Participants for the 2024 Piaff Forderpreis Selection Trial Announced

Dressage

Germany

The participants for the 2024 Piaff Förderpreis selection trial have been announced. A group of 26 riders, plus the U25 squad riders, are invited to the selection trial in Warendorf.

Piaff Forderpreis

The Piaff Förderpreis is a German Under 25 show circuit with four selection trials and a finals. The concept was first tested in a pilot project in 2000, won by Hubertus von Zedwitz in Leverkusen.

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. The qualifiers were in Bad Honnef, Münster, Donaueschingen, Bad Salzuflen and Leverkusen and the finals in Stuttgart. Ellen Schulten-Baumer won the first official edition.

Changed Format in 2024

For 2024 quite a few changes have been made to the Piaff Förderpreis circuit.

For starters two "pre"-selection trials were held before the actual selection trial in Warendorf in March. This year the northern based riders had to ride a selection trial in Warendorf and the southern based riders one in Ansbach last weekend in order for a group to take shape.

"In the past couple of years, we had about 40 combinations and more for 3 days in that one selection in Warendorf. These were to many to look after properly," German team trainer Monica Theodorescu told Eurodressage. "Also, judges were not happy to judge that many at once. The Piaff selection is meant to be elite. Therefore we made the decision to have 2 pre selections, northern part and southern part of Germany. The participants rode the U25 GP and 27 riders of those are invited to come for 2 days to Warendorf at the end of March. Then 12 to 15 combinations will be selected for the Piaff Preis series depending on performance and perspective."

This year there will be four qualifiers in Mannheim, Balve, Bettenrode and Elmlohe, and the finals have moved from Stuttgart to Donaueschingen.

The 2024 Selection Trial Candidates

Bayerns Pferd published a list of Twenty-six riders and 28 horses that can ride in the selection trial in Warendorf, plus the Under 25 squad riders who automatically qualify for the circuit (Luca Collin, Felicitas Hendricks, Helen Erbe, Anna Schölermann, Thomas Trischberger, Semmieke Rothenberger).

Past winning horse-and-rider combinations are eligible to ride on the circuit again but this rarely happens. Last time a double winner happened was in 2007 (Rath on Renoir).

They are:

Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel - Damien Hirst FH
Annika Bork - Franz von Fidertanz
Anna Casper - Bacardi
Sophie Dammeyer - Volare B
Luisa Deutschbauer - Hanami OLD
Emma Gömmer - Grey Flanell
Nane Grunewald - Don Casati
Franziska Haase - De Nino
Sophie Kaltenbacher - Impression
Alina Kaltstein - United Europ
Christian Kömpf - Dicaprio Swing
Caroline Locklair - Consus
Paul Löcher - Soulman
Franka Mertens - Lille d’or
Leonie Ottmar - Sansibar
Lana Raumanns - Feodor Nymphenburg OLD
Sophia Ritzinger - Immerdale
Henriette Schmidt - Freundschaft
Ophelia Shalom - Dolce Fita
Viviane Thoma - Ammondite
Moritz Treffinger - Fiderdance and Cadeau Noir
Emely van Loon mit Desperieux
Cosima von Fircks - Easy Fellow
Elisabeth von Wulfen - Tripple A
Lia Welschof - GB Dolcino and First Class
Ninya Wingender - Qumulus AH