Aachen, August 22nd

Hubertus Schmidt wants "to show that he can do better in the Grand Prix Spéciale

Hubertus Schmidt, the first German rider to compete, was disappointed on leaving the dressage arena. In the Grand Prix, the deciding competition for the team medals, the judges had only awarded him and his 13-year-old Hanoverian mare, Wansuela Suerte, 69.208 percent for their ride. "Perhaps I wasn't as good as I had estimated," stated last year's Vice-European Champion.

Schmidt was however still optimistic concerning the German team's chances of once again winning the gold medal. "We still have three very strong pairs in the running, who are all quite capable of achieving 74 percent. That should suffice to take the victory. In which case I won't mind being the scratch result," commented the 47-year-old from Borchen, near Padeborn, who has a master's degree in equestrian management.

Hubertus Schmidt could profit from the new dressage regulation, which stipulates that the best 30 riders from the Grand Prix enter the Grand Prix Spéciale with a clean sheet. (Until now the results were added together). This is giving Schmidt enormous motivation: "I want to show that I can do better in the Spéciale, so that I can qualify myself for the freestyle. The best 15 participants from the Grand Prix Spéciale will compete in the freestyle to music on Saturday evening.