Saddled on the 12-year-old mare Shannondale Mari at the 39th International STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS Horse Show, he went clear in phase 2 of the course in a time of 30.65 seconds to pocket prize money totalling 5,000 euro. “I’ve been coming to Stuttgart for many years now. There’s always a great atmosphere here,” said the delighted winner. “For Shannondale Mari, it was the first indoor derby, but riding my former horse Rioghan Rua, Jennifer Kuehnle came third today.” Last year’s winner (0/32.05) was pipped to second place just before the end of the competition by German Arne Bergendahl in the saddle on Cliemann, a nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding (0/31,7). It earned him a 3,500-euro purse. Watched on by a 5,500 crowd, Germany’s two-time Olympic team gold medalist Ingrid Klimke finished fourth in 32.2 seconds, one place to the good of the local hero Michael Jung. The team European Championship victor in Blenheim clocked 32.24 seconds to place fifth.
Earlier in the afternoon, 3,900 spectators followed the dressage class for the Prize of iWEST, the Baden-Württemberg final in the NÜRNBERGER Burg-Pokal for juniors and the jumping competition for the Prize of Schmidt Sporthandschuhe.
