Baumgurtel and Ludvigsen Win Individual Gold at 2024 European Young Riders / Under 25 Championships

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2024 European Young Riders / Under 25 Championships

Young rider Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel and Under 25 rider Sophia Ludvigsen became the winners of the individual test gold medal at the 2024 European Young Riders / Under 25 Championships in St. Margarethen, Austria on Saturday 20 July 2024.

After Germany topped the nations' ranking in both divisions at the start of the show, the competition continued with the individual test. For the young riders it's their identically named "individual test" while the Under 25 perform the original "short Grand Prix" which is now known as the U25 Grand Prix.

The individual test was spread out over two days - Friday 19 July and Saturday 20 July.

Young Riders: Baumgürtel Back on Gold

Seasoned youth team rider Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel is riding her eighth European Championships in her career, starting on ponies and winning the title in both 2016, 2017, and 2020. She was the European Junior Champion in 2021, got silver and bronze in 2022 and is now back on gold and the title in 2024.

The YR podium: Pistner, Baumgurtel, Heiden

Young professional Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel has been competing her 12-year old KWPN gelding Hugo (by Spielberg x San Remo) since 2021. He had a year break in 2023 but is now back on form and scooped up his second gold medal of the week. The par dominated the individual test, which judges Hans Voser, Malgorzata Pawlowska, Lars Andersson, Ulrike Nivelle, and Thomas Lang rewarded with a winning 74.853%. four of them had her first with marks between 74.8 - 76.3 while the judge at C was considerably lower with 72.794%. The pair scored well on the tempi changes and half pirouettes, but the rein back lacked some polish.

The silver medal was for team mate Valentina Pistner aboard her 16-year old Oldenburg Flamboyant (by Fidertanz x De Niro). In her 10th year competing at international level, Pistner has five European Championships to her name. She won Kur gold as a junior in 2020 and has a wide array of silver and bronze medals over the years. Today she added another silver to her collection after posting 74.417%. The judges were quite divided with 76.912% as high score (1st) and 72.353 (6th) as low score. Pistner was a long-time student of Stefanie Kerner, but now she studies in The Netherlands and trains with Vincent van Gasselt.

Another rider who made her experience count was Dutch Robin Heiden on the home-bred 13-year old KWPN gelding Gasmonkey (by Tuschinski x Ferro). Heiden began her CDI career on ponies in 2018 and is riding her sixth European Championship already. Gasmonkey has been her loyal partner along the way since junior time in 2020. Year after year they improved and finally they hit the individual podium after posting a 73.441% score. Her low score was 71.471%, while 74.706% was the high score. She got solid 8s for the half pirouettes, but also struggled a bit with the rein back.

Dutch team new comer Tessa Kole and the 9-year old KWPN bred Hexagon's King Robert (by Capri Sonne JR x Rubiquil) posed a personal best of 72.265 to finish fourth. British team rookie Oliver Gould pulled a similar stunt on the 12-year old Westfalian Virtue (by Vitalis x Krack C), bred by Dane Rawlins, and completed the top five on a personal best of 72.059%

Under 25: Sophia Ludvigsen On Top

The U25 podium: Pidgley, Ludvigsen, Treffinger

In the Under 25 division, which wrapped up the short Grand Prix Saturday afternoon, the podium had riders from three different nations.

Denmark's brand new Under 25 champion Sophia Ludvigsen proved that also on European level she is the best of the moment. Aboard the 10-year old Hanoverian Blue Hors Quintana (by Quantensprung x Desperados), she aced the class on a score of 72.231%. The collected walk was a bit problematic and the canter half passes lacked polish, but the pair scored well in the tempi changes. Judges Maarten Van der Heijden, Alice Schwab, Kurt Christensen, Isabelle Judet, and Clive Halsall ere fairly divided as 70.128% was the low score (7th) and 73.718% the high score (1st). Ludvigsen is the only rider the Kirk Kristiansen family retained, alongside Nanna Merrald, since Blue Hors stud closed its doors in April.

British Annabella Pidgley is considered the favourite for gold as she rides the most experienced and decorated horse of all in the field, Charlotte Dujardin's Tokyo Olympic bronze medal winner Gio (by Apache x Tango). Riding her first championships at this level, Pidgley topped the board in the Intermediaire II, but in the Short Grand Prix they just stayed short of the highest step on the podium. Their score of 72.205% put them second. High marks were given for the entry and halt and extended canter, but today the pair had issues in the transitions in and out of piaffe. Her individual marks went from 70.897% (4th) to 74.231% (2nd).

Unlike many of his colleagues, Germany's Moritz Treffinger has only ridden one other European Championships in his career: the 2018 European Pony Championships, where he won triple gold on Top Queen H. In 2019 he became a junior but never made it back on the German team until this year, when he decided to become a professional rider and take the number one riding job at Gestut Bonhomme near Berlin. With the 14-year old Hanoverian stallion Cadeau Noir (by Christ x De Niro), who has been trained to Grand prix level by Lena Waldmann and Simone Pearce, he finished third and got bronze. They earned a score of 71.795%. His low score was 70.00% (4th), his high score 74.487% (1st).

Veteran youth rider Marten Luiten and the 14-year old KWPN mare Fynona (by Ampere x Gribaldi) landed just off the podium in fourth place with 71.692%. A student of Dutch judge Monique Peutz, Luiten is fifth Euros on Fynona and has never gone home without two individual medals each time. In 2021 he was the undisputed European Young Riders Champion. German Anna Schölermann and the 11-year old Hanoverian stallion Bon Scolari (by Bon Bravour x Scolari) completed the top five with 71.667%. Schölermann rides for Hubertus Schmidt.