Stremler and Fürstin Bea Win 2023 Louisdor Cup Finals in Frankfurt

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2023 Louisdor Cup Finals

Polish Beata Stremler and Fürstin Bea became the winners of the 2023 Louisdor cup finals for Developing Grand Prix horses at the CDI Frankfurt on Sunday 17 December 2023.

The Louisdor Cup Finals are the German Championships for developing Grand Prix horses. Riders of all nations, but with a German FN licence, can compete on the show circuit and qualify for the Finals. This year five qualifiers were held - in Hagen, Wiesbaden, Donzdorf, Kronberg, and Guxhagen - and the top two of each qualifier was eligible to compete in the Finals.

The 2023 Louisdor Cup Finals were the 17th edition of this highly celebrated show circuit for 8 to 10-year old horses. The circuit started in 2007 as a pilot project under the name "Medien Cup". This year the top three places all went to foreign riders, albeit living in Germany. This is the fourth time that a title went to a non-German pair. Previous foreign winners were Patrik Kittel (Floresco), Daniel Bachmann (Blue Hors Veneziano) and Isabell Freese (Total Hope).

Fürstin Bea

The 39-year old German based Polish Grand Prix rider Beata Stremler and the 9-year old Oldenburg mare Fürstin Bea reigned supreme in the Louisdor Cup Finals, winning the warm-up round as well as the Finals class, which was the long Grand Prix.

The mare showed ground covering and forward extended trots and half passes, an elegant passage. The first piaffe was quite on spot but not balanced as the frontleg went too far under the body. The extended walk had two hooves overstep which seemed the maximum of her ability. She could have swung and stretched more over the back. The collected walk was OK. The second piaffe was ridden more forward but was more regular in the rhythm. The two tempi changes were a highlight: straight and forward. There was a hiccup in the flying change after the extended canter as well as in the rather short one tempi changes, but Bea showed great potential to sit in the pirouettes. The left one was a bit unbalanced, the right one better but bigger. The pair finished with a sweet final centerline.

Judged by the 5* panel consisting of Katrina Wüst, Evi Eisenhardt, Henning Lehrmann, Christof Umbach, and Elke Ebert, Stremler topped the board with 73.460%. The individual scores were quite close but only two judges had her first, two third and one fourth. The public commentary was provided by Dietrich Plewa who said, 'both are an image of harmony. everything looked effortless. This horse radiates much inner confidence and relaxation."

Love at First Sight

Stremler discovered Bea as a 4-year old and co-owns it with Karsten Abert. The mare is bred at Stable Troff. "She's simply genial," said Beata. "It was love at first sight."

In an interview with Polish journalist Agata Grosicka, the rider was even speechless having qualified for the Finals, let alone win it. "Qualifying for the Louisdor Finals showed me once again in my life that nothing is impossible," she said. "Honestly, I didn't even dare to dream that I would be able to get to even one of these finals. Of course, both I and almost every professional rider would secretly wish for it, but I didn't believe that such an achievement could actually happen to me."

Stremler has been competing at Bundeschampionate, World Young Horse Championships and on the Developing Horse circuit in Germany, but her choice to ride horses at such high pressure events all depends on their readiness.

"I always adapt to the horse," she said. "I also have very good horses in my stable I would not compete in the World YH Championships with, because I feel that it would be too much effort or stress for them at this point. That's why I ride these horses calmly at home - sometimes I take part in small regional competitions - and I give them the time they need to get them, ideally, to a high level of sport. But if I have horses for which I feel that it is not a problem for them at all and I do not have to put any special pressure on them, then of course we can try to take part in the World Championships or some more important competition. Training and starts simply need to be tailored to the horse, so as to lead him wisely and sensitively to his intended goal. The worst thing you can do when training horses is to assume that, for example, my goal is to ride in the World Championships. In such a situation, the horse can easily be burned because there is too much pressure on it. The point is to dose it all wisely, feel the possibilities and give it as much time as it needs."

A Career in Germany

After having lived in Germany for 20 years, Beata believes she would not have achieved such progress in her riding and success if she were to have stayed in Poland.

"What's amazing here in Germany is the training system and the number of competitions you can compete in. Here you gain real routine and experience, and even when I go to competitions "around the corner", I often compete with Olympic champions and top professionals," she said. "It is known that without constant work on yourself, you have no chance against these top riders. And in this way, being constantly confronted with such a high level, it is, in my opinion, much easier to achieve something. On the other hand, I think that nowadays, with the possibility of online training, there are many more opportunities for development, even if you are not sitting in a riding center. What is very important in my opinion is to constantly be hungry for knowledge, keep your feet firmly on the ground and remain humble."

For the past two years she's been training with Christian Wendel.

"He is a judge for GP level," said Beata. "Christian is very honest and critical, gives me a lot of support and is a true Team Member, for better or for worse. I also benefit greatly from his point of view as a referee. He is very pro-horse and pays great attention to the specificity of a given horse and adapts to its character. Everything is very book-based and we always do a lot of work on the basics."

Frizzantino Runner-Up

The second place in the 2023 Louisdor Cup Final went to Spaniard Borja Carrascosa Martinez aboard his own and his life and business partner's Alexander Brenninkmeijer's 8-year old Hanoverian Frizzantino (by Finest x Quaterback).

The pair showed big trot extensions and fluent trot half passes although he lost the hindquarters a little in the ones to the left. The first piaffe had good activity from behind, but the horse leaned on the forehand, instead of sitting. The second piaffe was a bit better,. The passage was electric and off the ground. The extended walk had two hooves overstep and the horse was marching actively. The tall and impressive Frizzantino had a lot of scope in the canter work but the 8-year old does not yet have the true self carriage yet. There was a big booboo in the two tempi changes. The zig zag worked out but the half passes to the right were more difficult. Also in the ones, the horse had to put in a lot of effort. The pirouettes had outstanding potential with the horse really showing ability to collect and sit. Overall it was obvious that the Grand Prix was a big ask for Frizzantino. He was not truly in self carriage and was often flexed to the right with a rigid mouth, not showing equal elasticity on both reins, but the potential for the future was definitely there.

They scored 73.280% for second place with three judges having them first; one second and one third. The mistakes in the two's probably dropped them to the reserve champion's place.

Fortunity Third

The Hamburg based Portuguese rider Nuno Palma e Santos landed third lace aboard Fortunity S, an 8-year old Hanoverian by Franziskus x Weltmeyer, bred by Karin Storkamp.

The chestnut probably showed the most promise and talent in the piaffe and passage of all horses today. The first passage was excellent, the second a bit searching in the rhythm. Riding in old-school cream breaches, Nuno presented his young Fortunity S in a consistent frame where the nose could have been a bit more out. The trot extensions were a bit hurried, but the horse showed clear lengthening of stride (there could be more lengthening of frame). In the half passes left the hindquarters trailed a bit. The weak point was the walk, the extended had plenty of overtrack but lacked clarity in rhythm, in the collected the horse became lateral in the corner and quite short on the short side. The two tempi changes were straight. The canter stride got slightly short at times, but the zig zag was well executed. The one tempi changes were ground covering and straight. The pirouettes were promising; but the balance was a bit missing in this young Grand Prix horse. The passage on the final centerline was very expressive with lots of talent in the piaffe at X. An interesting horse for the future.

The pair scored 73.120% and placed second with three judges and third with two judges. The entire top three scored in the 73% range, while the fourth to sixth pair all landed scores round 70%.

Previous Winners
Rothenberger and Kjaerholms Fendi Win 2022 Louisdor Cup Finals in Frankfurt
Total Hope Wins 2021 Louisdor Cup Finals for Developing Grand Prix Horses
Sandra Nuxoll and Bonheur de la Vie Reign Supreme in 2020 Louisdor Cup Finals
Senta Kirchhoff and L'Arbuste, Surprise Winners of 2019 Louisdor Cup Finals for Developing Grand Prix Horses
Blue Hors Veneziano Wins 2018 Louisdor Cup Finals for Developing Grand Prix Horses
TSF Dalera BB Wins 2017 Louisdor Cup Finals for Developing Grand Prix Horses
Sammy Davis Jr Wins the 2016 Louisdor Cup Finals for German Developing Grand Prix Horses
Rothenberger and Cosmo Win 2015 Louisdor Cup Finals' Warm Up Class at 2015 CDI Frankfurt
Brigitte Wittig and Balmoral W Win 2013 Louisdor Cup
Thomas Wagner and Very Keen Win 2012 Louisdor Cup Finals
Diva Royal Wins 2011 Tesch Inkasso Cup for Upcoming Grand Prix Horses
Werth's El Santo NRW Wins 2010 Medien Cup Finals
Dablino Wins 2009 Medien Cup Finals
Carabas Wins 2008 Medien Cup Finals
Floresco Wins 2007 HKM Upcoming Grand Prix Horse Finals