2004 CDI Hagen

Pretender Finds His Way Back to Hagen

July 5, 2004

Hubertus Schmidt brought two horses to the show Hagen; Motown was entered in the Professional Riders Championship, Pretender in the Grand Prix. The bay gelding Pretender is Westfalian registered Playmate xx x Donnersberg offspring owned by Australians Mary Hanna and Justice Ken Marks.

Pretender has been Hanna's Grand Prix horse and was in training briefly at Anky van Grunsven's barn. When Justice Marks got ill, the plan was to sell the horse through Hubertus Schmidt. However, under Schmidt the bay seems to be going really well and the horse has become a new international hope for Mary Hanna who is still competing her number one Grand Prix horse Limbo.

In Hagen, Schmidt scored 68.12% in the Grand Prix (6th place) and 69.525% in the freestyle (5th). For Pretender, the Hagen premises were familour grounds. In 1995, he started his dressage career as a 3-year old, by being broken by Kasselmann's riders and then by being sold over the 1995 P.S.I. auction in Ankum.

Text and photo copyrighted Astrid Appels/Eurodressage

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