Brigitte Wittig and her home bred Westfalian stallion Balmoral W (by Breitling W x Diego xx) triumphed in the small tour classes at the 2011 CDI Hagen held on at Hof Kasselmann on 4 - 8 May 2011. They topped the Prix St Georges with 73.272% and even went up a notch in the Intermediaire I, claiming the trophy with a 75.105% earning test.
Balmoral W has had a steep climb to success qualifying for the 2005 Bundeschampionate and placing th in the 2006 Bundeschampionate in Warendorf. In 2010 the pair was fifth in the Nurnberger Burgpokal Finals and is now gaining experience at international small tour level before making the jump to Grand Prix.
In the Intermediaire I the horse looked very confirmed in the small tour movements, but lacked a bit of energy and expression. In the rein back he dragged the legs and he lost some balance in the voltes. The half passes were nice and the extended walk good in ground cover. The horse is a bit steep in the shoulder which makes the canter not so elegant, but the correctness of the flying changes were good enough to score high. However by the end of the test the bay ran out of steam. He almost lost the canter in the left pirouette. Wittig, however, kept her cool throughout the test and rode with precision which must have led to the staggering high score.
A big name does wonders and this was proven by Hubertus Schmidt on the very green looking Trakehner stallion Imperio (by Connery x Balfour xx). The combination is brand new as Schmidt recently took over the ride from Anna Sophie Fiebelkorn. Imperio does not yet look very strong and up for the FEI challenge. The bay stallion is a bit long in the back and weak in the loins which prevents him from having a Ferrari engine. He struggles to step under properly and even though the beautiful horse has very good cadence, rhythm and bounce, he was quite unbalanced in the voltes and very often came behind the vertical. Especially in canter Schmidt held his hands quite high above the whithers to keep the horse up in the frame. In the extended walk he was slightly rushed over the diagonal. There was a mistake in the three tempi's and the pirouette left was hitchy, but the right one much better. Despite all these issues, the general image was a friendly one and Imperio is certainly an eyecatcher. Nevertheless the 74.079% was far too generous for the quality delivered and Lette even had the pair at 77.396%.
German Holga Finken saddled Steffi Zintl's 11-year old Hanoverian gelding Divertimento (by De Niro x Walt Disney I) to finished third in the Prix St Georges (71.316%) and Intermediaire I (71.632%) and second in the Kur (70.700%). The chestnut gelding has a small trot but produced nice extensions and a good half pass left. Finken had some problems with both pirouettes losing stride and spring in both of them. However it was nice to see the rider having fun, regularly glancing and smiling at his fan club during the test.
Danish Fie Skarsoe is back in the international show ring with a client's horse, One Night Stand, a 10-year old Dutch warmblood gelding by Olivi x Ferro owned by Dagmar Börner. The refined black gelding has limited ground cover in trot and often becomes quick in rhythm instead of bouncing off the ground, but he is superb in the contact with the bit. One Night Stand was always nicely at the vertical, foaming and willing to work for his rider. The extended walk was very good and he executed very solid canter work which made him easily score three times round 70%. He finished fifth in the Prix St Georges (70.105%), fourth in the Inter I (70.158%) and third in the Kur (69.075%).
By moving to stallion station and equestrian centre Schmidt in Lippetal, Germany, Australian Hayley Beresford has not only relocated her in a strategically better position in Europe, but she also added several fantastic horses to her collection. One of them is the highly popular breeding stallio Belissimo M (by Beltain x Romadour II), which she showed in Hagen for the first time at international level. They were fourth in the Prix St Georges (70.500%), sixth in the Inter I (69.053%) and they won the Kur to Music (73.150%). The liver chestnut stallion is a real poster boy with his cresty neck and good looks, but he should have been quicker behind and more electric to the leg aids, especially in the Intermediaire I. In that test he became a bit long in the frame and slow behind, visible in the trot extensions and in the lack of lift in the pirouette. Both the collected and extended walk were strong though and Beresford sits calm and collected in the saddle which generates a sympathetic appealing silhouette.
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - No Reproduction allowed
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