75.146 percent and that twice - an impressive start to the 31st Final of the NÜRNBERGER BURG-POKAL, an exciting start to the 49th International Festhalle Riding Tournament Frankfurt (IFRF).
Andrina Suter and Dorothee Schneider shared the victory in the NÜRNBERGER BURG-POKAL entry competition on Thursday morning. The Swiss rider Suter, who is competing in the Burg-Pokal Final for the first time, and Dorothee Schneider, who rides for the Frankfurt show stable Schwarz-Gelb and is presenting her Burg-Pokal Finalists number 19 and 20 in the Festhalle this year. Both ladies have qualified two horses for the final. Suter has travelled with the seven-year-old Briatore NRW and the nine-year-old Del Curto, Schneider has the eight-year-old Dante's Hit OLD and the nine-year-old Quaterline with her. The younger riders were ahead in the first competition and won the double. "Briatore was quite relaxed today. He is so uncomplicated. Actually, he was only supposed to gain a bit of experience at the Burg Pokal in Mannheim, but he ran the best test of the season there and won straight away. Today felt almost as good," Suter enthused.
And Schneider beamed when she spoke about her winner Dante's Hit: "I have had him since he was five years old and he puts a smile on my face every day. He is so elastic and was quick in concentration with me today." The pair made two small mistakes in the flying canter changes at C, both after the half pirouettes. "The mistakes are both on me," the riding master judged self-critically. "I was too much in the waiting position, I should have had him more in front of me for the changes."
Suter and Schneider not 'only' shared the victory, they also took the following third and fourth places. Quaterline, stable name Quaxi, finished third with 75.048 per cent, Del Curto fourth with 73.682 per cent. "I was really curious to see what Quaxi would say about the arena," Schneider explained. "He can already be pretty gucky. But he has gained maturity and confidence over the season, mustered all his courage today and 'swung' beautifully through the test." And the 30-year-old Swiss rider was also very happy with her second horse. "Del Curto was fully with me and gave me a great feeling." Her goal with the Dimaggio son is clear: "It would be my dream goal if I could be at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with him."
Dorothee Schneider already knows the Festhalle in Frankfurt almost as well as her hall at home, she has also won the Burg Pokal Final twice. Suter is in Frankfurt for the first time ever and raves: "I have never ridden in such a hall - with so much attention to detail. It is beautiful."
