(mps) At the third edition of the unofficial regional championships in the framework of the international STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS show in 1988, it was a female rider - Miriam Wurster –who was victorious. Since then, the male riders have dominated this highlight of the show-jumping riders of Baden-Württemberg. Up to Thursday evening, when the 24-year old Verena Karle won the BW-Bank Hallenchampionat, being the first woman after 19 years of men’s dominance.
On Calimero, her 14-year old Holstein gelding, the young female rider first had a clear round in the demanding course in front of 7.400 enthusiastic spectators in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle and then perfectly mastered the jump-off. The skilled industrial clerk needed 38.76 seconds for her victory. Thus, the girl from Dettingen won 3.900 Euro and the prestige to have won the probably most important show-jumping class for the riders from Baden-Württemberg by outpacing the entire regional top riders. With four penalty points and 35.97 seconds, Natasja Kleinpenning, the native Dutchwoman, from Mannheim, who rode Tiger V, became second. Günter Treiber from Eppelheim, the winner of the qualification series for the BW-Bank Hallenchampionat , finished third (8/36.99), riding Concordia.
The daughter of a “horse family”, who had turned her hobby into her job in 2005, had already celebrated a highlight of her career in Stuttgart last year, when she was awarded the “Goldenes Reitabzeichen” for her achievements. However, the triumph has even been better this year: “I thought to be amongst the first five riders and, thus, to be able to compete in the knock out class, would be nice. But I never thought that I could win,” the 24-year said beamingly. “However, I was extremely lucky. My horse perfectly compensated my mistake at the last but one jump in the normal course and twice in the jump-off. I am very grateful“, Karle praised her horse.
However, she also received a lot of praise. Gotthilf Riexinger, the show director, paid the rider from Dettingen “a big compliment for the ride in the normal course and for the one in the jump-off”. And Stefan Schütz, the Leiter Konzernmarketing BW-Bank, confessed: “It was an extremely difficult course. Congratulations to Verena Karle, who has been my secrete favorite from the very beginning today.” Schütz added, that the BW-Bank has supported the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS for 22 years “and we think that we offer the riders from Baden-Württemberg a brilliant opportunity here to participate in such a top-class international show.”
