German A-squad Grand Prix rider Helen Langehanenberg brought two of her developing Prix St Georges horses to the 2019 CDI Hagen for the Nurnberger Burgpokal qualifier, the first of the 2019 show season.
Exceeing her own expectations, Vayron and Frank Sinatra placed first and second securing already one ticket to the finals in December. A field of 26 combinations contested the warm up round on Thursday while 12 moved on to the actual qualifier on Saturday 27 April 2019.
The giant Vayron, an 8-year old Westfalian stallion by Vitalis x Gloster, stands 1.92 tall and is owned by Rudolf Spiekermann. The petite Langehanenberg has only had the bay stallion in training for little over half a year after the horse spent some time at Uwe Schwanz' yard. Named after the famous 1.5 million euro costing Bugatti Vayron sports car, the stallion was first competed by Stefanie Serowy in a regional class in September 2016. The lean looking stallion needs to build serious muscle to sustain his body for FEI level work. One could see that the horse is still very green at the level with little self carriage and a frozen mouth, but the horse displayed high class basic gaits with especially a very elastic and ground covering trot. The youngster relied on Helen's masterful steering and obediently did what was asked. He won the warm up round with 74.927 and went on to secure a ticket to the finals in December by winning on Saturday with 73.049%.
Langehanenberg also placed second aboard Margit Eisner's 8-year old Westfalian Frank Sinatra (by Fidertanz x Louis Le Bon). The dark bay gelding looks like a typical Fidertanz with a bit of a sunken back. The gelding has three good basic gaits but rushed in the trot extesions. The extended walk had heaps of overtrack but one wants to see a bit more of a V-moment in the rhythm. The horse executed excellent turns on the haunches. Frank Sinatra was soft in the bridle contact and showed uphill tempi changes but they were an effort for him. He was twice second with 73.585% and 73.024%.
Annabel Frenzen and Gerhard Kieffer's 9-year old Rhinelander stallion Kiefferhof's Imperius (by Imperio x Florestan) were third twice. The bay stallion is a very supple mover and appealing horse to look at. While the hindlegs could carry more weight, Imperius made a solid impression in the arena. He first scored 72.976% and then went on to post 72.390% in the final round.
The Nurnberger Burgpokal is the German Developing Prix St Georges Horse championships open to riders from all nations but with qualifiers and the finals held in Germany.
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED
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Related Links
Scores: 2019 CDI Hagen
Eurodressage "On the Scene" at the 2019 CDI Hagen
