Helen Langehanenberg wins World Cup in time for maternity leave

Photo FEI/Stefan Lafrentz

Helen Langehanenberg has won the seventh leg of the FEI World Cup Dressage League, just months before expecting her second child.

‘Perfect result!’

Helen and her 16-year-old stallion Damsy produced a stunning test in front of a home crowd in Germany, to score 83.80.

“I’m expecting a baby in June, so this was our last show before that and it’s the perfect result!” said a delighted Helen. “I hope to be back in the saddle again in July though.”

Their test in Neumünster was a far cry from the previous round in Amsterdam, where Helen had to retire. Damsy got his tongue over the bit and their performance fell apart. A true pro, the 2013 FEI World Cup champion was able to put that performance behind her and ride a winning test.

‘Felt great’

“This was maybe our best result ever,” said Helen. “Damsy felt great, he had the perfect mixture of freshness and motivation and he just performed the way every rider wants. The communication between us was really easy.”

Dorothee Schneider was second with Sammy Davis Jr on 81.565, while Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann-Andersen and Blue Hors Zack came third with 81.475.

Best of British

Emile Faurie achieved the best British result of the season, coming fourth with Delatio on 78.765. This has moved him up to eighth place on the Western European leaderboard.

Dorothee is now even closer to Sweden’s Patrik Kittel, who is at the top of the ranking. With just two qualifiers left to go, she is in a strong position for the final in Paris, as only two German riders can join defending champion Isabell Werth.

The next leg of the Western European Dressage League is in Gothenburg, Sweden on 23 February.

Watch FEI World Cup Dressage: Neumünster now on Horse & Country TV and Amazon Video.