2002 World Equestrian Games

Grand Prix Test Group One - September 11, 2002

Linsenhoff's Apex Sooner than Expected

Capellmann's team mate Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff received 70.320% from the panel of judges and finished 7th. Linsenhoff's test was not flawless but showed the incredible potential the 18 hands high Renoir Unicef has. "He was very much impressed by the arena," Ann Kathrin commented afterwards. The combination was the first German pair to enter the ring and rode a conservative ride. "You do not know how you have to present your horse when you have to go as first team member," she said. "I rode very carefully. You also have to follow a bit what your horse is doing in the ring."

Linsenhoff did not expect to compete in Jerez and her liver chestnut Renoir has only been trained at Grand Prix level for a short two year. "My big goal was in fact Athens [Olympic Games 2004] but that we have already made it is very special. Everything went so much faster than expected," Linsenhoff confessed. Additional pressure was on the rider's shoulders because two weeks previous to the WEG, she got involved in a doping issue. Renoir Unicef was supposedly tested positive in Mannheim but the retest turned out to be negative. "It definitely added pressure," she said, "but my husband fenced me off from everything so that I could continue training my horse."