2001 German Pony Derby

Christine Thomas Wins German Pony Derby 2001

At the German Pony Derby in Bad Salzuflen, Aachen citizen Christine Thomas reigned surpreme. The Pony Derby, which was cancelled due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak spring 2001, took place at Bad Salzuflen, Germany.

The 16-year-old Thomas was the best during the finals which consisted in riding a test with the three finalists' ponies. Thomas excelled on her own pony Diddi Keeps Cool and on the former European pony champion Konrad. With Dressman Son, a former Munster auction pony, Thomas rode the second best score. Katharina Winkelhuess, steady rider of Dressmann Son, finished second overall. Thomas lead with 1591 points while Winkelhuess gathered 1508 points. Annika Fiege finished third with 1416 points. Carde Meyer performed strongly in the qualifying rounds with her pony Keep Cool (pictured), but wasn't selected for the finals.

German Pony chef d'equipe Cornelia Endres commented, "Christine was the sovereign rider here, both in the qaulifying rounds and in the finals. She was able to ride both her own and other ponies in a correct and expressive way." The victory in the pony derby was the perfect ending of Thomas' pony career. Next year she is moving to the junior rider division.

Image copyrighted: Dirk Caremans