Dinja van Liere wins the FEI Dressage World Cup in Mechelen

It was beautiful to watch at the award ceremony of the coveted FEI Dressage World Cup: three ladies with shimmering helmets and big smiles.

The audience in Mechelen was ecstatic, as they gave them a real spectacle to enjoy. The rider that definitely made the biggest impression was the Dutch Dinja Van Liere. With the KWPN horse Hermes N.O.P. (Easy Game x Flemmingh) she danced to a winning score of 85,815%.

Her compatriot, and the winner of 2019, Emmelie Scholtens and Desperado (Vivaldi x Havidoff) came very close with a total of 83,865% but could not extend her title. World champion Charlotte Fry and Everdale (Lord Leatherdale x Negro) took home the bronze (83.725%)

Remarkable: the three ladies all live in the Netherlands and ride a Dutch horse with a Dutch father. Best Belgian was Larissa Pauluis with Flambeau (Ampere x Zeolite). She was quite positive at the end: “I was satisfied with my horse. He can be a little tense sometimes, but that was not the case now. My goals? I would love to take a strong team of Belgians to the Olympic Games.”

Charlotte Fry’s Everdale only recently returned from a long break. Charlotte: “Everdale was good today, much more relaxed than yesterday. He also loves his Freestyle, and of course that does help. He really put his best foot front..”

Emmelie Scholtens was also very proud of Desperado: “I was so pleased with him. He did his best. I love the atmosphere in this arena. And Desperado could clearly perform well in it..”

Winner Dinja van Liere also felt a bit of tension during the show: “That may be something to work on in the future, but for now I am of course extremely happy with this result and this victory. Next year, in the first place I will focus on the European championships.