Photo Report: A Day in the Sun at the 2026 CPEDI Mannheim

-- Text and Photos © Silke Rottermann for Eurodressage

When the Maimarkt Show in Mannheim approached, a show more or less at my doorstep, I happily realized that my favourite day, day one, was on a bank holiday. Usually Fridays in Mannheim mean making a living with my full-time job, before hurrying to Mannheim to be there on time for the vet check and familiarization of the para riders.

Dressage on a Bank Holiday

Thanks to the bank holiday I could take it easy and only started the 50 km drive to Mannheim after lunch. Traffic was as crowded as expected as masses of people were enjoying not only the day off, but also the glorious early summer weather with temperatures well over 25 degrees and burning sunshine.

In Heidelberg the famous old bridge looked like an ant hill and once in Mannheim, the usual way to the entrance for horses, riders, and press unexpectedly was blocked by security. I had to turn around approaching it from the other side, passing the futuristic SAP Arena nearby.

After catching my accreditation I entered the totally limited and stuffed parking lot which is located between the motorway and the dressage arenas. A parking ranger guided me to a free space, so I could avoid to park on one of the public parking areas far away.

Catching a Bit of CDI Dressage

Arriving at the adjacent show grounds, the U25 competition was already in full swing and as I had no pressure to cover it, I sat down and observed the warm-ups and steward checks which took place nearby. Mannheim is a very special horse show for the reason that visitors of the Maimarkt Fair can come and watch for free. So many non-horsey people strolled by and sat down for a rest.

The warm-up approaches differed a lot, but I was happy to see that some were rather exemplary, focusing on keeping the horse in a good frame of mind, moving supple and relaxed. It were those horses who then also executed their program without negative tension and left the arena relaxed and content. When dressage is practiced like that, nothing speaks against sport with horses, like some activists would like to make us believe.

The winner, Rose Oatley on the recently acquired Alive and Kicking, belied her years and the super short time she forms a team with the mare, for a pretty polished performance.

Chatting with a Para Rider

After some relaxed U25 watching I put myself into working mode and met Italian Grade V rider Federica Sileoni for the traditional interview I (almost) annually do with a para rider in Mannheim.

Probably used to the Italian style weather in Mannheim that day, Federica did not mind the least sitting in my car with temperatures over 40 degrees inside for our conversation. While influencers throw some questions at their preferred riders simply everywhere they can catch them, I prefer a quiet place and a more relaxed atmosphere to find out about a rider’s life and career.

Like all para riders before her, also Federica was super easy to talk to and we spent a hot, but productive 45 minutes in the shelter of my car. Federica then disappeared into the stables to prepare her spirited gelding Leonardo for the vet check and I sat down in the shade of the jumping stadium to cool down a bit again, but lost track of time and went almost in panic mode when I saw it was 5 past 6 pm.

The Para Trot Up

The vet check of the para horses had already started and it took five minutes of walking to get there. Hastily I left the stadium and hurried to the jog trip in an extended walk that I felt like deserved a 10,  squeezing myself through the lined-up horses with their riders or handlers waiting for their turn.

The change between sunshine and shade seemed even worse than usual, making it hard for photographer to snap photos between sunlight and black shadows everywhere. The vet check went rather smoothly, just a few horses had to trot up again „with longer reins“ as was the call of the officials.

However, I have never experienced that a vet check was briefly interrupted by a tractor which had to pass the jog strip. Judges Marco Orsini and Dr. Jan-Holger Holtschmit came to the rescue and removed the plants at the turning point and behind and put them back in place again in no time, so the trot up could continue.

The sun was now slowly going down as a burning red ball, throwing a strange warm light on the dressage arenas where the familiarization of the para horses had started. The competition arena and both warm-up rings behind were full of horses from different grades and you had to be on constant alert who was were and who you wanted to put on a picture. As usual in such a situation I wanted to duplicate myself, but instead hopped from one arena to the other.

The more the early evening advanced, the longer the shadows were and the more intense the red sunlight became which reflected on the two Swiss horses’ coats as theywere the last in the ring after 8 pm. When their riders Nicole Geiger and Miriam Pollard called it a day, I did the same.

-- Text and Photos © Silke Rottermann for Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed

Related Links
Photo Report: A Short Trip to the 2025 CPEDI Mannheim
Photo Report: A Sunny Training and Jog Day at the 2024 CPEDI Mannheim
2024 CPEDI Mannheim: The Heat Was on in Grade III to V
2024 CPEDI Mannheim: A Multitude of Winners in Grade I and II
2024 CPEDI Mannheim: The Heat Was on in Grade III to V
2023 CPEDI Mannheim Welcomes Spring and Top Para Dressage Sport
An Afternoon at the 2022 CPEDI Mannheim
Photo Report: Witnessing Good Sport and Equitation at the 2021 CPEDI Mannheim
Photo Report: Heating Up for the 2012 CDI Mannheim
A Day on the Heels of an International Dressage Rider at the 2011 CDI Mannheim