Star of the FEI Dressage World Cup in Olomouc. Vanagaite Was the Crowd Favourite.

Saturday’s FEI Dressage World Cup programme was dominated by Lithuanian rider Justina Vanagaite. Her warm non-verbal communication with the spectators in the stands of the Equine Sport Centre quickly won her the hearts of the local fans and she became their favourite.

The second competition of the international dressage event in Olomouc, where riders could collect points for the FEI Dressage World Cup, was the Grand Prix Freestyle, where riders perform to music. 

As on Friday, Justina Vanagaite from Lithuania was the clear winner on her 10-year-old-gelding, Nabab. Vanagaite is the 76th highest ranked dressage rider in the FEI World Ranking List and tops the Central European League. She stood out in Olomouc not only because of her great sporting performance, which earned her 79.255 % from the judges on Saturday, but also because of her closeness and non-verbal communication with the crowd, who rewarded her with thunderous applause. 

Austria’s Diana Porsche came second with her 15-year-old Douglas. She scored 75.750% in Saturday’s kür. The top three was completed by Żaneta Skowrońska-Kozubik on her 14-year-old Romantic P. Her final score was 73.695%.

The Czech Republic was not represented in this top-level competition, so the next rider to enjoy the strong support of the crowd was Slovakian rider Michael Bugan on his 15-year-old gelding For President AWO. After coming second in Friday’s Grand Prix, the Slovakian rider and his horse only managed sixth place in Saturday’s competition with a score of 71.270%. 

Czech riders were successful in the less difficult competitions. Petra Miki Civišová and her gelding Europe-M placed second in the FEI Intermediate II. Thanks to Michal Knoflíček on Dublin, the Czech national anthem was played after the FEI Intermediate I. Aneta Havlíčková on her mare Feineke placed second in the same competition.

In the children’s category, the Czech riders took all three medal places – Anna Marie Křížová won on her mare Diamantina, while Alice Hubáčková came second and third on Dieu d´Amour 3 and Belle Ennie. Johana Vášáryová’s second and third places in the junior category should also be added to the list of successes for local riders. She performed well on her gelding Silky Moves and mare Bona Deou. Jan Zamec and his 5-year-old Nero W crowned the achievements of the local riders with a silver place in the final competition for young horses.

The four-day dressage event at the Equine Sport Center Olomouc will end on Sunday with competitions starting at 7.15 a.m. The most attractive part of the programme will begin at 9 a.m., and the event is expected to end around 4.30 p.m. Participant lists and results can be found on the website www.horse-events.at, for more information visit www.escolomouc.cz.

Foto: Josef Malinovský