Swedish WEG team rider Patrik Kittel is looking forward to 2011 with several new horses and a brand new website to kick off the year in style. Having represented his native country at the 2010 World Equestrian Games
aboard Jan Greve's Dutch warmblood stallion Scandic, Kittel is eagerly anticipating the new show season with the 2011 European Championships in Rotterdam as the pinnacle.
After his return from the WEG in Kentucky, Kittel and Scandic have slowly but steadily been working towards the 2010 CDI-W Stockholm, their first World Cup qualifier of the season. The combination confirmed their form at the beginning of the 2010-2011 indoor season by finishing fourth in the Kur to Music with 74.750%.
"Since Kentucky, Scandic has been training as normal," Kittel told Eurodressage. "Horses are not machines and I can not expect 'Scandi Man' to be one. He was, however, more fit and exuberant than I anticipated."
To secure his ride on the 11-year old Scandic, at least until the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Kittel acquired a share in the chestnut stallion. The Solos Carex x Flyinge Amiral offspring is now jointly owned by Kittel, Jan Greve and HBC Stable.
Patrik was recently selected on the SOK Top and Talent Program of the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) and will receive financial support and training through this Swedish government-funded program as a hopeful for the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
A String of Grand Prix Horses
Kittel has been building up a reliable string of Grand Prix horses that will secure his presence in the show ring at the highest level for 2011. "I am very fortunate to have several Grand Prix horses to compete in 2011, so I can choose shows that are better for certain horses," he said.
With the black stallion Florett As (by Florestan) Kittel had a trustworthy Grand Prix ride for the 2010 season and this will continue to be so next year. With the 11-year old bay Silvano (by Rubinstein x Cocktail) he will make his GP debut in 2011.
"Silvano has been very successful at small tour this year and has good ability for the collected work," said Kittel. "He has grown a lot in terms of maturity and strength and I look forward to his Grand Prix beginnings."
Patrik has also taken over the ride on the muscled bay stallion Toy Story, who is owned by his wife Lyndal Oatley, an Australian WEG team rider. The rising 11-year old Come Back II son made his debut under Kittel in the 2010 Medien Cup circuit and straight away qualified for the Finals in Munster, where they finished 10th. "He is an exciting horse with much power and quality," Kittel commented.
Urestan, who's nicknamed Arrow, is another interesting horse Kittel will introduce to Grand Prix next year through the Medien Cup show circuit. He's a 2001 born Dutch warmblood gelding by Florestan x Partout.
In the near future Kittel will be showing Scandic at the 2011 W.C. qualifiers in Amsterdam and Gothenburg. "And then hopefully the World Cup Final in Liepzig," he added.
Youth Has the Future
To lay a solid foundation at the basis of his horse collection, Kittel made sure that his barn is full of young stars waiting to blossom under saddle.
"It is fun riding another horse that has many similarities to Scandic," said Patrik. "At present, we are training and will take our time with him. He has a lot of the quality and the power from his dad. He has settled in well and has a good character."
"I have a few very exciting younger horses to compete this year for customers and clients, including several rising 7-year olds for the Nurnberger Burgpokal," he said. "I am very fortunate that my barn is full of good horses and have great sponsors and clients supporting me."
One of those rising 7-year old diamonds in the rough is Zantros S, a Dutch warmblood gelding by Krack C out of Hinde Utopia (by Wolfgang x Duc de Normandie), which was previously competed by former European Young Rider champion Angela van den Berg.
Occasionally, Kittel sells one of his horses to assure his livelihood. "I always have horses for sale, but it is not my intention to sell them for the sake of selling them," he disclosed. "I like to take my time with them and develop them in whatever way I can. I am never in a hurry to sell, as I believe it is better to wait and try and match a horse to a suitable rider. I enjoy training horses and watching their progress."
This year Kittel sold several talented dressage prospects to clients in Germany and abroad. "I have had a very good year this year with several horses being sold to good clients," he explained. "And I have new ones coming in as well. Debonnet, for instance, was sold to England. He is a horse with a lot of potential for the Grand Prix. Debonnet has a good nature and ability to learn which makes him special."
Outstanding Stables Online
To be up to date with the modern cyberage Kittel decided to have his website totally revamped. His company Outstanding Stables is based at the beautiful property of the Tecklenborg Family in Appelhulsen, Germany, and Patrik wants to give dressage fans the opportunity to take a glimpse in the daily life of an international dressage rider.
Kittel's modern website is an up-to-standard platform which promotes his stables, show horses and the horses he has in the barn.
"It will provide much more up to date news in three languages (English, German and Swedish) and will be more informative," he revealed. "It is designed in such a way so that Lyndal and I can add information quickly and personally, so visitors can have more timely news. We also want to give the website guests more inside and behind-the-scene news."
Visit Patrik Kittel online at: www.patrik-kittel.com
Related Links
Kittel, Telde, Hofmann Honoured at 2010 Swedish Riders' Gala
Patrik Kittel Hitting the Big League with Scandic