The Danish armada conquered Scandinavium

Gothenburg Horse Show has this afternoon given the audience an international Grand Prix class that decided the starting groups before Saturday's World Cup qualifying freestyle class. The world-famous Scandinavium audience welcomed the riders in classic fashion with warm applause.

In a tight starting field, half of the Danish gold winning world championship team got a grip on the qualifying class that no other combination could challenge. The victory went to Carina Cassøe Krüth with her beautiful black mare Heiline's Danciera. Second place was secured by teammate Nanna Skodborg Merrald, who showed off 19-year-old Blue Hors Zack with great ease and joy. Isabell Werth did what she could but lost a bit of focus and then DSP Quantaz took over the initiative in the tempis and it was expensive. The best Swedish combination was Jeanna Högberg, with only eleven-year-old mare Astoria, a horse which started her career by winning the SWB Trophy in Scandinavium 2019.

- I was so incredibly happy with Danciera that I was completely moved after the ride and cried in the TV studio, it was so embarrassing but I was so happy. We work many hours at home and then everything has to come together in about six minutes on the course. Today Danciera was so nice and with me and the audience was incredible. I have heard about this competition and wanted to come here for a long time, now it was finally possible, said a happy Carina Cassøe Krüth.

Nanna Skodborg Merrald rode Blue hors Zack through the program and maybe someone noticed the stallion's right eye, which is an artificial glass bulb. The stallion has adapted well to life with only sight in one eye and made his first World Cup final in 2018 with his former rider Daniel Bachmann Andersen.

- I keep Zack in a good mood by riding very little conventional training. At home we do a short workout and go for a hack. Here I rode for about 20 minutes at an easy trot to warm him up and then we enter, he doesn't need more and then he thinks it's the most fun. I have found out what works for him and it is Zack who decides what we do, how little or how much, explains Nanna Skodborg Merrald, who enjoys every competition with the stallion.

Isabell Werth would get a night’s sleep on the matter and think about what she could have done differently in today’s program with DSP Quantaz.

- I thought we started quite well and maybe I relaxed too much because suddenly DSP Quantaz was ahead of me in the planning and managed the movement selection all by himself. That happens to me too.

- In the freestyle we make an serious attempt to shine, we will try to get the audience to "dance" to our music by Bonnie Tyler, the lead chorus is “It's a heartache”, declared Werth who dominated the dressage scene with so many horses over several decades.

Carina Cassøe Krüth and her Danciera won the season's first qualifying competition at home in Vilhelmsborg, Denmark.

- We must give the audience what we can. I have my new boy band freestyle with the Backstreet boys, among other tunes, which I really like, we will really try, said Carina Cassøe Krüth.

On Saturday, the competition class will be ridden at xx in Scandinavium and the ten combinations will show their best work through their own composed program to music they have chosen. An extra layer of suspense is that the degree of difficulty of the freestyle programs is now predetermined according to the Degree of Difficulty, DoD system, which adds another dimension to the assessment.

Links to interviews with all riders - feel free to use and quote for social and traditional media.