“The fans are highly expectant,” says Andreas Kroll, the CEO of the in.Stuttgart Veranstaltungsgesellschaft, with a hint of pride in his voice. At the press conference at Mercedes-Benz on 5 November, he announced, “We’ve already sold more than 43,000 tickets for the nine sessions spread over the five days of the horse show.”
More than 170 riders from 26 countries will be saddling or poling up more than 300 horses in Stuttgart. The top international stars have again been attracted by the tried and trusted mixture of high-quality classes, the chance to collect points for the World Cup finals, the prestigious GERMAN MASTER titles and the two Mercedes-Benz cars for the winners and the prize money. Optimal riding conditions in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, the large warm-up area in the Porsche-Arena and the excellent stable facilities additionally ensure everybody loves coming to the state capital of Baden Württemberg. The outstanding atmosphere in the generally sold-out indoor arena also enthuses the protagonists. “The spectators are very knowledgeable and cheer on each and every competitor,” underlined Andreas Krieg, one of the three horse show directors who himself also enjoyed success in Stuttgart. He now keeps his fingers crossed for his daughter Leonie who has qualified for the final of the BW-Bank Indoor Championship. The sporting importance of the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS is undisputed. At stake in three disciplines are World Cup points for the finals in April 2019: in jumping at the show-ending Grand Prix of Stuttgart with Mercedes-Benz, WALTER solar and BW-Bank for the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM 2018/2019 (Sunday at 15:00 hrs – all times are CET) and in dressage in the Grand Prix Freestyle of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2018/2019 on Saturday (16.30 hrs). The four-in-hand drivers will be competing for the 17th time in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in the FEI Driving World Cup™ 2018/2019 for the DB SCHENKER GERMAN MASTER. The class with two rounds will get underway at 12:45 hrs on Saturday. After eight trial runs, Stuttgart, as everybody knows, hosted the very first driving World Cup event in 2002. For the first time last year, the five-star horse show in the NeckarPark complex staged two classes for the FEI Jumping Ponies Trophy, and they are once again on menu for 2018.
The regional riding elite have their big day on Thursday in the traditional Day of the Baden Württemberg Riders. For the first time ever, the final of the jumping BW-Bank Indoor Championship will be held in prime time (20.15 hrs). The final of the dressage iWEST-Cup begins at 13 hrs. Young riders have also been given a platform, like in the NÜRNBERGER Burg Cup for up-and-coming jumpers (Wednesday 15.15 hrs) or the dressage Piaff-Förderpreis (Friday 8 hrs).
Big show evening on Wednesday with the attractive displays and the Indoor-Derby
The big show evening on Wednesday (19.30 hrs) will begin with the award ceremony for the 2018 Master Stallion which this year will go to Fahrenheit TSF (rider: Anja Plönzke). One performance that regularly enraptures the audience is the display put on by the “Silver Herd” belonging to the “Haupt- und Landgestüt Marbach” – the state breeding stables. The Romanian “horse whisperer” Miron Bococi will show a stunning freedom dressage, Emilie Jumeaux (France) will demonstrate with and on her horse incredible vaulting and acrobatic elements – without a lunger.
The Nieberle Pony Stables will present a quite different quadrille as several “witches” in a harness racing sulky will steer their ponies around eye-catching figures. Old favourites are the down-to-earth Bavarians belonging to the “Oberländer Reitergruppe” who on a number of occasions have performed a Hungarian Post, a “Schuhplattler” – a Bavarian folk dance –, a quadrille or “Goaßlschnalzer” – traditional Bavarian whip cracking – on their placid shire horses. “Working Equitation” sums up the old European working riding which is basically the origin of Western Riding, and the stable manager Miriam Wittmann is a two-time world champion in trail riding. There is a surprise in store for the finale as the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS participants will absolve a course on shire horses as a part of the “Riders Games” number.
A slightly modified eventing Indoor Derby
For the first time, the eventing class for the Prize of WALTER solar with the honorary prize of the “Pferdesafari Reutlingen” on Wednesday at 21.35 hrs will only have two phases. “After the first phase with 18 solid obstacles, a second phase with six knock-downable fences will follow for those that go clear,” explained horse show director Kai Huttrop-Hage. For every fence knocked down, the riders will then, like in speed jumping, be handed four penalty points. The record eight-time winner and title holder Michael Jung is missing this year – the multiple Olympic, world and European champion broke his shoulder in a fall in the middle of October. It means world champion Rosalind Carter (Great Britain), World Championship runner-up Padraig McCarthy (Ireland) and the World Championships bronze medallist and team Olympic champion in 2008 and 2012, Ingrid Klimke, who won in Stuttgart in 2012, are the big favourites. But who knows, perhaps there will be a surprise winner that nobody has on their cards? Like for example the Swiss Tiziana Realini in 2006 or the Frenchman Sidney Dufresne, who, “all in white” shocked the illustrious field in 2015.
Top jumping, dressage and driving stars on the entry list
The jumping entries are headed by Simone Blum, who sensationally won the world championship in Tryon. The German champion (in the men’s class) and her 11-year old Brandenburg mare DSP Alice cleared every single fence in USA and only incurred 3.47 penalty points for exceeding the time allowed. Last year, the 29-year old became the sixth woman to claim the MERCEDES GERMAN MASTER when going clear on Friday evening – it followed up her success in the first qualifying class the day before. Simone Blum created history in Tryon when becoming the second woman after Gail Greenough in 1986 – the Canadian also won the Grand Prix of Stuttgart in the same year – to win the world championship.
The jumping classes in the NeckarPark are sure to be very competitive: there’s the 2012 Olympic champion, bronze medallist in Tryon and winner of the 2017 Grand Prix of Stuttgart, Steve Guerdat (Switzerland), and the Beijing Olympic champion Eric Lamaze (Canada), or the reigning European champion Peder Fredericson (Sweden), but also two of Germany’s bronze medal winning team at the World Champs Marcus Ehning and Maurice Tebbel. The fourth member Laura Klaphake is absent as she is giving the indoor season a miss. Fellow Germans Christian Ahlmann, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Hans-Dieter Dreher – 2013 Grand Prix winner – or the Frenchman Kevin Staut (team Olympic champion in Rio in 2016, winner of the 2012 Grand Prix of Stuttgart and 2009 European champion) as well as the highly experienced Michael Whitaker from Great Britain or the multiple Olympic, world and European champion Ludger Beerbaum (Germany) – they will all be looking to make winning difficult for Simone Blum. Local Baden Württemberg riders Elisabeth Meyer and Marcel Marschall have been given starting places for the Grand Tour.
Dressage: three of the German World Champs team in the Schleyer-Halle line-up
The world’s all-time most successful dressage rider, Isabell Werth, will once again be in the saddle this year in the arena in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle – maybe even on her mare Bella Rose, who after a long injury break returned to competition only in June and then brought tears to eyes of the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS ambassador when winning the World Championship. Isabell Werth has amassed six Olympic gold medals, 17 European Championship golds and then recently her eighth (team) and ninth (Grand Prix Special) world championship title. That a tenth did not come her way was down to Hurricane Florence, which caused a cancellation of the freestyle. The German is also a record winner in Stuttgart (14 Grand Prix Specials, eight freestyle successes) and will be up against, amongst others her World Champs teammates Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Dorothee Schneider. The last mentioned impressed in Tryon on Sammy Davis jr, especially in the Special, and secured herself a place in the freestyle but was thwarted, as previously mentioned, by Florence.
German Helen Langehanenberg, who won Olympic team silver with Dorothee Schneider at the 2012 Games in London, will also be taking part. She will be joined by Fabienne Müller-Lütkemeier, the 2014 team world champion and 2013 team European champion who is one of Germany’s best. “Ingrid Klimke has this year not only entered the Indoor Derby but will also be competing in the World Cup dressage,” said Horse Show Director Carsten Rotermund before adding, “Ingrid even won the freestyle in Stuttgart in 2002.” A three-time Olympian (2000, 2004 and team bronze for Denmark in 2008), Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg – the youngest daughter of Princess Benedikte of Denmark – will also be saddling up in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle.
Four-in-hand: superstar Boyd Exell duelling with superstar Ijsbrand Chardon
In 2017, Australian Boyd Exell, who in Tyron won his sixth World Championship title in his sixth appearance, claimed his sixth title in Stuttgart. His closest rival in the past few years was the 11-time world champion Ijsbrand Chardon (Netherlands), the 2007 and 2016 winner in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle. The Dutchman recently came second in the world championships team event in USA. Belgian Glenn Geerts, who will be appearing for the first time in Stuttgart, won team bronze at the World Equestrian Games before finishing sixth in the individual. Third twice in the past two years, German Georg von Stein will be displaying his driving skills once again this year as will Hungarian József Dobrowitz who secured the win in 2008. After having only previously competed outdoors, the brilliant American Chester Weber turned to indoor driving in 2017 coming third in the warm-up class and fourth in the World Cup qualification. In Tryon, he was runner-up in the individual and world champion with the team.
