Once again the Trakehner Verband in Germany hosted its big annual Trakehner Bundesturnier, an international competition with dressage and show jumping at S-level, and a number of young horse classes in all disciplines, in Hanover on 25 - 28 July 2013. One of the highlights during this show is the open air foal auction, which always takes place on the Saturday evening at the event, and resulted in a good price average this year.
In the much anticipated young horse classes, the mares and geldings once again outclassed the stallions in the 3-year and 4-year old divisions. The delightful dark bay Zikade (by Singolo x E.H. Tambour) under Mareike Peckholz became the most convincing new riding horse champion in the 3-year old mares & geldings class. She is a mare with three high quality gaits and ridden in a frame that befits a horse of her age.
In the 3-year old stallion class, the horse that stood out most for being ridden in a horse-friendly way was Gestüt Wiesenhof’s impressive Donauruf (by E.H. Herzruf x Exorbitant xx) with Kilian Hüttner. It was a bit baffling to see him placed 3rd in this group. Although qualified for the finals, he did not show up again. So the champion of the 3-year old stallions is Meggle’s Grimani (by E.H. Gribaldi x E.H. Monteverdi TSF) with Jana Freund. The second placed stallion, Klosterhof Medingen’s Sarkander (by Iskander x Germanicus Rex) under Hans-Dieter Mangelsdorf was an eye catcher for his obvious athleticism and powerful movement.
In the 4-year old Riding Horse divisions, the new champion (mares & geldings) is Brancusi (by Kaiserdom TSF x Cupric xx) under Monika Mittermayer, a horse with outstanding qualities and a typical example of the Mittermayer’s breeding philosophy of producing dual talent horses.
In the 4-year old stallion class, the Bundesturnier produced two Champions: Gestüt Hohenschmark’s Herakles (by E.H. Gribaldi x E.H. Michelangelo) with Mareike Peckholz and Schwarzgold (by Imperio x E.H. Consul) with Anna-Sophie Fiebelkorn, a stallion owned by a syndicate and stationed at Gestüt Hörem.
The new dressage horse Champion was the best placed horse in the young dressage horse classes at M level, Una Donna (by Donaufels x E.H. Hohenstein) under Helen Langehanenberg. The highly popular Langehanenberg is a favourite of the judges and also won all three S** classes (PSG, Inter I and Inter I Freestyle) on Cote d’Azur TSF (by E.H. Cadeau x Patricius xx). Both mares are bred and owned by the Eisner family, long-time sponsors of Helen’s stable. The M and S classes were also dominated by the approved stallions E.H. Hibiskus (by E.H. Latimer x E.H. Hohenstein) with Nicole Raili, who has done a super job with the impressive black stallion, the energetic Le Rouge (by Pret a Porter – Tycoon) with young rider Paula de Boer and Gestüt Wiesenhof’s Titiano (by E.H. Münchhausen TSF x Schwadroneur), expertly ridden by Leonie Bramall from Canada. A bit to our astonishment, another most impressive pair barely made it into the placings: Kilian Hüttner on the former National dressage horse Champion Priegnitz (by E.H. Hofrat x Mahagoni). They showed great rounds, and most importantly, impulsive movement, forward momentum and a light contact. Priegnitz was one of the fewer horses that truly carried himself and got their feet out of the sand, literally. A great pair, somewhat misplaced at the lower end in the final rankings.
And when asking ourselves which horse really left a long-lasting impression with us, it’s probably the now 20-year old gelding Passero (by E.H. Michelangelo x Hyllos) under former German Pony team rider Carlotta Hassenburger. She had her hands full on this bundle of joy and energy, but they were a great example of what careful and horse-friendly training can achieve. The pair placed 3rd in the M** class and 5th in the S* class, really leaving a strong impression in terms of correct riding and obvious fun at their job.
Saturday night’s foal auction was a success and resulted in an average price of 9,000 euro with the top selling foal achieving 23,000 euro. This was Polartwister, a stunning dark bay colt by Oliver Twist out of Pr.St. Polarlady (by E.H. Michelangelo x Nandino xx), bred by Ulrike & Karsten Sahm-Lütteken (beter known as Trakehner SL) from Cologne. Four other foals brought prices over 10,000 Euro, and all four were by Schwarzgold, with the filly Highness out of Pr.St. Honey Girl by E.H. Sixtus x E.H. Tivano, bred by the Selsoe Stud from Denmark, selling for a bid of 20,000 Euro. Both price highlights sold to Hessia. Clients from Austria acquired In Schönheit by Schwarzgold out of Pr.St. In Flamme by Likoto xx x Kennedy, a maternal half-sister to the FEI dressage stallion In Flagranti (now in Canada). And another foal was sold abroad: the colt Paradiso by Schwarzgold out of Parade Go by E.H. Maizauber x Turnus, bred by ZG König and Meier, was sold for 15,000 Euro to Switzerland.
Text by Maren Engelhardt for Eurodressage
Photos © Stephan Bischoff
Related Links
High Class Rides at 2012 International Trakehner Championships in Hanover
Herbstkonig and Hamilton Stand Out at 2011 International Trakehner Championships
Le Rouge and Offspring Excel at 2010 International Trakehner Championship