Last week Friday we drove to the 2011 CDIO-PJYR Hagen at Hof Kasselmann in Hagen, Germany. After a two-month period of draught in Western Europe it has been raining ever since. Fortunately on Friday 17 June the forecast was good and that made us decide to do the 250 kilometer drive from our headquarters to Hagen to photograph the pony, junior and young riders.
The "Future Champions" international at Hof Kasselmann is quite different from the Horses and Dreams competition: more relaxed, quieter and familiar. The trade fair is reduced to a minimum as well as the advertisements, which makes the two outdoor arenas on Kasselmann's gorgeous property absolutely wonderful to photograph.
The CDIO Pony team championship test took place on Friday afternoon in the what normally is the warm up ring at the CDI Hagen. A limited amount of white tents on the left side and banners on the right side made room for the beautiful natural backdrop of trees to serve as background for the pictures. Absolutely wonderful!!
The pony team test was won by German Anna Lisa Theile on her 7-year old palomino Desmond who matured much in his work and appeared more confident and relaxed in his job. European Pony champion Jessica Krieg finished second on her second pony, the brilliant Ghost. This powerhouse pony is a muscled bodybuilder with wonderful freedom in the shoulder. The 11-year old Semmieke Rothenberger (who's turning 12 in August) was a true joy to watch. Though still leaning backwards in the saddle a bit much while biting her lips in concentration, the youngest of the Rothenberger kids did a brilliant job steering her joyful schoolmaster Domino Dancing round the arena. The pony was happy to do the job, showed off good gaits with superb execution of the movements. What a star for the future!
Check out our image gallery below.
Photos © Astrid Appels - No Reproduction Allowed!!!!
Related Links
Scores 2011 CDIO-PJYR Hagen