Story – Christopher Hector
Photos – K-H Frieler
What bliss, back at Frankfurt for one of the greatest horse shows, and watching the most fantastic class for young St Georges horses in the world, the Nürnberger Burg-Pokal, and right from the start, it is full on.
First horse out is Cadeau Noir, ridden by Lena Waldman. The black Hanoverian stallion (Christ / De Niro) is a bit tense and tight at first, but relaxes as the test gets under way, although there is still a bit a tail switching. This is a lovely horse and sweetly ridden.
Score 75.854 and they will finish in 3rd place, but once again the judging panel is not entirely in agreement even though most of them at Burg-Pokal regulars. First with two, fourth with two and sixth with one…
Next out another Hanoverian, Soul Men (Soliman de Hus / Brentano II) and Thomas Wagner, and as always you marvel at the standard of riding in this country, Thomas is a wonderfully soft, correct rider, this time the horse is nicer, more open in front. There’s a super unhurried big trot, just a tiny loss of balance at X, and a big, big loose walk. Alas it takes a couple of tries to find the right lead coming out of the walk pirouettes but the changes are great, no sign of the tail protesting and a big scopey canter. With a 71.537 they will finish the go round in eighth.
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Andrea Timpe’s Don Carismo (Don Crusador / Carismo), yet another with the Hanoverian brand, gets a little rushed at times, but the canter work is great with some lovely changes. It is a polished test and the gelding is as cool as. 71.171, that’s ninth and you realise just how tough this class is.
I think is was Werner Schockemöhle who said the taller the horse, the bigger the vet bill, but right now, Helen Langehanenberg’s gigantic Vayron (Vitalis / Gloster) is looking fine although he finds taking the weight on his hind end in the demi pirouettes a bit of a challenge, and Helen is working hard to get the changes. 70.22, into 11th.
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Annabel Frenzen, riding Kiefferhof’s Imperious (Imperio / Florestan) is such an elegant rider, and like most in this class she is riding in a stylish top hat, the only glitch is her tendency to take her outside leg back more or less to the line of the saddle blanket, in the flying changes it looks a bit like the Jo Hinnemann / Ideaal act of the 80’s. 67.976 and 12th.
I must confess that the last time I saw Total Hope (Totilas / Don Schufro) I thought he looked like a pony of very limited scope. It just shows what an extremely talented rider can do, and Isabel Freese is just that. The black stallion has such wonderful sustained rhythm, he’s better than his dad in the big trot (thanks mum, superstar, Weihegold). The canter half pirouettes are not as good as his dad’s but then again pirouette was Totilas’ party trick, and the big canter is really big. At the end of the test, Isabel drops the rein and leaves on the buckle – thanks Mum and Dad. All the riders have their portrait up on the score screen, but Isabel wins the prize for the most full on glam pic, if you’ve got it… Score 77.61 and they will go into the final in first place, although these scores don’t count in the final. Once again, the jury is not entirely of one mind, first with two, second with two and fourth with one.
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The competition is really hotting up with the entrance of Kira Wulferding’s mare, Bonita Springs (Boston – essence of Dutch, Jazz / Flemmingh – Fidertanz). Truly I could watch Kira ride all day, she is what dressage should all be about. The mare’s trot is so engaged, the angles so correct, the rhythm absolutely sustained, great walk demi pirouettes, neat canter demis, so lovely and up in front in the canter, spot on changes, and the final trot is just in the perfect outline. They finish second on 76.293, first with one judge, second with three, third with one.
Nicole Casper’s Zalando (Zack / Sunny-Boy) is a real stallion, big, impressive and perhaps just a bit on the muscle. It looks like Nicole is riding in polished leather boots, I mean real leather, cared for and polished, not painted on gloss, the choice of most of the riders (oh Christopher, you are so old fashioned and so correct, I can hear my friend George Morris, who is well known for his love of properly polished boots, indeed his belief that the correct care of all tack was a mark of horsemanship, muttering in my mind, sadly it seems the only place I’ll find him since he is banned from all FEI competition for something that allegedly occurred thirty years ago). The horse is tight in front and worrying the bits and looks heavy in the hand. 70.61 and tenth.
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Dorothee Schneider is on a roll right now and has brought a truckload of horses to Frankfurt. Her ride in the Burg-Pokal is Lord Fittipaldi M (Lord Loxley I / Fidermark). The stallion is a little out behind in the big trot, but as usual Dorothee produces a sublimely professional test, score 71.805 for seventh, though it wasn’t helped when he spooked on the spectator with the pink hair and coat of many colours standing right at the end of the diagonal… well you would wouldn’t you?
Meggle’s Grimani TSF (Gribaldi / Monteverdi) started out with an awful all-over-the-place halt, but Matthias Bouten gets him motoring – it all just looks a bit tense and the rhythm suffers. The stallion relaxes in the canter and really sits for his pirouettes, but things get a bit sticky in the four times changes. 74.122 with rankings from 3rd to 7th, they finish fifth.
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Want to breed to Total Hope? You can, go to: www.ihb.com.au
Enter the Master, Hubertus Schmidt and Denoix (Destano / Pik Noir), a chestnut stallion with scope to burn. The trot is a thing of beauty, so engaged and in such a fabulous outline, the horse so sweetly on the aids. Super tight canter pirouettes, lovely expansive changes, though we could have done without the tiny levade in the rein back. Super test for 73.39 for sixth, though I’m with the spectators who scored it 76.613 which would have put them into second.
I love Lena Waldmann’s Morricone (Millennium / Rubin Royal), the outline is perfect, engaged, loose through the back. Sweet rhythmic half passes, glorious unhurried big trot diagonal, only the canter pirouettes let them down a bit, but every movement fits together seamlessly. Fourth with 75.268, just behind Lena with her other ride Cadeau Noir, though I’d have swapped them around.
So there we are, it’s just gone half past ten in the morning and already that thirty hour trip is all worthwhile. Let the show begin.