Stuttgart – Rubbing his hands, horse show director Gotthilf Riexinger commented, “In Stuttgart horse lovers can watch the next generation of Olympic riders.” And that’s what happened on Friday when Stella Charlott Roth (Germany) and her 10-year-old mare Diva Royal followed in the footsteps of her coach and Olympic silver medal winner Dorothee Schneider to secure the win (70.681 per cent) in the final class of the so-called Piaff-Förderpreis awarded by the Liselott Schindling and Klaus Rheinberger Foundation. The proud victor admitted: “The crowd and atmosphere in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle is still awe-inspiring for me but Diva knows in the meantime what it’s all about.” And Dorothee Schneider is also happy with her protégé saying, “It’s nice seeing how the two are gelling together.”
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Together with the 12-year-old gelding Loverboy, Jenny Lang finished second after being given 69.702 per cent. Victoria Michalke and the ten-year-old gelding Dance On placed third with 69.277 per cent.
The head coach of the group containing Germany’s top prospects, Jürgen Koschel, was delighted with the high quality those taking part in the competition for young riders. “Today every rider can ride a Grand Prix. The public also embraces the series as the current Olympic riders made a name for themselves here.” And the new national coach Monica Theodorescu was also full of praise: “It’s great how technically clean the youngsters are riding and how well they sit on the horses.”
