DressageDaily: Anky Van Grunsven wins European Championship

Monday, July 5 1999

Anky Van Grunsven wins European Championship

The last European dressage Championships of the 20th century gave onlookers a taste of the future of dressage from many different angles. Isabelle Werth and Nissan Antony withdrew from Sunday's Freestyle due to the same virus that affected teammate Alexandra Simons de Ridder's Chakamo.

Sixteen year old Gestion Bonfire performed a brilliant freestyle breaking the world record with a score of 85.84. Anky would not commit to her future Olympic plans at the press conference, stating only that they will both be taking a vacation beginning this week.

Ulla Salzgeber's (GER) Rusty came in with a strong second at 81.81. Gaining strength and power with each performance, they continue to move up in the placings, with Olympic Gold a possibility for 2000.

Newcomer Arjen Teeuwissen (NED) and Yakumo's Goliath T, also trained by Anky's partner Sjef Janssen clearly a crowd pleaser placed third with an 81.81, after competing in Grand Prix for less than one year.
Related Links
Horses of The Dutch
The Official European Dressage Championship Website