The 3-year olds Baroness Bibi and For Real, and the 4-year olds Feine Bella and Vitalos became the winners of the Finals for Riding Horses at the 2021 Bundeschampionate in Warendorf on 10 - 15 August 2021.
The 3 and 4 year old horses are named "riding horses" instead of "dressage horses" to indicate their versatility, in principle apt for dressage and show jumping. While thirty years ago horse breeding was still more cross discipline, the specialization of sport horses breeding into one direction, either dressage or show jumping, has led to the fact that these riding horse classes are entered with mostly purely dressage bred youngsters.
It was a clever choice to separate the riding horses classes between mares&geldings and one exclusively for stallions. Looking at the selection of German horses for the 2021 World Young Horse Championships, the selectors made it an almost exclusive stallion fest, granting mares (and geldings) far less opportunity to shine or be selected, despite their equal quality as a dressage horse. At the Bundeschampionate the riding horses gets equal opportunity to shine with this gender based separation.
3-YO Mares & Geldings: Baroness Bibi
Franz-Georg Ottmann's Westfalian mare Baroness Bibi has been on a winning streak this summer and put the icing on the cake at the Bundeschampionate. The mare not only won the Westfalian Elite Mare Championship in hand, but under Bianca Nowag also claimed the Westfalian Young Horse Champion's title. At the Bundeschampionate she continued her winning ways, dominating the warm-up round as well as the finals.
Judges Tim Koch, Carsten Munk and Peter Olsson, favoured Baroness Bibi (by Benicio x Don Romantic) by far, rewarding her with 9.1 in total for the title. She earned 10 for walk, 8 for trot, 9 for canter, 9.5 for training and 9 for conformation.
Marie Sybel and Lara Hapfelmeier's Hanoverian gelding Moonlight (by Millennium x Furstenball) were the reserve champions with an 8.7 total score. Bred by Antonia Kurzrock, Moonlight was second in the warm-up and again in the Finals. He got 8 for walk, 9 for trot, 8.5 for canter, 8.5 for training and 9.5 for conformation.
3-YO Stallions: For Real
For Real is bred by Karl-Aug. Schulte-Varendorff and sold at the auction of the 2020 Westfalian stallion licensing for 250,000 euro to Andreas Helgstrand. He has a full brother named Farrell Junior (° 2015), who is being competed by former German young rider team member Florine Kienbaum.
2019 European Junior Riders Champion Jana Schrödter slotted in second aboard the Westfalian stallion Zaunkönig (by Zack x De Niro x Florestan I). Already second in the warm-up, Zaunkönig reconfirmed in the Finals with an 8.8 total score. He got 8.5 for walk, 9 for trot and canter, 9 for training and 8.5 for general impression.
Zaunkönig is bred by Klaus Grosse Lembeck and was licensed at the 2020 Westfalian stallion licensing, the same as For Real. He sold at auction for 205,000 euro to Danish horse dealer Andreas Helgstrand.
4-YO Mares & Geldings: Feine Bella
Bred by breeders' group Artmeier, Becker, Delling, and Wibbecke from Witten, Germany, Feine Bella was the 2020 Westfalian Elite Mare champion and now under Stommel is proving her quality in the dressage arena. Judges Wolfgang Egbers, Tim Koch and Gerd Sickinger rewarded this mare with 9.5 for walk, 9 for trot, 10 for canter, 10 for training and 9.5 for general impression. Feine Bella is distantly related to Isabell Werth's Bella Rose as her great great grandam Franziska (by Frühlingsball) is the grand dam of Bella Rose (by Belissimo M x Cacir AA x Fruhlingsball).
German young rider team member Luca Collin steered her own Oldenburg mare Verona Diamond OLD (by Vivaldi x Don Diamond) to the reserve champion's title with 8.9 points. The bay mare, who is bred by Ann Christin Alberding, received 8.5 for walk and canter, 9 for trot, 9.5 for training and 9 for conformation.
4-YO Stallions: Vitalos
Leonie Richter earned her second Bundeschampion title on another stallion, the 4-year old Vitalos.
Sina Aringer and the Rhinelander stallion Ibiza Dream (by Ibiza x Dimaggio) were closely on Vitalos' heels with a 9.5 total score that made them reserve champions. Bred and owned by Axel Windeler, Ibiza Dream posted 9 for walk and trot, 10 for canter and training and 9.5 for conformation.
Related Links
Scores: 2021 Bundeschampionate
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2021 Bundeschampionate