The 2011 European Dressage Championship was held between August 17 and August 21, 2011 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It was the 25 edition of the

European Dressage Championship The European Dressage Championships are the European championships for the equestrian discipline of dressage. They are held every two years in odd-numbered years. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded in both individual and team competitions ...

s, in the 24th time team medals were awarded.

Organization

Before the event

At the 2008 FEI-General Assembly in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, the Netherlands was chosen as the country to host the 2011 European Dressage Championship. Rotterdam, location of the annual Nations Cup horse show in Show Jumping and Dressage, was chosen as the location for the event. It was the second time in European Dressage Championship history - after 1999 in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

- that the Netherlands was chosen to hold this sports event.

Event and location

The European Dressage Championship was opened in late afternoon on Wednesday, August 17. The sport at the Championship had started on Wednesday morning. Parallel to the European Championships, a Youth Horse Show for riders up to 25 years of age and national dressage competitions was held. At the end of the event there was a short final ceremony on Sunday (August 21, 2011 at 4:45 pm). Three days after the end of the European Dressage Championship the

2011 CHIO Rotterdam The 2011 CHIO Rotterdam was the 2011 edition of the CHIO Rotterdam, the Dutch official show jumping horse show. It was held as CSIO 5*. The first (national) horse show was held 1937 in Rotterdam, and became an international horse show in 1938. F ...

was held - this year without dressage. The event was held in Kralingen, a district of Rotterdam, on the CHIO area between the Kralingseweg and the park Kralingse Bos.

Competitions

General

As in years 1991, 1993, 2007 and 2009, in 2011 nine medals are awarded at the European Dressage Championship (three for the team competition, three in Grand Prix Spécial (individual) and also three in the Grand Prix Freestyle (individual). At this European Championship a record number of participants started the Championship competitions. In the Grand Prix de Dressage 64 riders and 16 teams start. Each nation can start with a team of three or four riders, each rider with one horse.

Timetable

The first competition was the Team Grand Prix de Dressage. It was held on two days, on Wednesday and on Friday (August 17 and 19). All riders who participate at this Championship had to start in this competition. The results of three riders per team counts for the team result. After the Grand Prix de Dressage the team medals were awarded. The Friday was a rest day for the horses which compete at the European Championship. The best 30 competitors of the Grand Prix de Dressage start in the Grand Prix Spécial, which was held on the Saturday. The best 15 riders of the Grand Prix Spécial were allowed to participate in the Grand Prix Freestyle on Sunday. If more than three riders of a team are placed in the top 15 of the Grand Prix Spécial, only the three best-placed riders of this team are allowed to start in the Freestyle competition. In the event this happens the best-placed rider from a team with less than three riders in the top 15 will be moved up to the Grand Prix Freestyle.

Judges

The European Dressage Championships was assessed by seven judges. * Ghislain Fouarge (Ground Jury President) * Mary Seefried (Ground Jury Member) * Evi Eisenhardt (Ground Jury Member) * Maribel Alonso de Quinzanos (Ground Jury Member) * Wojtek Markowski (Ground Jury Member) * Stephen Clarke (Ground Jury Member) * Jean-Michel Roudier (Ground Jury Member) * Gary Rockwell (Reserve judge)

Results

Team result

The Team Gold Medal was won for the first time at European Dressage Championships by the British team. Great Britain, who was not credited with the 1963 Championships because of an FEI rule (see:

), was in the lead after the end of the first day. 26-year-old British rider

Charlotte Dujardin Charlotte Susan Jane Dujardin (born 13 July 1985) is a British dressage rider, equestrian and writer. A multiple World and Olympic champion, Dujardin has been described as the dominant dressage rider of her era. She held the complete set of ava ...

laid the foundation for the victory of the British team. Dujardin rode together with her horse ''Valegro'' in 2011, her first season on Grand Prix level. With a result of 78.830% the student of

Carl Hester Carl Hester (born 29 June 1967 in Cambridgeshire, England) is a British dressage rider competing at Olympic level. As of 8 August 2012 the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) rank him 12th in the world riding Uthopia. In 2012, Hester ...

was in the lead in the individual ranking after day one. On the second day Laura Bechtolsheimer and particularly Carl Hester, who led with his horse ''Uthopia'' in individual ranking after the Grand Prix de Dressage, can extend their lead in the team result. On the second rank, with around 12 percent distance, the German team win the silver medal in the team ranking. The bronze medal was won by the Dutch team. Final result

Individual result (Grand Prix Spécial)

Individual dressage at the 2011 European Dressage Championships Final result

Individual result (Grand Prix Freestyle)

Individual dressage at the 2011 European Dressage Championships Final result

Side competitions

During the European Championships, there was also an international show class for Grand Prix riders under the age of 25. They were both won by Kristina Bröring-Sprehe.

More informations

The collection and data communication of the result is performed, as already at the

2010 FEI World Equestrian Games The 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games (officially the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games) were held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. from September 25 to October 10, 2010. This was the sixth edition of the games, which ar ...

, by Dutch company ''Sport Computer Graphics'' (SCG). Before the Grand Prix de Dressage and the Grand Prix Spécial a test rider ("guinea pig") rides to test the systems. This task is performed by Canadian dressage rider Ashley Holzer with her horse ''Popart''.EC dressage: Ashley Holzer ‘Guinea Pig’
, August 14, 2011

External links

web page of the 2011 European Dressage Championship

References

{{reflist European Dressage Championships

Dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by ...

Equestrian sports competitions in the Netherlands Sports competitions in Rotterdam International sports competitions hosted by the Netherlands 2011 in Dutch sport