"I am thrilled at how Augustin performed here," said a delighted Victoria Max-Theurer after the Prix St. Georges, the first dressage competition at the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO 2007. The 21-year-old Austrian rider took the lead with a score of 71.2 percent.
"Augustin is only seven years old and sometimes he is still a bit wild. On Monday he played up that much during training that he nearly threw me off. Today, he was simply fantastic and I have finally got my first ribbon in Aachen," said an elated Max-Theurer, who already went down in the history books as the youngest rider to take part in the European Dressage Championships in 2003 - at the age of only 17. The stallion Augustin, was bred by her parents and is a son of her Grand Prix horse, August der Starke.
Second place went to Matthias-Alexander Rath, who is only a year older. The step-son of Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff, 2002 team World Champion, gave a stable performance on the Weltmeyer son, Weltmeyer Junior, showing only minor mistakes in the half-pirouette in walk and in the rein-back. Rath and the nine-year-old gelding, sold as a top horse at the Verden Elite Auction some years ago, were awarded 70.45 percent by the judges.
The two "youngsters" finished in front of many-time Olympic gold medallist Isabell Werth, who took fourth place with the approved stallion, Fuchsberger, a Fidermark x Faschingsprinz son achieving a total score of 68.25 percent. The British rider, Emma Hindle, claimed third place with the approved Zangersheide stallion Chequille, a Caretano Z son, scoring 69 percent.
The Bavarian-born Max Wadenspanner - who rides for Hof Rossheide in Aachen - the home of Olympic rider Alexandra Simons-de Ridder - is only 21 years old too. He had a few problems with the flying changes today with his Hessen stallion Moosbends Ricardos, who won the Southern German Championships as a four-year-old: He received a score of 61.55 percent.
Freestyle World Champion Anky van Grunsven wasn't very happy. "Nelson was very nervous at the start, he had great contact problems. I have only been riding him at shows for a year, he hadn't competed at all previously although he is already 12. Before that he was just out at grass, because he was lame and once he was fit again, I thought: "I'll ride him again to see how he is and so I started training him again," the Dutch rider explained about her Weltmeyer son.
As well as the many young riders, a further trend was noticeable: There were an unusually high number of stallions among the starting field of twelve horses, seven in total. For instance one of the calling cards of the Brandenburg State Stud Neustadt/Dosse: Samba Hit, a full-brother of Poetin, the Sandro Hit daughter that went under the hammer for 2.5 million Euros. Ridden by Christian Flamm (28), the nine-year-old stallion, a finalist in the 2006 Nurenberg Burgpokal, finished with a score of 66.5 percent.
Photos copyrighted: Barbara Schnell
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