At every show the freestyle class is a crowd-pleaser and it is no different in Stuttgart where this year the kur was held on Saturday afternoon. Now also the long sleepers among the dressage fans had enough sleep and made a move towards to the Schleyerhalle for dressage action.
After lunch in the press centre with a befriended Swiss journalist I noticed that masses of people were pouring through the entrance of the huge indoor complex. It was still 80 minutes until the freestyle started. I headed off from the press centre to finally visit the several tradestands because there is always something to be bought if you have a horse!
On my way I meet another Swiss journalist and she asks me to come with her to watch the vaulting. As I had never watched this live I took on the opportunity and follow her to the arena again. In the corridor behind the entrance a grey vaulting horse waited patiently and the young girls next to him looked very excited and encouraged each other as it was their turn soon.
I admit watching horses cantering on a circle with nice music in the background and petite girls doing gymnastics on horseback was somewhat fascination. But what I really enjoyed was how these young children and teenagers loved their horse when the round was over and all bustling around, patting and kissing their partner.
After broadening my equine horizon with some vaulting I began my second attempt to spend some money in the various tradestands which offer every trademark of clothing, tack, horse feed as well as interesting books. I was looking fo a down vest as winter is nearing and I hate riding in a winter jacket, looking like a Michelin man.
However with no competition underway the masses of crowds all had the same idea like me and the tradestands were so crowded that I never even reached my coveted vests. Some visitors even brought their dogs for which I really felt sorry. They looked frightened and stressed with a forest of legs threating their little paws. Finally I found a tradestand which had the longed for green down vest, but I was too late: Sold out in my size!
Stuttgart traders obviously don't want my money! I fought my way back through the even more crowded corridors behind the exits of the tribunes brazenly using my camera bag to make way. It was really amazing to see how many people didn't mind standing in the midst of a narrow corridor eating and chatting while others desperately tried to get from A to B!
As there was still some time left until the freestyle I headed for the „Porsche arena“ nexto to the indoor in the Schleyerhalle. The very nice warm-up ring for the riders had more tradestands and high tribunes on one side.
Many jumping riders were cantering or trotting their horses around. In between those jumpers there was a horse trotting completely relaxed and supple, wearing a double bridle. I took a closer look and discovered Hubertus Schmidt schooling a liver chestnut horse which I did not know.
While taking pictures a colleague from our stable spotted me from the other side and joined me. Not long after a student of mine did the same and joined us as well. More dressage riders like Carola Koppelmann or Catherine Haddad entered the warm-up arena and the three of us talked about their rides.While watching the warm-up one can compare the many ways that lead to Rome. I forgot about the time! In horror I took a look at my watch, discovered that I had
exactly five minutes to make it in time for the first kur ride: Valentina Truppa and Chablis.
I rushed off, but still many people had not taken their seats in the sold-out Schleyerhalle and I fought hard to swim against the stream as quickly as possible. I reached the press centre, but the lift of coursetook ages to come and I was not willing to wait, so I ran the 75 stairs (a journalist counted them!) up to the press tribune. Pumping like hell I entered and sat next to a befriended journalist who had to grin seeing me like an eventing horse at the end of cross country day... I plunked into the seat and at the same second Chablis trotted in. Call it luck or just proper timing!
At the bottom of the arena I saw Eurodressage's photographer Barbara Schnell standing with her camera and I thanked the heavens I wa able to sit and enjoy the rides, only having to take notes and not photos as well.
Text by Silke Rottermann for Eurodressage
Photos by Barbara Schnell and Silke Rottermann
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