Dressage Disaster: Cathrine Dufour Eliminated From Grand Prix Special

The pressure is on and so is the countdown to the Olympics in Tokyo! Catherine Dufour and Bohemian are one of the top-ranked pairs in the world. Unfortunately, it was a hard no from Bohemian this weekend in France which led Catherine Dufour and Bohemian to be eliminated from the Grand Prix Special.

The battle was expected to be fierce. After the Ville de Compiègne Grand Prix on Saturday, Sweden and Denmark were only separated by a tiny point, yet far ahead of the other nations. However on Sunday, the last day of competition at the 10th "Internationaux de Dressage of Compiègne", organised at the Grand Parc equestrian stadium, the suspense didn’t last long.

In the Grand Prix Special, Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour was unable to persuade her gelding Bohemian (by Bordeaux x Samarant) to enter the arena. The horse spooked at the score board, reared and then refused to set a foot further. A huge disillusion for the rider, who is ranked 6th in the World with this horse and who considers Bohemian her ticket to Tokyo. The pair's last outdoor competition was the CDIO Aachen in July 2019. The elimination of the rider and consequently her team, prematurely brought an end to the Danish hope for the Nations Cup.

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[lorettatooke]

She handled this horse kindly with compassion. She tried, he said no and she listened. This is the kind of patient rider we need to all be. Horses are animals, not machines and they will have issues as animals do.

[syzygyfarm]

They had a few lovely conversations just then. She had soft hands, asked him if he was okay (checking bend), and it seemed like after the third 'no' from him, she said, 'Okay.. another day!' Great example of how to handle that situation.

[alysonweege]

“Disaster” is a strong word. I think we’ve all had these bad days. The rider handled it well. Why was this even considered newsworthy?

[sandieadams]

When your horse is telling you something always best to listen.

[sxyfaye]

Brilliant example of horsemanship, they aren't machines and can all have off days. She handled it very well and was kind and patient with the horse and accepted that today just wasn't the day

[dressageization]

Why would you sensationalise this with dreadful music?

[sharihazlett]

She handled it well trying to encourage him. He just was like, " nope, no way today ". It happens

[claudia]

She said on Instagram that he was spooked by one of the judges. Very unfortunate for her, but we’re dealing with horses, so those things can happen to everyone.

[IndigoFirebird]

very well handled! lovely to see a rider stay kind and patient under so much pressure!!

[christabyrd]

She couldn’t of handled that any better! She did everything she could without getting mad and let him stop and think and he still said “Nope!” I think someone should of stepped in to help a lot quicker though! That could of went a lot worse but she handled it the best a rider possibly could! Good for her! Some of the best horses have bad days too!

[Spotted_lily_exotics]

I love that this is shown. She handled it really well. It’s an inspiration to not give up on those off days. Even the best have those odd/bad rides. Back to the drawing board to figure out why it happened. I applaud her. She’s what a rider should. Patient, kind, confident and ultimately putting the horse first

[halewich]

I love when dressage horses have finally had enough and refuse to put up with one more second of madness.

[garyandsusannayoder]

sheesh if I had to hear music like that on a regular basis i would freak too.

[stephanierutherford]

I call this the "lightbulb off" moment. My childhood horse was very similar. Nowadays we have fancy terms like trigger stacking. Essentially this horse was exposed to stimuli to the point where it reached its tolerance and shut down. Adrenaline is pumping at this point and their natural instinct become predominant. It's a difficult ride, same some horses will always be a challenge. Just as some of us are born more confident than others, horses are the same. Some can develop more confidence over time with success, and that depends on training strategies too. Glad they both got out of the ring intact. Surely a disappointment but nothing to go bananas over.

[Ingridlosneslokken]

So beautiful seeing how soft and patient she was with her horse. This really shows how much us riders care about our animal and that it is a team effort and not animal slavery or anything like that. We listen, they listen! ❤️ so beautifully handled!

[californianinkansas]

What a tactful, compassionate equestrian! I am so impressed by how she handled this!

[vlg]

It's the problem with professional competition : when it's amateur there's no real stake, si when the horse is refusing to perform we can say "ok no need to insist, it may be better next time". But for professionnals, they are pressured to perform so they try and try to make the horse do what they are here for, and it can lead to abuse and injuries

[mrdith]

She handled it very well, nice and calm 👌🏽

[norikerfreundin]

Das Pferd sieht für mich so aus, als ob es diesen ganzen Leistungszirkus einfach nicht mehr aushält….

[IngenaBos]

As soon as the tension was off the horse, it left the arena with no trouble.