Helen Langehanenberg and Victoria Max-Theurer were the winners of the two Grand Prix classes that were held on the opening day of competition at the 2017 CDI Cappeln on 14 July 2017. Hosted at the renowned Gestut Vorwerk, which is now owned by Sissy Max-Theurer, the CDI Cappeln is an Austrian team selection trial for the 2017 European Championships.
In the Grand Prix for freestyle Helen Langehanenberger won the class aboard her husband David Lichtenberg's Suppenkasper (by Spielberg x Krack C) with a 70.580%. Langehanenberg was not able to duplicate the stellar scores she had achieved on this Dutch warmblood in Balve at the German Championships, but the experienced judging panel (consisting of Verbeek, Hoevenaars, Eisenhardt, Wust, and Koffmahn) overall struggled to find their groove in Cappeln that day. Helen's scores ranged from 68.300% to 73.900%. Especially Dawn White-O'Connor's ride on Legolas (by Laomedon x Florestan II) certainly threw a curveball as her marks went from 59.000 to 66.000%.
In the Grand Prix for Special, the Austrian team riders lined up for this team observation and selection class. Victoria Max-Theurer led the way on the 15-year old Hanoverian mare Blind Date (by Breitling x Donnerhall), scoring 74.060%. The 2016 Austrian GP Champion Belinda Weinbeuer and the 15-year old Hanoverian Sohnlein Brilliant (by Shakespeare in Love) were the runners-up with 70.800%.
"Beate (Blind Date) is getting back to her old form after her long break. There is still room for improvement though. Overall, the show at Stud Vorwerk was a great day for Austria. We have a strong team, stronger as never before and a great spirit. We eagerly await the European Championships in August in Gothenburg," said Max-Theurer.
The panel of 5* judges for the GP for Special consisted of Verbeek, Maknami, Hoevenaars, Eisenhardt and Wust and they struggled to find unison as well, especially with the lesser scoring riding. Weinbauer's scores went from 68.800 to 73.200%. Stella Charlott Roth earned between 65.500 and 70.00%, Nathalie Zu Saygn-Wittgenstein got marks from 63.700% to 67.800%, Pedro Luiz Pavao earned between 60.800% and 67.400% (!!), Russian Elizaveta Orekhova ent from 59.600% to 66.600% and probably the most interesting examples were the two last placed riders. Ruth Herzog-Lodde's marks ranged between 52.200 and 58.300% and Ryunosuke Kuroda received between 49.900% and 55.100%.
Photos © Michael Rzepa
Related Link
Scores 2017 CDI Cappeln