2 September 2018
WCH Kronenberg 2018: Big Crowds, Big Stakes and 1000 Adrenalin Rushes
The weather could not have been better. A bright sunny day, but not excessively hot. The crowds turned out in huge numbers to cheer on their favorite competitor. And cheer they did ! There was a wave of orange shirts following the eight Single drivers and six Para participants from The Netherlands. From obstacle to obstacle, with flags waving and loud encouragement, it was not difficult to identify the supporters from the host country.
Francisca den Elzen won the marathon in the Grade 2 class
Photo: Krisztina Horváth
Para Equestrian
The 24 Para participants went during the middle of the day and completed 6 obstacles. They are particularly worthy of praise. As Para driver Bob Giles (USA) stated “when you consider the physical handicaps that these fellow participants have had to overcome, and then go on to conquer the demands of this sport, it is truly mind boggling.” In Group 1, Martje Mitvoet (NED) won with 81.55 followed by Jaques Poppen (NED) who is a paraplegic following a car accident in 1995 with a score of 82.51. In Group 2, Francisca Den Elzen (NED) won with a 78.74 score followed by Alexandra Roder (GER) with only .05 difference at 78.79. Roder has a left leg prothesis and was 2014 Word Champion (Gr2)
Jean Michel Olive (FR) won the marathon
Photo: Krisztina Horváth
Of the 82 Single Drivers, Jean Michael Olive (FRA) who started driving at age 11 was individual Marathon winner with a score of 88.04 followed by Bartlomiej Kwiatek (POL), a consistent champion in Poland, who scored 89.82 and Jens Chladek (GER) with 90.01.
Although the Marathon Team score for France of 180.19 and Germany of 182.27 put these countries in first and second place for the Marathon section alone, they were not sufficient to overcome the total A+B team scores for Dressage + Marathon of The Netherlands in first place at 283.46, France in second with 287.73, Poland in third at 289.61 followed by Germany in fourth at 291.52.
It is still anybody’s game in both individual scores and team scores. Tomorrow’s Cones course is set to challenge the best drivers in the world
