“Frankfurt is his third tournament after castration and I always notice: it has done him incredibly well.” Felix Haßmann talks about his winning partner in the international opening competition, the DC Data Castle GmbH prize, at the 50th International Festhallen Equestrian Tournament Frankfurt ( IFRF): Quiwitino WZ. “He has become so much more relaxed and concentrated and it is much nicer for him too.” The eleven-year-old son of Quiwi Dream raced through the 1.40-meter course in 57.31 seconds and gave the other 49 starters no chance. “Quiwitino has a lot of canter, we covered all the distances and we managed the turns well,” said a satisfied Haßmann. Felix Haßmann has often competed in Frankfurt and particularly enjoys the festival hall for several reasons: “It’s kind of nice,” says the winner. “I was recently invited to Quiwitino’s owner Wolfgang Zipperle’s birthday party. He has a large photo of the festival hall hanging on his wall; he used to ride horses here himself.” Haßmann also met his wife Lena at the 2019 festival hall tournament in Frankfurt, and the two got married at the end of September this year. And also: “We only have very few three- and four-star tournaments in Germany, but they are important so that the horses can grow into the really big sport.” He has now taken his horses to Poland for tournaments a few times to introduce them to the atmosphere and the requirements. “You can ride two-star tournaments almost every week, but we urgently need three- and four-star events. The importance of Frankfurt is all the greater - this year also with the fourth star. Great!” Haßmann – inspired at the start in Frankfurt for many reasons.
The 2019 German Champion has two other horses with him in Frankfurt: the eight-year-old C'est la Vie and the seven-year-old Vithargos WZ for the Youngster Tour - he is also a horse owned by the former Frankfurt starter Zipperle.
Second place in the opening competition went to the IFRF Rising Star presented by Derby Pferdefutter, Marie Schulze Topphoff. Seven-year-old A Coruna, the eldest of the three Schulze Topphoff siblings, remained closest on Felix Haßmann's heels. Your time: 57.41 seconds. The fast Hansi from Baden-Württemberg, Hans-Dieter Dreher, took third place with Jiniki.
Princess wins the Louisdor Prize
She presented herself royally: Princess Bea OLD, the nine-year-old Fürstenball daughter under the saddle of her trainer and owner Beata Stremler. “It's my first time here in Frankfurt, my first time here in the NUREMBERGER Burg Cup and the Louisdor finals,” explains the professional rider with shining eyes. “Everything I experience here is simply great. And then the victory today - it's unbelievable." Princess Bea impressed with a very harmonious, satisfied round with almost a consistently beautiful side picture. The couple received 73.957 percent – victory.
The ten best young Grand Prix horses in Germany can qualify for the final at five stations during the season. The top two places receive a place in the final, and at the end the best ten of their year compete in the final in the festival hall.
The performance density in this year's class is very close. There was less than one and a half percentage points between victory and fourth place. Second place in the run-in test of the Louisdor Prize final went to Yara Reichert with Springbank with 73.638 percent. “I was really looking forward to this final,” admits Reichert, “but when I was here and rode into this great hall among all the professionals, I asked myself whether I was actually a megalomaniac.” Yara Reichert is the mother of four children between the ages of nine and 15, has his own company and rides six to eight horses a day 'on the side'. With Springbank and Valverde, she qualified two stallions for the final and took second and fifth place today. “It’s unbelievable what these stallions do for me. If you want to achieve something in life, you have to give your life for it,” she emphasized. “In my life, the children come first, then the horses and my company are the things I neglect the most - on days like these I enjoy my decision even more intensely.”
Third today was Borja Carrascosa on Frizzantino (72.787%) ahead of Ingrid Klimke on SAP Freudentanzer (72.553%). But: In the final on Sunday everyone starts from zero, with young horses anything is possible and the festival hall has its own rules anyway. Conclusion: Anything is possible when the final begins on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. - as always with the expert commentary from dressage judge and instructor Dr. Dietrich Plewa.
