2024 Piaff Förderpreis Finals Not Be Held in Stuttgart

Dressage

Germany

The German equestrian federation has announced that the Piaff Förderpeis Finals of 2024 will not be held in Stuttgart. The Finals will be hosted next year at the CDI Donaueschingen.

The Piaff Forderpreis

The Piaff Förderpreis is a German Under 25 show circuit with four selection trials - this year in Mannheim, Balve, Bettenrode and Elmlohe - held in spring and summer and normally the Finals in Stuttgart.

The participants for the qualifiers are decided at a training seminar and selection trial held in Warendorf in February. Approximately 15 riders are selected at the seminar to compete in the qualifiers and 8 are invited to the finals in Stuttgart.

Pilot Project

The German equestrian federation first tested the Piaff Förderpreis concept with a "pilot project" in 2000. The finals were staged in Leverkusen on 28 - 29 October 2000.

The winner of the pilot project was the then 24-year old Hubertus von Zedtwitz, who rode the then 10-year old Rhinelander gelding Rubicon M (by Rhythmus x Waldmeister x Darwin) to a third place in the warm-up round and the victory in the long Grand Prix.

Remember the First Winner?

The first official Piaff Förderpreis was held in 2001. Twenty-eight riders were invited to Warendorf for the training and selection days and 10 of them were picked by then German team trainer Holzer Schmezer for the circuit. The qualifiers were held in Bad Honnef, Münster, Donaueschingen, Bad Salzuflen and Leverkusen and the finals were in Stuttgart, where they have always been except in the corona years 2020-2021 when they moved to Kronberg behind closed doors.

The winner of the first edition in 2001 was Ellen Schulten-Baumer, stepdaughter of the legendary trainer Dr. Uwe Schulten-Baumer. She became a member of the German team at the 2009 Europeans in Windsor with Donatha S. Her last international start was in 2015. Since then she has focused on national competitions. She last showed in October 2022. She recently resurfaced when she bought the auction price highlight in Verden.

The 2024 Show Circuit

Rath and Renoir won the Piaff
Forderpreis finals in Stuttgart in 2006

The 2024 Piaff Förderpreis show circuit will include four qualifiers: Mannheim (1 - 7 May), Balve (6 - 9 June), Bettenrode (11 - 14 July), and Elmlohe (1 - 4 August).

The finals will take place at the CDI Donaueschingen on 12 - 15 September.

"We are happy to have great qualifiers for the Piaff Förderpreis again and are excited about the new host for the final, the CHI Donaueschingen. The date in September fits perfectly, so the finale can be a good end to the outdoor season and the riders have the opportunity to plan their winter individually in order to take further steps towards the Grand Prix,” said Sebastian Heinze, German U25 team trainer.

The show management of the Finals and CHI Donaueschingen is carried out by Matthias Rath's company Schafhof Connects. Rath was the winner of the Finals in 2006. "I still remember very clearly how this series helped me make the jump into the big sport," said Rath.