Stuttgart – About 150 riders from 25 nations and more than 300 horses: the 26th International STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS Horse Show in the Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle from 17 - 21 November 2010 will once again be a meeting place for the world’s elite. Not only the quantity but also the quality of the competitors is of the highest class – in addition to the individual world champions and the numerous team world champions and medal winners, who were all recently crowned in Lexington, a whole host of Olympic and European champions will also be saddling or yoking their horses at the indoor horse show in Stuttgart. “The entry list in the five disciplines, jumping, dressage, driving, eventing and vaulting, is like an equestrian Who’s Who,” said Andreas Kroll, CEO of the in.Stuttgart Veranstaltungsgesellschaft, “and the fans’ interest is huge.”
Spectators are certain to flock to the “hall duo” in the NeckarPark over the five days of the horse show and sell-out crowds are guaranteed, “especially as we won’t only be presenting top class sport but also attractive show numbers,” said Andreas Kroll when highlighting the time tested and highly successful mixture in the programme of the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS. Equestrian enthusiasts are not only attracted by the international stars but they are also drawn year in, year out by the platform given to the riders from the Federal State of Baden Württemberg.
World Champion Philippe Le Jeune heads the entry list
The entry list for the jumping competitions is headed by the World Champion Philippe Le Jeune (Belgium). “He won the final in Lexington in convincing style after remaining faultless in all four rides,” enthused Hauke Schmidt. The Technical Director is responsible for rider liaison and has known Le Jeune well for many years now. The reigning European Champion and world No. 1 Kevin Staut (France) and the German team World Champions Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Carsten-Otto Nagel and Marcus Ehning (he won the World Cup in April) and the Swedish Olympic silver medal winner Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, to name but a few, will also be saddling up in Stuttgart, the state capital.
The entry lists contains lots more big names in the equestrian scene. For instance there’s the fourth-placed rider at the 2006 World Championships Aachen, Edwina Alexander (Australia), Patrice Delaveau (France), who won the MERCEDES GERMAN MASTER in the Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle last year, the two German stars Ludger Beerbaum (winner of the 2009 Grand Prix) and Lars Nieberg, who together have won numerous gold medals at Olympic Games and World and European Championships, the 2009 team European Champions Steve Guerdat and Pius Schwizer from Switzerland, the strong women riders Jessica Kürten (Ireland) and Luciana Diniz (Portugal) or the “oldie” Michael Whitaker (Great Britian). Three local heroes from Baden Württemberg have also been given the chance to compete in the international tour competitions: Timo Beck, Markus Kölz and Andreas Krieg.
Top class entry in the dressage classes
Edward Gal (Netherlands) and Isabell Werth (Germany) are the top dressage stars. Gal enchanted spectators and judges alike over the past two years aboard his black stallion Totilas. He won the World Cup and was a multiple World and European Championship winner. However his top horse was sold for a large sum and is now in Paul Schockemöhle’ stables. “Edward Gal will however be bringing Sisther de Jeu to Stuttgart and the horse is almost in the same class,” said Gotthilf Riexinger. Isabell Werth, the “dressage queen”, has collected medals of all colours at all the major championships in the past. Her record reads, five Olympic golds, six World Championship titles and 14 European Championship gold medals. Nadine Capellmann won team gold in Hong Kong alongside Isabell Werth and the two were team World Champions in Aachen in 2006. Laura Bechtolsheimer (Great Britian) managed to win individual bronze and team silver at the 2009 European Championships in Windsor, the Dane Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein took the team bronze medal in Hong Kong in 2008. Others on the cards are Olympic Champion Ulla Salzgeber, who is again looking to mix it with the best, and the Italian Valentina Truppa. Horse Show director, Gotthilf Riexinger: “Valentina Truppa rides in the Carabinieri uniform and is a welcome ray of hope and she adds a spot of colour to the dressage scene.”
Michael Jung - local hero and crowd puller
Star and local hero at the Indoor-Derby on Wednesday 17 November starting at 10.00 pm is the very first German individual eventing World Champion, Michael Jung from the Black Forest town of Horb. The first German World Cup winner (2009) has dominated three day eventing for over a year now. And he has also already been highly successful at the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS when winning the Indoor-Derby on four occasions (2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009). But “Gold-Jung” will not only do battle against riders from his own country – headed by team Olympic Champions Ingrid Klimke and Frank Ostholt – but he will also have to contend with three day eventing stars from Brazil (Ruy Fonseca), Schweden (Sara Algotsson-Ostholt, Hannes Melin), Great Britain (Alice Dunsdon, Nicola Wilson), New Zealand (Jocelyn Daniel) and Switzerland (Eveline Bodenmüller).
If that isn’t enough, Michael Jung has also qualified for the third time for the final of the iWEST-Dressur-Cup, the unofficial state championships. He came sixth in the class in 2005, and fourth 2009. In 2010, he will come to Stuttgart as the No. 1 on the list of qualifiers. The second highlight on Thursday, 18 November, the “Day of the Baden Württemberg Riders”, is the final of the BW Bank Indoor Jumping Championships for which the top 27 from four qualifying competitions in summer have qualified. Up-and-coming riders are also always given an opportunity to shine at the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS. This year is no exception as the young jumpers have the Nürnberger Junior Championships to look forward to on Wednesday (4.00 pm). One day later, the dressage riders will get their chance in the Piaff-Förderpreis (Thursday, 3.00 pm).
Michael Brauchle from Lauchheim: on his own against six World Champions
World Champion Boyd Excell will go into the four-in-hand driving competition, which has World Cup points at stake, as the favourite. It won’t be easy for the Australian as the Dutch team World Champions Ijsbrand Chardon, Koos de Ronde and Theo Timmermann will all be at the reins as will two former World Champions from Hungary Zoltán Lázár and József Dobrowitz. The strong line-up is completed by youngster Michael Brauchle, 20, (Germany) who will be looking to spring a surprise or two against the world class opposition.
The highlights of the five days of the horse show for the jumpers will be the MERCEDES GERMAN MASTER late on Friday evening (10 pm) and then the final event on Sunday (2.55 pm), the Grand Prix of Stuttgart presented by Mercedes-Benz and BW Bank. It counts towards the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping™ series so that riders have the chance to win both prize money and valuable points for the World Cup ranking. The same applies to the SCHENKER GERMAN MASTER four-in-hand-drivers on Saturday afternoon (4.00 pm), which is also a FEI World Cup Driving™ event.
Highlights of the dressage are the freestyle competition for the Prize of the Nürnberger Versicherungsgruppe (Saturday, 1.40 pm) and the Grand Prix Special for the Prize of the Meggle Gruppe (Sunday, 10.00 am). The programme also includes the finals of the Championship of the Nürnberger Versicherung (Wednesday, 4.00 pm) and the Piaff-Förderpreis of the Liselott and Klaus Rheinberger Foundation (Friday, 3.00 pm). There are a total of 26 classes for which the prize money amounts to more than 500,000 euro. Three Mercedes cars with a total value of about 130,000 euro are also up for grabs.
Wednesday evening with the Mercedes Jump and Drive, show programme and the Indoor Derby
The Mercedes Jump and Drive will open the show evening (from 8.00 pm) on Wednesday at 7.00 pm. On show will be the free-running herd of Arabian horses and the chestnut Black Forest horses belonging to the nearby “Haupt- und Landgestüts Marbach – the state stud farm -, shepherd Anne Krüger with her Heidschnucke sheep and dogs, Lorenzo and his breathtaking stunts and impressive shire horses, the world’s biggest. Some of the show numbers will be repeated during the following four days of the horse show – on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening as well as after the Grand Prix on Sunday.
