Glock’s Johnson TN N.O.P thanks to their third place in Lyon.

Bettina de Rham, FEI Dressage Director, said: “Isabell Werth and Weihegold Old blew the competition away at the FEI World Cup Dressage in Lyon. We now have seven more qualifiers in the Western European League, and if the competition stays this tight we will have an incredible Final in Omaha next March.”