Anna Kasprzak Looking Forward to 2016 CDI Hagen Horses & Dreams Meets Denmark

Shows

2016 CDI Hagen

Horses & Dreams meets a different guest country every year since 2006. Oman, China, America, Italy, Mexico, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, Brazil and Australia have been presented in Hagen. We asked Denmark's number one Anna Kasprzak what it means to her that Denmark will be the 11th guest at "Horses & Dreams meets Denmark" at the 2016 CDI Hagen.

"I am very exited to see how the show will be like this year," said Kasprzak. "Every show in Hagen has been a great experience for me so far, and this year, with Denmark as the guest country, will be something special. I hope that the fact that Denmark is official partner-country will give me that little extra support and feeling of being proud so my horses and I can give it our very best in the competition.

Which horses and test do your plan to ride in Hagen and what are your goals for the show?

I will compete in the Big Tour with Pepe and Honnerups Driver. Driver is my upcoming star. Compared to Pepe, he is a tense horse who often gets nervous, but I am sure that he will do really well at Grand Prix level as he gets stronger and gets more experience at competitions. In Neumünster (February), I had to give up because he got so scared of his surroundings, but he won the subsequent CDI*** show in Herning in March. That is life with horses sometimes, and Driver is definitively worth waiting for.

You have been in Hagen a couple of times. As a rider at Horses & Dreams and the CDIO as well as when you purchased your horse Donnperignon. What does it mean for you to visit Hagen? Is there a difference to other shows for "Pepe" as well?

Hagen is Pepe's former home. First time I went to Hagen after having bought Pepe; he was really excited when we walked along the sand track arround the arenas. I talked to Christoph Koschel about it afterwards, and he told me that is was where Pepe always used to have fun when he was supposed to have an easy day. There was no doubt that he remembered that!
So far Pepe and I have only had great results in Hagen and of course Horses & Dreams is a show to which I look forward to every year. I am sure Pepe does, too!

What do you expect from the Hagen team? In which way would you like Denmark to be represented at Horses & Dreams?

I hope that the Hagen team is capable of showing what Denmark stands for. Denmark is a small, yet strong country with great achievements in sports, business, history and we share a good unity. Some say that the Danish people are the happiest people on earth - this I hope us Danes can show in Hagen.

Is Hagen a good way to prepare for the upcoming challenges in this Olympic year? What are your personal goals for to the 2016 season?

When I made my competition plan for 2016, Hagen was on the list. The distance from Haderslev, where I live (in Southern Jutland), is not so far to travel and it is a plus that I can compete both my horses. My biggest goal this year is to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio. Pepe and I competed in London in 2012, and that is a highlight of my career so far. It would be a dream comie true if we can do it again. When the Danish team missed out on qualifying as a team at the Europeans in Aachen last year, I did not believe it would be possible. Now four Danes have been able to qualify individually, thus Denmark will be sending a full team. It is our national trainer, Rudolf Zeilinger, who nominates the team after CDIO Aachen in July, so I will have to perform well at the shows this year, including Hagen, if I want to compete in Rio.

Of course we will find more great dressage horses in your stable than just your Olympic partner "Pepe". Tell us about your youngsters and plans.

I am fortunate to have a number of interesting younger horses in my stable.
In addition to Pepe, I have Driver at 13, who competes and Grand Prix level, and Rock Star, who is 8 and for whom I have high hopes. He is a very cool horse even though he hasn' seen much yet.

by Anna Baden