The 2022 Dutch Masters ended on the evening of March 13, Beijing time, and the first Rolex of 2022 also ended the title race in Scheltogenbosch. Rolex spokesperson and German rider Daniel Deusser, who won the 2022 Dutch Masters Rolex, will celebrate his second victory at the Rolex Grand Prix at the Rolex Steeplechase at the Rolex Obstacle Course, a Rolex 1918 Tobago Z.
In the Netherlands, the number of equestrian people is second only to football. There are about 500,000 riders and 450,000 horses in the Netherlands, and there are about 3,000 equestrian centres and equestrian clubs. The Netherlands has a long tradition of horseback riding, and stables can be found even in the smallest villages. To understand the deep relationship between equestrianism and the Dutch, it is a shortcut to experience one of the oldest equestrian events in the Netherlands, the Dutch Masters. The atmosphere of the three-day Dutch Masters culminated in the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday night, March 13, Beijing time, with the world's best combination of centaurs competing for the prestigious trophy.
Rolex spokesperson and Swiss rider Martin Fuchs is the 2021 Geneva International Equestrian Festival Rolex Winner, an achievement that also makes him the first rider to win the Rolex Grand Prix at the Geneva International Equestrian Festival for two consecutive years. If he wins this Rolex Grand Prix, in addition to the basic prize money of the event, he will receive an additional €500,000 prize money used to reward riders who have won two Rolex Grand Prix in a row.
Daniel Dusser trained and raced in Florida all winter, well prepared for the top event. Daniel Düser and Rolex spokesperson and Swiss rider Steve Guerdat won the Rolex Grand Prix at the Aachen World Equestrian Festival and the Rolex Presentation CP International Grand Prix at the CSIO Spruce Meadow Masters in 2021, respectively. If one of them wins this Rolex Grand Prix, the winner will receive an additional €250,000.
The list is long, with Belgium having a strong squad, with Peter Devos, Jér me Guery, Olivier Philippaerts, Pieter Clemens and Gregory Wathelet all on the list.
On the German side, in addition to Daniel Dusser, there are Christian Ahlmann, Marcus Ehning and Christian Kukuk. The only Ever Rolex Steeplechase Grand Slam winner, Rolex spokesperson Scott Brash and rising star Rolex spokesperson Harry Charles will represent Britain.
Most of the above riders have competed in the Rolex Grand Prix at the 2021 International Equestrian Festival in Geneva, and these veteran faces include Rolex spokesperson, French rider Kevin Staut, Swedish rider Henrik von Eckermann and Brazilian rider Marlon Modolo Zanotelli. The Dutch hosts line-up is also strong, with 10 riders including Harrie Smolders, Maikel van der Vleuten, Marc Houtzager and Willem Greve competing.
In the interview, martin foss and Daniel Dusser both said that every pair of centaurs who come to the Rolex Grand Prix is likely to win, and Daniel Dusser stressed that the centaur combination that can adapt to the characteristics of the route will have more say.
The match is awarded in Table A, with one round plus one play-off. Route designer Louis Konickx designed a route with 13 obstacles and 17 jumps for the 38 pairs of people and horses participating, including 2 double combination obstacles and 1 triple combination obstacle course.
Lewis said in the interview: "Because this year's venue is bigger, we have extended the distance between the combination obstacles and added more associative barriers. It's important that we ensure the number of regular vertical barriers and stretching barriers. If our route designers are aggressive and the route contains a lot of challenging stretching hurdles, it's too demanding, and there's no guarantee of zero penalties to complete the racehorse. The route designer also stressed that the setting of the on-site obstacles has always focused on cultural and artistic elements. Dutch paintings and tulip sculptures are presented in a variety of ways, the most conspicuous of which is that the first round of the competition no. 5 obstacle stand printed Dutch painter Vermeer's "Girl with Pearl Earrings", Bosch's "Paradise on Earth", Van Gogh's "Sunflower" and Rembrandt's "Night Watch".
Demonstration of the route for the first round of the Rolex Grand Prix
In the first round, Harry Charles rode the 12-year-old horse "Casque Blue" in 70.5 seconds, suffering a time penalty. Max Kuhner rode the 10-year-old Sierra De France chestnut horse "Eric Coriolis des Isles" in 5th place, becoming the first pair to finish the race with 0 penalties. Subsequently, 11 pairs of people and horses completed the match with zero penalties. Henrik von Ekmann, the world's number two Rider, is paired with a 10-year-old Dutch warm-blooded horse who unfortunately suffered four hurdles. Equally regrettable is martin foss, who made his final appearance, after revealing in an interview that he wanted to partner "Chaplin" to participate in the Rolex Grand Prix of the Dutch Masters, a hussar stallion expert who has won many indoor grand prix. For temporary reasons, he chose "Conner Jei", but unfortunately the duo did not perform as well as at the Doha International Equestrian Festival.
Twelve of the 38 centaur pairs made it to the play-offs. There are 7 obstacle courses in the play-offs, including 1 double combination obstacle course. The order of appearances in the playoffs was consistent with the order of appearances in the first round, with Max Kuna and "Eric Coriolis des Isles", the first to score zero penalties in the first round, not so lucky, suffering four free throws. Max Kuna was unable to continue the dutch equestrian masters Rolex grand prix. Subsequently, Harris Moders partnered with the 13-year-old Khosdan horse "Monaco" to freeze the finish time at 38.03 seconds at a speed, becoming the first pair of people and horses to finish with zero penalties in the play-offs. The ren-horse duo that came out since then has been unable to break the finish time by more than 38 seconds, until the 7th appearance of Daniel Dusetze riding the Zanggershede horse "Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z" locked the finish time at 37.9 seconds.
Marcus Enning's partner "Stargold" was expected to make further progress in the finish time of his German colleagues in the first half of the play-offs, but the penalty was awarded in the last double crossbar. Equally lamentable are Scott Brash and "Hello Jefferson", who had a very short finish time even after opting for the Big Slalom before the last hurdle, but their missteps in the last hurdle left them at the bottom of the rankings.
Play-off performances of Scott Brasch and "Hello Jefferson"
In the end, Daniel Dusser and "Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z" won the Rolex Grand Prix of the Dutch Equestrian Masters, Harris Moders won the third place with "Monaco" and William Greifs rode "Grandorado Tn" in third place.
At the award ceremony that followed, the lights turned blue, Daniel Dusetze rode a maroon stallion slowly, and the heartbeat chart on the fence display switched to the words "Winner Daniel Deusser", and the audience erupted into thunderous applause.
After the game, at a press conference, Daniel Dusser spoke about the strategy on the game plan: "I saw the performance of Harris just now (he walked 9 steps between the 1st and 2nd hurdles). Before the playoffs I took the route, took the route of the 1st to 2nd hurdles, I felt like I could challenge the 8 steps, but there were a lot of horses that took 9 steps and I wondered if we could take the 8 steps. But after entering the venue, I decided to go as I planned and didn't care what others had done before. I tried, and it worked. Harris Moders, who also finished runners-up at last year's Rolex Grand Prix at the International Equestrian Festival in Geneva, joked: "Does the person who always finished second have extra bonuses?" ”
Compared to last year's Dutch Masters, the biggest difference was that the audience was back. Marcel Hunze, the representative of the dutch masters, said: "Last year we held the event without spectators, and the atmosphere was completely different. I think the audience affects the riders, especially when the riders are playing at home. For example, at last year's Geneva International Equestrian Festival, when Swiss riders played, the audience created a good atmosphere, which helped the riders to play, such as Martin Foss at the Rolex Grand Prix. I hope the Dutch riders can take advantage. "It was clear that the Dutch riders seized this opportunity, with 3 of the top 5 riders of the Rolex Grand Prix being Dutch.
Around 7,300 equestrian competitions and shows are held annually in the Netherlands, notably Rotterdam, Dr Den, Falkensteinwald and the Dutch capital of Amsterdam, which are easily accessible from all over Europe. Some of the most prestigious events, including the FEI World Cup and THE FEI Nations Cup qualifiers, as well as the European Championships and the FEI Triathlon Nations Cup Final, have been held here, and the prestigious Dutch Masters were originally known as the Bryant Indoor Race, which began in 1966. "It's timeless. My impression of the Dutch Masters of Equestrian Is always full of art, it is not luxurious, rustic and natural. Journalists who participated in the front line of the Dutch Masters of Equestrian magazine twice said of it.