At the 2001 German Dressage Championships in Munster, Germany, July 13 - 15, Nadine Capellmann won the national title with her Westfalian gelding Farbenfroh.
Isabell Werth claimed the reserve champion's title and Heike Kemmer become third overall.
The duo Capellmann/Farbenfroh started off the championships in absolute grandeur. In the Grand Prix the pair rode a world record of 78.72%, but failed to maintain this surreal level of performance further down the competition. In the Special Capellmann become second with 75.02% and in the kur she even moved into a fifth position with 75.76%. Nevertheless, thanks to Farbenfroh's superb runs in the grand prix and special, Capellmann was able to create a distance of 8 percent between overall second placed Isabell Werth.
Farbenfroh was not at all pleased with the soft murmur coming from the speaker's microphone and was a few moments unfocussed in the freestyle, which eventually led to small mistakes and a fifth place in that class. "Farbenfroh is a horse which dangles between genius and lunacy," Capellmann said afterwards. Her 11-year-old Freudentanzer get will from now on be trained at home with microphone noise in the arena. The WDR tv-channel was kind enough to offer Mrs Capellmann a microphone for free.
The Kur to Music was won by Isabell Werth and her 15-year old Hanoverian Anthony FRH (by Argument/T). "Isabell is such a qualified rider. She can push any horse to the limit of its capabilities," team coach Holger Schmezer stated. Heike Kemmer placed third overall. Manager of the famous stallion station Amselhof Walle, Kemmer rode her first mount, the Oldenburger gelding Albano (by Argentinus).
The German Olympic Equestrian Committee (DOKR) announced that Isabell Werth, Nadine Capellmann, Heike Kemmer and Ulla Salzgeber are the German team riders for the European Dressage Championships in Verden, August 8-12. Rudolf Zeilinger, best male grand prix rider at the German Championships, is selected as reserve rider for the team.
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Source: Eurodressage / Westline
Scores of the 2001 German Dressage Championships
Image copyrighted: Dirk Caremans (no reproduction without permission)