Destacado and Superb, Recipients of the 2022 Otto Lörke Prize

Dressage

Germany

The Hanoverian bred Grand Prix horses Destacado and Superb became the recipients of the 2022 Otto Lörke prize which was handed out at the 2022 CDI-W Stuttgart on Sunday noon 13 November 2022.

The Otto Lörke prize is annually bestowed upon the most successful rising Grand Prix horses in Germany of the year. The prize is awarded to Grand Prix horses between the ages of 8 - 10. The horse, trainer and owner receive special recognition from the German Olympic Equestrian Committee (DOKR) and Liselott Schindling Foundation.

Destacado FRH

Destacado is a 9-year old Hanoverian by Desperados x Londonderry x Falkland, bred by Heinrich Giesselmann.

Matthias Rath has been riding him since 2017 and won silver at the 2018 World Young Horse Championships for 5-year olds. In 2019 they were fourth at the WCYH. In 2020 they won the Nurnberger Burgpokal Finals, in 2021 he qualified for the Louisdor Cup, but did not compete in the finals. In 2022 the combination won five out of six international Grand Prix classes and in Stuttgart they scored a double victory in the Special tour.

"Destacado is such a quick learner, he's a little goal getter and very honest," said Rath. "He improved year to year and got better and more consistent each time. He has the right will and is an incredibly sweet horse. He's more a little careful and needs some trust in order to present himself. His extended walk is an absolute highlight and he got two times a 10 for that at the World Championships."

Superb

Superb is a 10-year old Hanoverian mare by Surprice x Donautanz). She is bred by Marion Gabel.

Purchased by Madeleine Winter-Schulze for 250,000 euro at the Hanoverian Autumn Elite Auction, Superb was trained to Grand Prix level by Isabell Werth. The black mare made her international Grand Prix debut this year at the CDI Hagen and won the Grand Prix and Special. She also competed at the CDI's in Mannheim, Wiesbaden and Aachen never scoring less than 71.261%.

"Superb has no weaknesses, the only thing she lacks is ring experience and also I on her," said Werth. "This is sometimes I try to do better with my other younger horses. Superb is mentally very strong, she's very self conscious and a really cool mare. I hope that I can show next year what's inside her."

36th Time

This year the Otto Lörke Prize was awarded for the 36th time. Previous Otto Lörke recipients are Satchmo, Bonaparte, Elvis VA, Chacomo, Farbenfroh, Rusty, Grunox, Gigolo, Goldstern, Rembrandt, Bella Rose and Showtime FRH.

In the award ceremony in Stuttgart, riders Mattias Rath and Isabell Werth received the prize from Dr. Stefanie Haug-Grimm. For Isabell Werth it was already the 15th time that she received the Otto Lörke prize.

The trainers of the horses - Klaus Martin Rath and Isabell Werth - each got a cheque of 1,500 euro from DOKR, while the owners of the horse, Gestut Schafhof and Dr. Friederike Lohse (Destacado) as well as Madeleine Winter-Schulze (Superb), received an award from Haug-Grimm.