In the riding horse divisions at the 2014 Bundeschampionate in Warendorf (GER) on 3 - 7 September 2014, mares Special Diva and Zikade and stallions Baccardi and Equitaris received the champion's sash and national title scoring the highest overall total after being test ridden by two guest judge riders.
Heiko Klausing and Special Diva took out the 3-year Mare and Gelding Final, Claudia Rüscher and Baccardi got the gold in the 3-year old Stallion Final, Dorothee Schneider and Zikade brought home the 4-year old Mare and Geldings title, and Bundeschampionate gold medal record holder Wibke Hartmann-Stommel claimed her fourth gold in Warendorf on Equitaris in the 4-year old stallion class.
In the 3-year old Riding Horses Stallion class finals, the licensed stallion Baccardi (by Belissimo x De Niro) made rider Claudia Rüscher particularly proud, earning the full 10 points for walk, a 9.00 for trot, canter and training, and an 8.5 for conformation, finishing with a 19.00 from the guest judge riders and a total of 64.50.
“We first saw this horse at the licensing in Münster-Handorf last fall, where he became premium stallion, and we bought him because he has an interesting, promising bloodline, and his potential was already very obvious at that early point of his career," said Claudia. "He is a very concentrated horse, with good balance and co-ordination and really good manners which makes him totally uncomplicated to deal with.”
Claudia praised Baccardi for being easy to ride, even though he he has not had much experience yet at championships and shows.
“Of course it felt amazing to win such an important championship, epecially with a young, unexperienced horse like he is," Ruscher added. "It was a great feeling to show his qualities in front of the crowd there.” The pair will next year carry out some easy going training and not too many shows, and apart from that Baccardi will be on breeding duty.
Gold with a total of 64.00 points, Special Diva (by Sir Donnerhall I x Diamond Hit) and Heiko Klausing earned a 9.5 for canter, a 9.0 for trot and walk, an 8.5 for training and conformation, and a 19.5 from the guest judge riders. The Oldenburg mare edged out the British owned Hanoverian Dancing Diamond under Anne-Kathrin Pohlmeier, who scored equal points but dropped to second because of lower guest judge score.
Dorothee Schneider took the 4-year old Riding Horses Mares and Geldings Finals with Zikade (by Singolo x Tambour) scoring a 9.50 for trot, a 9.00 for canter and training, a 7.50 for walk, and an 8.0 for conformation, lifted by a 19.5 from the guest judge riders to finish on 62.50 points. Schneider and Zikade were the runners-up in the qualifying round but they up their performance a notch in the finals for gold.
Finally, four time gold medal winning Wibke Hartmann-Stommel, won the 4-year old Riding Horses Stallions Finals with the Westfalian stallion Equitaris (by Estobar x Rubiloh), earning a 9.50 for trot and canter, an 8.50 for walk, a 9.00 for training and an 8.50 for conformation, taking the top scoring 20.00 points from guest judge rider to finish with 65.00 points, and the highest score for the entire Bundeschampionate.
By Sarah Warne - Photos © LL-foto
Related Links
Scores 2014 Bundeschampionate
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2014 Bundeschampionate