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<\/a><\/p>\nFasine and Isabel Bache<\/em><\/p>\n Okay, Fasine (F\u00fcrst Romancier \/ Sir Donnerhall I) and Isabel Bache fooled us in the first qualifier. I liked the mare, liked her very much, but there was just a hint of the produced, the artificial, about her way of going. The judges were hard on the pair and they missed the cut for the final, and had to get there the tough\u00a0way \u2013 winning the Kleines (or Consolation) Final, to make the final round.<\/p>\n And how! Isabel and Fasine were the first out and blew the final apart with a test that was all class and charisma. Sorry we ever doubted you Fasine, that fragile beauty is just how you go. Everything was perfect, Isabel sits sweetly in the saddle (and NEVER leans back), the contact is so soft and giving, the rhythm and balance so wonderful.<\/p>\n Christoph Hess is retiring from the DOKR in May 2016 and this is his last stint in the commentary box. He will be a hard act to replace, he has an infectious enthusiasm that can set and event alight, and right now he is in overdrive: the judges give 9 for trot, 9.5 for walk, 9 for canter, 9 for Durchl\u00e4ssigkeit, and a 10 for potential. That adds up to a 9.3 and really the Championship is over before it has really begun.<\/p>\n Carola and Lady Loxley M<\/em><\/p>\n The only other major source of excitement is when that huge black storm cloud hovering over the warm up arena is going to dump its excess moisture on us all\u2026 It is looking ominous as Carola Koppelmann, another truly exquisite rider, starts her test on Lady Loxley M (Lord Loxley \/ Abanos). The black mare is ever so sweet but perhaps lacks a little scope. Still with an 8.5 for trot, 9 for walk, 8.5 for canter, 9 for Durchl\u00e4ssigkeit and 9 for potential, they finish on 8.8 and take home the silver medal.<\/p>\n I have never been a fan of Damon Hill as a breeding stallion, for me he is too long and flat in the body, and his offspring seem to vary widely in type. Damon\u2019s Dejaron should be one of the pretty ones, out of a Trakehner mare by the very pretty French Anglo Arab, Matcho, but he is not. The stallion is a big, athletic type with a back that is longer than his dad\u2019s, and to make it look worse, he is jacked up in front by his rider, Heiner Schiergen. Still the judges like it: 8 for trot, 9 for walk, 9 for canter, 8.5 for Durchl\u00e4ssigkeit, and 8.5 for potential. Enough for the bronze.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n