Balkenhol's Dablino Coming Into His Own in 2012 CDI4* Stuttgart Grand Prix

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2012 CDI-W Stuttgart

For many years the CDI Stuttgart has been hosting two dressage tours, a classical and a freestyle one with each having a qualifying Grand Prix. The classical tour at the event is called the “German Masters” and is considered the traditional highlight for which Olympic winners and World champions saddle their top mounts before going into a winter break.

This year the proven Stuttgart formula has not changed in principle, only that the kur tour was given a World Cup status, so it was feared beforehand that the classical tour might suffer a downfall with top pairs giving preference to the World Cup. Fortunately this was not completely true with Anabel Balkenhol, Dorothee Schneider and Fabienne Lütkemeier starting their top horses, joined by Austria’s leading rider Victoria Max-Theurer partnering her new Grand Prix horse Blind Date.

Riders, trainers, grooms and of course the horses, and last but not least the spectators had to rise and shine early Saturday morning because the CDI4* Grand Prix started at 8 am just like the year before. Round 7.30 AM Stuttgart is virtually still sleeping but the action was already going on in the warm-up arena in the huge Porsche Arena attached to the Schleyerhalle-complex in which the show takes place. While later a never-ending stream of curious spectators gather in the high grandstands or down at the fencing, the early hour riders are almost on their own. While the first starters, Hubertus Schmidt and Dark Diamond and his student, Finish Emma Kanerva and Heimliche Liebe, warmed-up their horses, Uta Gräf walked her Holsteiner stallion Le Noir. Swiss Marcela Krinke exercised her second Grand Prix-horse Lazander whose stable companion Molberg was entered to take part in the World Cup kur in the afternoon.

Getting from the Porsche Arena to Schleyerhalle was still an easy task as only the hardcore spectators and dressage enthusiasts had found their way to the huge grandstands inside. That changed a bit in the course of the day. This might have worked in favour for one of Germany’s best horses who is known to sometimes react to a prickling atmosphere: Anabel Balkenhol’s Dablino. For the Stuttgart Grand Prix Dablino was relaxed and focused and he more and more seems to come into his own, having already impressed with good rounds winning the CDI Donaueschingen and finishing 5th in a world-class field at the CDI Lyon two weeks before. The 12-year-old Hanoverian started with a very good, quiet halt and a swinging extended trot in which the rhythm was slightly interrupted, earning him three times the 8, one 7 and one 6 from the judges’ panel. The trot half-passes on both leads were with proper bending, pure in rhythm and the horse carried itself. In the second extended trot Dablino literally rose in front as he floated across the diagonal. His piaffe and passage were regular whereas the extended walk was a bit hasty. True highlights followed in the canter tour in which Dablino showed wonderful flying changes which were straight, forward and up and he was appropriately rewarded with a few 9s from the judges, almost reminding the observer of Rusty. Also both canter pirouettes were excellent, not only in rhythm and balance, but they were also with diligently working hind-legs. Scores between 73.191% and 78.723% secured a superior victory, 84 points ahead of new combination of Victoria Max-Theurer and the Wittig trained mare Blind Date, the former winner of the Nürnberger Burgpokal final.

Victoria Max-Theurer on Blind Date The now 10-year-old Hanoverian by Wolfram Wittig’s legendary chestnut stallion Breitling W was acquired by Sissy Max-Theurer in the spring of 2012 after the Theurer’s had started a training cooperation with Wolfram Wittig. A week before Stuttgart Victoria has competed the compact liver chestnut for the second time and won both classes at the CDI Oldenburg, the Special even with over 75%. In Stuttgart the fresh partnership continued to blossom. After an obedient halt in which the mare came a bit deep, the first extended trot was regular with the nose clearly in front of the vertical. The first piaffe was rhythmical and engaged, followed by a good extended walk. In the canter tour the mare made a mistake in the two tempi changes, but managed to stay faultless in the ones. Both pirouettes were well settled. Blind Date moved in good self-carriage throughout her test and matches her new lady rider very well. With 72.128% they secured a second place

Dorothee Schneider on Forward Looking Max-Theurer was only 15,5 points ahead of another mare, Forward Looking under Dorothee Schneider. The 11-year-old Westfalian mare by Fidermark out of a Dinard L-dam has moved into the number 1 position in Dorothee Schneider’s barn after Diva Royal returned back under the saddle of her student Stella-Charlott Roth after the London Olympics. The bay started with a good halt, but surprisingly the judges’ marking differed between 7 and 9! The trot extension was regular and with enough impulsion. In the passage the mare moves very regular and with suspension, but still could carry herself more. The piaffes have much push-off, rhythm and are settled, altough the mare’s frontlegs are still pointing back a bit.
The canter tour began well, but in the one-time-changes the mare twice lost the rhythm and made mistakes what brought the marks down. The first pirouette was a bit hasty, the second better. The impressive mare showed the best of all three piaffes on the final centreline.
With 71.468% Dorothee Schneider finished in a well deserved third position with room left for even better performances in the future.

Fabienne Lutkemeier on D'Agostino German Olympic reserve and A-team rider Fabienne Lütkemeier and D’Agostino were next in the rankings. The now 12-year-old Hanoverian by De Niro x Shogun xx and the 23-year-old student from Paderborn were 2010 European Young Riders' Champion and have easily made the transition to international Grand Prix. Also in Stuttgart D’Agostino did not fail to impress with his very good trot tour at the beginning of test, but the horse did not significantly change in its frame. The extended and the collected walk were good, followed by a passage which was scored from 5.5 to 7. The horse moved with a dangling front-leg just like the famous Rembrandt did 20 years ago. The piaffe remains the weak spot as the liver chestnut gelding just does not taking any weight on the hind-legs. The canter tour brought the scores up with very nice flying changes, forward and straight, but again D'Agostino was too tight in the neck. In the extended canter Fabienne risked a lot and rode the full diagonal. Although three judges saw her in 3rd position with two more in 4th Fabienne Lütkemeier and D’Agostino remained clearly behind Dorothee Schneider on 70.638%.

Dablino has proven what an outstanding horse he is be by winning with a remarkable score at Stuttgart, but his trainer Klaus Balkenhol mentioned on St.Georg online he is especially happy that the Hanoverian behaved so calmly at the prize-giving. The sweetest victories are sometimes not made at the competition front when dealing with horses!