The HKM Bundeschampionate has grown: For the first time, the title "Bundeschampion" was also awarded to the seven-year-old dressage horses. The historic gold medal was won by the Oldenburg Dos Amigos OLD by Dimaggio -Sir Donnerhall I), presented by his owner Leonie Richter.
37 seven-year-old horses were present for the premiere in the Warendorf dressage arena. They had secured their tickets through successes in M** and S* or as finalists in last year's Bundeschampionat for six-year-olds. The spectators first had to get used to the judging, because this advanced (S*) level dressage test for young horses differs somewhat from those at elementary (L) and medium (M) level. Although the basic gaits, the permeability and the perspective/overall impression are judged with individual scores, as in every dressage horse test, a technique score is added for the seven-year-olds. A judge only assesses the correct execution of the lessons as a percentage, as in dressage tests. The scores are then combined with the technique score to give an overall percentage score. This procedure is also used at the World Championships for seven-year-old horses.
The first gold medal in this age group was won by the Oldenburg Dos Amigos OLD. It was a clear victory, because the bay Dimaggio son out of a Sir Donnerhall dam had already won the qualification for the Final with a not inconsiderable lead (81.047 percent). In the Final, judge Dr. Dietrich Plewa, who was commentating the competition for the audience, was literally out of his mind. He returned the audience's applause with the words, "I can understand their enthusiasm!" And, after describing all the horse's strengths in trot and canter, he added: "A dressage horse as one would wish." The score in the final: 80.948.
Leonie Richter has known her sport partner for four years. She bought him from his breeder Constanze Fürste when he was three years old and trained him calmly. This year he already proved himself in qualifications for the Nuremberg Burg Cup Final. The 26-year-old, who works as a rider at Helgstrand Dressage's German branch, said: "The plan is for me to continue riding him." Asked if her employer Andreas Helgstrand had already put a purchase offer on the table, she said with a laugh. "No not yet. We'll see."
The silver medal was won by the Hanoverian Famous K FRH, whom Stefanie Wittmann presented with aplomb. The Finest-Londonderry son, bred by Martina Knetsch and owned by Lilly Marie Collin, scored points, as Plewa puts it, "because he mastered the tasks in the trot naturally, almost casually." In the canter, the judges would have liked a little more power and willingness to take risks. Overall, the Vice-Champion collected 79.871 percent.
The Spanish rider Borja Carrascosa, who is at home in Coesfeld/Westphalia, took bronze and fourth place. He made it into the medal ranks with the Hanoverian Fun4ever (by Feedback-De Vito), bred by Gerd Pigge (owner's association Möhlmann). 78.846 percent was the jury's verdict. With the spirited and cadenced Frizzantino (by Finest-Quaterback) bred by Hermann Ulbrich, he took fourth place (78.615 percent).
The judges liked the championship premiere of the seven-year-old dressage horses. Henning Lehrmann said, "The premiere went well and was also well received with 37 horses." His colleague Elke Ebert spoke of a "really good level". However, it would have to be considered whether a consolation test should be offered to those riders who could not qualify their horse for the final.
Dr. Dietrich Plewa, who did not judge but commented, added: "All finalists have recommended themselves for higher competitions. They showed talent and willingness to assemble. The development is going in the right direction. I did not see a horse with a bad pirouette." The unfortunate timing is a bit of a pity, because the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Ermelo, the Netherlands, start only a few days after the HKM Bundeschampionats. And the horses nominated for this event would certainly have liked to be seen in Warendorf.
The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) has once again rewarded particularly fair, horse-friendly riding at the HKM National Championships with the Animal Welfare Award. This special prize is awarded to riders for the outstanding horse-friendly handling as well as the particularly horse-friendly preparation of the horses for the test during the event. This prize also went to the winner of the seven-year-old dressage horses, Leonie Richter, with her Dos Amigos OLD. The jury praised the evenly structured preparation work, matching all the required lessons of this test with calmness and overview in all situations that arose.
