The Return of Mad Max: One to Watch for Germany

Shows

2020 CDI Lier

The Weser Ems bred pony Mad Max was considered one of Europe's most talented FEI ponies, starting his CDI career as a Bundeschampion. He began his international career under Austrian Nicola Ahorner, but then disappeared from the international scene for five years. At the 2020 CDI Lier, Max Max made his return under his new German rider.

Max Max is a 2006 born Weser Ems pony by The Breas My Mobility out of Sunshine (by Sandro Hit x Donnerhall x Pik Bube I).

He is bred by Elisabeth van Hoorn and originally named Mephisto. He got licensed at the 2008 Weser Ems Stallion Licensing in Vechta and bred for three years.

German Star

Mad Max made his show debut as a 3-year old under Anna-Lisa Theile, competing at the Oldenburg Young Pony Championships in Rastede and at the 2009 Bundeschampionate where they were ninth in the 3-year old riding pony class.

A year later Theile and Mad Max finished fourth at the 2010 Bundeschampionate but in 2011 they won the gold medal in the 5-year old dressage pony division.

In March 2012 the Austrian Ahorner family purchased Mad Max, who had been gelded to focus fully sport, for their daughter Nicola. They kept the pony in training for another season with the Rothenberger family before Nicola would take on the ride.

Eleven-year old (!) Semmieke rode Mad Max to silver at the Bundeschampionate in the 6-year old dressage pony class, just weeks after coming back from the 2012 European Pony Championships where she won kur gold on Golden Girl.

Move to Austria

Ahorner and Max Max at the 2013 CDIO-P Hagen

Mad Max moved to Austria to become Nicola's pony in 2013 and they made their international show debut at the CDI-P Hagen in June 2013.

In her pony time Nicola Ahorner was in the highly fortunate situation to have five international FEI ponies to pick and choose from and Mad Max was part of that string.

Ahorner and the chestnut showed at CDI's across Europe from 2013 till 2015 with starts in Brno, Vienna, Roosendaal, and Caselle di Sommacampagna. There was a CDI show break between May 2014 and May 2015. In the spring of 2015 Nicola and Mad Max came back and did two more shows, Lipica and Brno, with the latter being the pony's last international start.

In 2016 Nicola and Mad Max won the Austrian Pony Championships held in Fritzens that year. It was her third, consecutive pony title.

Back to Germany

At the beginning of 2017 Mad Max sold to the Raupach family, but it took another three years for the pony to make an international come back, making that five years of absence in total from the international show scene.

Raupach and Max Max at the 2020 CDI Lier

Martha Raupach became the pony's new rider and the pair did compete nationally for three years, making their show debut at a local show in Badbergen in April 2017. They continued to show regularly at L-level through the beginning of 2020, with several starts in Vechta in January 2020 as preparation for their CDI premiere.

At the 2020 CDI Lier on 26 - 29 February, right before the corona outbreak, Raupach and Mad Max made their international debut and placed third and twice fourth with scores above 70%. The pair made an impression with their lovely, consistently presentation and fluent way of going through the movements.