Five-star dressage with Christmas decoration, three-star jumping competitions under the Christmas wreath, and the Hessian riders opening this extraordinary event: The International Horse Show Frankfurt (IFRF) will once again bathe the Festhalle in its purple equestrian dress and will now celebrate its 49th edition from 15 to 18 December 2022.
Festive Atmosphere in Festhalle
"Of course, it's nice to ride indoors at the Schafhof, and the hall offers an insane amount, but it doesn't have the same feeling as the Festhalle. When you ride in there and it's sold out and you feel that atmosphere - it's sensational."
With these words, show director Matthias Alexander Rath summed up last year after the second Schafhof edition. Even then with the great hope that this year the Festhalle itself can once again be the 'host' for horses, riders, and many thousands of equestrian sports fans. In the meantime, the preparations for the IFRF are in full swing.
"It's tingling," Rath admits with a smile. "The whole team is tingling; everyone wants to be in the Festhalle and I would like to be there twice: as organiser and rider."
Christmas Celebration
The many children who are taking part in the traditional Cerberus Home Children's Competition and who are busy creating obstacles for the IFRF are already getting excited in anticipation. For those who are looking forward to receiving one of the gifts from the Christmas tree giveaway. And to those whose facilities can provide even more help where help is needed thanks to the 'Purple Horse' donations. The pre-Christmas atmosphere in Frankfurt's 'Gudd Stubb' is the Christmas highlight for all equestrian fans. With the charity events at the IFRF, everyone can contribute to sharing this pre-Christmas joy - joy shared is joy doubled.
Action Packed Programme
Eight international show jumping competitions with the Youngster Tour for six to seven-year-old horses, four world ranking show jumping competitions and the Grand Prix of Hesse presented by Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG. A total of more than 160,000 Euros in prize money is at stake for the international showjumpers.
Jumping review - the last Grand Prix winner in the Festhalle in 2019 was Jan Wernke with his then 17-year-old Queen Mary. "Queeny has been with me for eleven years. The fact that it worked out like this today is very emotional and beautiful for me," explained the visibly overwhelmed winner at the time. Who will lead the great lap of honour of the international show jumpers this year?
(Photo © Lafrentz)
Dressage review - the winner of the 2019 Frankfurt Freestyle was a very special one: Isabell Werth's 17-year-old Don Johnson, who competed in his very last competition in Frankfurt and bid farewell with a top-fit 82.8 percent: "What more do you wish for than to see a horse off so fit? The fact that the audience celebrated this horse so much was really very special. Thank you very much for that!" Werth was touched and still had moist eyes an hour after this special victory.
Regional and International Stars
The top sport with all its emotions is one thing, the other is the Hessians themselves. The team of organisers from the Frankfurt tournament stables Schwarz-Gelb e.V. in conjunction with Schafhof Connects GmbH & Co.KG have been cultivating Thursday as FRAPORT Hessentag for years - with regional stars, the best juniors, for select club teams, up-and-coming show-jumping professionals and with the spectators' favourite, the show competition of the Hessian clubs. When Hessen's riding clubs with all their members and supporters transform the Festhalle into their special colourful, exciting equestrian stage, everyone is sure to feel that special IFRF tingle.
Tickets on Sale
Tickets for the International Horse Show Frankfurt 2022 are available either directly via the website www.festhallenreitturnier-frankfurt.com or from the ticket service provider Reservix www.reservix.de. If you have purchased tickets for the IFRF 2020 or 2021, please be sure to keep them, as they will remain valid in 2022.
Further information at: www.festhallenreitturnier-frankfurt.com