The 2014 Horses & Dreams competition hosted at Hof Kasselmann in Hagen, Germany, on 23 - 26 April 2014, will be the platform for a groupf of qualifiers of Germany's most celebrated show circuits. The 2014 CDI Hagen will be hosting qualifers for the Meggle Champions, Nurnberger Burgpokal, Louisdor Cup and Amateur Cup.
The dressage series Meggle Champions features 11 very appealing international show venues in the show season 2014/2015, and the mode is simple and effective. The tests will be held at the advanced dressage level in Grand Prix Special or Grand Prix freestyle. Only the
three best candidates of each venue will qualify for the Final of Meggle Champions, held at the International Horse Show in the Westfallenhalle in Dortmund in spring 2015. The Grand Prix Special-test will be the decisive task to be completed during the 11 venue stages. Should there be a freestyle instead of the Special, this shall count as qualifier. There will be basically a Grand Prix de Dressage-test in addition at each Meggle Champions- tournament, serving as opening competition and qualifier for the Grand Prix Special or Grand Prix freestyle. The best three participants of the Grand Prix Special or the Grand Prix freestyle are entitled to compete in the Final of Meggle Champions in Dortmund.
The Nurnberger Burgpokal is a tournament series for seven- to nine-year-old dressage horses. It is considered one of the most important series for further advancing and supporting young dressage horses worldwide. 17 qualifiers are held all over Germany during the outdoor season. Only the winners of these competitions qualify for the Final, held on the occasion of the International Indoor Horse Show in Frankfurt/Main mid of December. Provided horse- rider-combinations entitled to compete should not participate, other riders can take the spot. A special test has been developed for this competition, the so-called “Prix St. Georg Special”. It is shorter and more demanding than Prix St. Georges-tests. Many horses that successfully participated at this series celebrated great successes at the international level later on. Only horses that competed at the Nuremberg Cup and that qualified for the Final were nominated for the German team at the Olympics in London in 2012. These were Dablino, Damon Hill NRW, Desperados FRH and Diva Royal. The German competitors only participated with successful four-legged Nuremberg Cup-partners at the 2013 European Championships in Denmark where they won the team gold medal.
Compared to the Piaff Challenge Cup that specially addresses young riders, the “Louisdor- Prize – Young Horse Grand Prix” has been specially designed for horses aged eight to ten. Dressage horses in this age-group have only few opportunities to show up at important
tournaments in Grand Prix-classes. The “Louisdor-Prize – Young Horse Grand Prix (FN)” provides a series that facilitates these horses to start at the international level. Some of the championship horses had their first impressive successes in this series, like for example Dablino and Anabel Ballkenhol (winner in 2009), El Santo with Isabell Werth (winner in 2010) and Diva Royal with Dorothee Schneider resp. Stella-Charlott Roth (winner in 2011). It will be even more exciting to see which eight- to ten-year-old Grand Prix-horse will shine this year. The series will start this year at Horses and Dreams in Hagen a.T.W., continue at the exhibition “Horse International” in Munich, at the Dressage Gala at Peterhof in Perl-Borg and at the Dressage Gala in Heroldsberg, followed by the horse show in Donaueschingen and finishing with the Final at the Indoor Horse Show in Frankfurt.
Horses & Dreams has also become a platform for non-professional dressage riders as it also hosts the Amateur Cup. The best 10 amateur riders have to accomplish a test at the advanced dressage level (S*) and a Prix St. Georges freestyle in the Almased Dressage Stadium. It was possible to qualify for this series at the four tournaments of the Ankumer Dressur Club, held at the Sport- und Auktionszentrum in Ankum in January and February this year. The best horse of the best two tournaments will be rated. The organizers introduced a new tournament concept in the competition schedule of Horses & Dreams with this Amateur Cup. “The amateur riders in Ankum have competed at a fantastic level in the last years so that we at Horses & Dreams decided to provide the opportunity to compete in front of an international audience and in a special atmosphere,” Dr. Ulf Möller explained the idea behind the competition.
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