Maike Mende's First Class to Ingrid Klimke

Dressage

Germany

Maike Mende's Uner 25 ride First Class has moved into training with Ingrid Klimke in Munster. Mende made a winning international U25 debut a month ago.

First Class is a 10-year old Hanoverian mare by Furstenball out of Buena Vista (by Bergamon). He is bred by Jan-Peter Hartlef.

Maike Mende

Initially owned by the breeder, First Class was trained from young horse level to Grand Prix by young professional Maike Mende

The pair made its national show debut in the spring of 2016 in Billerbeck when the bay mare was four years old. Mende competed her at regional and national shows in her area and in 2017 made it to the Bundeschampionate, where they were 21nd in the 5-year old dressage horse preliminary round.

Mittelsten Scheid

In 2018 the mare sold to Vivica Mittelsten Scheid and in 2020 she registered her with the FEI as owned by her company and stable Gut Hülsen.

The Mittelsten Scheid family is renowned for being major entrepreneurs from Wuppertal, Germany with Vivica's husband Jörg Mittelsten Scheid being the ceo of the company Vorwerk, a multinational which produces and provides cleaning products and services. His wife is Vivica Countess of Stolberg-Wernigerode is a horse lover. They own the brand new equestrian centre Gut Hulsen in Aprath, Germany.

Mende retained the ride on First Class and competed her at the 2018 Bundeschampionate, placing 9th in the 6-year old Dressage Horse Finals. In 2019 they made their international show debut in the 7-year old classes at the CDI Wiesbaden.

In 2020 the pair competed in the national developing Grand Prix horse classes and their CDI Under 25 debut took place in Troisdorf at the start of May, where the duo achieved a double victory with 69.538% in the short Grand Prix and 73.410% in the freestyle.

Ingrid Klimke

Mende, who is based at Gut Berghausen and trains with Jan Nivelle, said goodbye to First Class. The horse will continue its training with German Olympian Ingrid Klimke, where she is on trial.