Objective reached – about 60,800 spectators and lots of highlights at the “Michael Jung Festival”

Stuttgart – “We’ve reached our objective and have experienced some excellent equestrian sport at the 26th International STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS Horse Show.” About 60,800 spectators came along to Stuttgart’s Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle over the five days of the show and they showed their appreciation of the rider’s performances by breaking into rapturous applause. “We’re approximately 5 per cent up on last year’s spectator figures.” For Andreas Kroll, CEO of the in.Stuttgart Veranstaltungsgesellschaft, it was a show with many highlights, above all the “Michael Jung Festival”. The local rider won the Indoor Derby, two dressage competitions and the speed jumping against the World Champion Philippe Le Jeune – World Champion beats World Champion.

Horse Show director Gotthilf Riexinger and Hauke Schmidt, the technical director, were also excited by the top equestrian performances by the horses and riders. “We didn’t have just one but hordes of highlights,” said Gotthilf Riexinger. These included Isabell Wert’s dressage rides, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum’s win in the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTER, Timo Beck’s fifth victory in the BW Indoor Championship, Boyd Exell speedy drives and naturally Michael Jung’s rides on his doorstep. “He simply mesmerised the crowds.” There was much praise for the new surface. “It was the basis for many top performances,” agreed Riexinger and Schmidt.

The 26th horse show was also a special occasion for the main sponsors, Mercedes-Benz and BW Bank. “The horse show is the perfect platform for our brands. As far as indoor equestrianism is concerned, it’s the best there is, which is why it’s the perfect match for us,” said Hans-Michael Huber, the managing director of the Mercedes Benz dealership in Stuttgart. He continued: “The run on tickets amongst our customers was enormous.”

Manfred Rube, the spokesman of the BW Bank could only confirm the sentiments: “Our customers love the horse show.” The 25th anniversary of the BW Bank Indoor Championship and Timo Beck’s win in a “fantastic final” was in his view something special. As for the upcoming sponsor negotiations, both Manfred Rube and Hans-Michael Huber, confirmed they were very confident going in to the talks. After all the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS is very close to our hearts. “We’re definitely big supporters,” said Huber.