Flash quotes Friday August 25

Longines FEI European Championships Gothenburg 2017 Dressage Grand Prix Special

Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén (SWE)
We want to have more, so even after the team medal I still feel hungry for success. My horse has never done a championship like this before, so I am extremely proud of him. We have had him since he is three, and I have ridden him for the last year. He has really done great the whole week and I feel fortunate to have the option to come here with him.

Diederik Van Silfhout (NED)
Actually I was really happy with my test even if I had two little mistakes and those were very expensive. It was the second special for my horse so I am very pleased with him. My horse has super mentality and that is why we are here now!

Severo Jesus Jurado Lopez (ESP)
I am happy, I think I got out what I could, I am happy with the job. My horse was a little bit tense so that cots some points. It is my second time here.

Madeleine Witte-Vrees (NED)
It was our first Special today, so I can’t be anything but happy. My horse was magnificent today. The little misses that happened were totally my fault – I am very proud of my horse.

Jorinde Verwimp (BEL)
I tried to ride more expressive today than yesterday. We had two big mistakes in the canter, so our score dropped. I took a risk today with my riding and this time it did not pay off, but that is how it is sometimes – but at least I can say I tried. I think the show here in Gothenburg is nice and the arena is great to ride on. It is different being here only as an individual and not with the team, now I can only focus on myself. It was very unfortunate that our third rider had to stay home after their horse got injured at the last moment.

Edward Gal (NED)
I don’t know what happened, really. My horse felt good in the warm-up, but as soon as I rode in to the arena, I felt a change in him and I knew it was all over there. But what can you do, I still had to finish… For the rest my week here has been good and we have been lucky with the weather, even if it has looked cloudy it has not rained too much. I think my chances to go further for the final are gone now.

Daniel Pinto (POR)
The most important thing for me now is that my horse felt great and he is young – we have future championships to take on. What I am really sad about, is that I disappointed my team; when I do a mistake like this, I let them all down. I feel really bad for all of them; my wife, my trainer, my groom, everyone - they follow me and work very hard and it is hard for me to let them down.

Emile Faurie (GBR)
I’m thrilled with the horse, he is inexperienced but he was a little more alert day. He only have done one Special before. He was a little bit ahead of me. He’s quite a character and will be an excellent championship horse. I love riding him, he is really fun to ride.

Patrick van der Meer (NED)
I’ happy with my ride. He was little tensed and we had some small mistakes but nothing big. Some mistake in the flying changes and a little tensed in the piaffe but this was one of his best Specials.

Spencer Wilton (GBR)
He was a very good boy! Except for the mistake in temps on the centerline he felt much more confident today.I’m pleased with the score and hopefully we make it to Sunday, even though he hasn’t done so many music.

Tatyana Kosterina (RUS)
It is only my third time riding a Grand Prix Special with my horse, and I am simply very happy. He behaved really cool and did not look at anything, even thou the arena is massive and there is a lot to spook about. I can absolutely not complain about the organisation here, we are very well taken care of. It is a bit of a shame with the weather, but they are doing all they can to keep us and the horses comfortable.

Laurence Roos (BEL)
I am not happy with my ride today, I made too many mistakes. Maybe my horse was a bit too tired, or maybe I was not concentrated enough. It is all well organised here, there were some small issues in the beginning of the week, but it has all been taken care of. We had a last moment change with the team, because the third horse got injured, so we are only two riders here from Belgium. I think it less pressure being here as an individual than being here with a team.

Belinda Weinbauer (AUT)
I was very nervous today, because in the warm-up my horse was really tense, so I was very worried going into the ring. I think our pirouettes were better today than yesterday. My horse was fantastic today and I am so happy with him!

Rose Mathisen (SWE)
It is my birthday today, but I am not thinking about that when I am riding. It felt really nice going into the ring after getting the medal with the team yesterday - you feel more secure, when there has been some success already. My horse was really good today and I am happy with my result. Having these championships at home is very nice when you succeed, but for sure we are all more nervous than normal, because we are all trying extra hard not to let all the Swedish people down.

Agnete Kirk Thinggaard (DEN)
I think my program today was really good. My horse lacked the last spark he had on the first day, so I had to work a little bit harder. I almost had a mistake in the first pirouette, but got it right just at the last moment. After getting the team medal here, actually today I felt a lot more pressure, because I was less confident. I really wanted to show everyone and got myself maybe too worked up about it – but in the end I was able to control my nerves.”

Maria Caetano (POR)
I am happy with my horse, he is very young and it is only his second season on this level, so I am very proud of him. The mistake at the end was a pity: he lost one change behind. Passage, piaffe and all the trot work went really well and I am happy about that. The results here have been like my average percent throughout the season – of course it would be nice to do a bit better at a championship. I think the atmosphere here is very nice and we have good conditions for both horses and riders.

Jordi Domingo Coll (ESP)
I was pleased with many things but I did a big mistake, the horse lost concentration for a few moments and he was not with me. I think this mistake will put us very low on the results and it is a pity this happened. But on the other hand, my horse is only 10 years old and we are not so experienced, so this is something we can improve for the future. I am happy with the rest of the performance and just not happy with the mistake. The show here is amazing, with great venue and amazing athmosphere – it is a pleasure for us riders to compete here.

Anna-Mengia Aerne (SUI)
I was a little bit over motivated today, and that is why the mistake happened – I think without that my program would have been amazing. I am very happy with the points today. I was very careful with my riding yesterday, so today I decided to risk a bit more and just go for it - and there was more flow in my riding and I am pleased with that. Today’s program is funnier to ride, because you can ride a bit more forward and I enjoy that.

Arnaud Serre (FRA)
I am very satisfied with my horse, because he is very young and not experienced on this level. We did some small mistakes but it is only the third time we do this kind of program, so I am very happy today. We made a small mistake on piaffe, but all in all I am very happy with my horse! I was not expecting to qualify for the freestyle and we are just gaining experience here. It is a really nice event we have here in Gothenburg.

Marcela Krinke Susmeij (SUI)
It was absolutely my mistake today, the horse was going good and I cannot blame anyone else for what happened. After the second passage I lost concentration for a second – there are no excuses for that. With the horse I am very happy. I changed the bit for today, because yesterday he was a little inconsistent with the mouth, so we wanted to try something else for today. I am not really the strongest woman, so I have to try to optimize the control by having the correct bit. These kind of mistakes happen when you want to be especially good and try and change things at the last moment. But these mistakes teach you also, so it is only to go forward and try to learn from this experience.