![Tessa Kole, Lucie-Anouk Baumgurtel and Frederikke Gram Jacobson on the Kur Podium at the 2024 European Young Riders Championships :: Photos © Lukasz Kowalski](/sites/default/files/styles/max_650x650/public/database-story-thumb/2024-07/24_euyru25c_kurpod_0_01.jpg?itok=Uzzl-AkN)
Young Rider Lucie-Anouk Baumgurtel and Under 25 Grand Prix rider Annabella Pidgley added a gold medal to their tally on the concluding day of competition at 2024 European Young Riders / Under 25 Championships in St Margarethen, Austria.
Hosted at Reiterhof Stückler, these Europeans were blessed with hot summer weather and a wet thunderstorm. The 18 best riders of the individual test (only three per nation) moved towards the freestyle final on Sunday 21 July 2024, which started bright and early with the young riders going first.
Young Riders: Triple Gold for Baumgurtel
Young professional rider Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel made these Europeans her own and scored triple gold aboard her 12-year old KWPN gelding Hugo (by Spielberg x San Remo), whom she's been competing since 2021. After being a triple European Pony Champion (2016, 2017, 2020) and the European Junior Riders Champion (2021), she can now crown herself European Young Riders Champion, a hattrick of titles bestowed on only very few youth riders.
The podium in the freestyle is often a copy of the individual test but not this time. Two new riders wiggled themselves on the silver and bronze step of the podium. Dutch team rookie Tessa Koole and the 9-year old Hexagon's King Robert (by Capri Sonne Jr x Rubiquil) achieved a personal best of 77.665% to finish second with silver. She scored between 76.625% and 79.425%. Kole is a professional rider at Leunus van Lieren's stable Hexagon in The Netherlands. She is a student of Thamar Zweistra since she was 12.
Individual test silver medal winner Valentina Pistner landed off the podium after scoring 75.960% for fourth place. She and Flamboyant (by Fidertanz x De Niro) had some issues in the half pirouettes. The third German to have made it into the freestyle, Allegra Schmitz-Morkramer on Libertad (by Londontime x San Remo) placed fifth with 75.845%. The individual test bronze medal winner, Robin Heiden and Gasmonkey, were sixth with 75.700%. They lost points in the walk part.
Under 25: From Silver to Gold for Pidgley
In St. Margarethen the student of Charlotte Dujardin won individual test silver on Saturday, but put the icing on top Sunday afternoon by claiming Kur gold aboard her 13-year old KWPN gelding Gio (by Apache x Tango). As last to go into the arena and riding to Dujardin's music composed for Gio, Annabella produced a forward and fluent test which judges Alice Schwab, Kurt Christensen, Isabelle Judet, Clive Halsall, and Maarten Van der Heijden rewarded with the winning score of 79.515%. The panel was slightly divided as three had her first, one third and one fourth. The marks ranged between 77.325ù and 81.400%.
The bronze went to the winner of the individual test, Denmark's Sophia Ludvigsen on the 10-year old Hanoverian gelding Blue Hors Quintana (by Quentensprung x Desperados). The black, with his misleadingly feminine name, is a former licensed stallion. The pair landed third place with 77.985%. He ranked between first and seventh with marks going from 75.900% to 80.950%.
And that concludes the 2024 European Young Riders / Under 25 Championships in Austria. Next year the meeting point for the European YR/U25 Championships is at Gestut Schafhof in Kronberg (10 - 13 July 2025).
Text © Eurodressage - Photos Lukasz Kowalski
Related Links
Scores: 2024 European Young Riders / Under 25 Championships
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2024 European Young Rider & Under 25 Championships