2004 CDI Hagen

Hubertus Schmidt wins 2004 German Professional Dressage Riders Championship

July 5, 2004

Hubertus Schmidt won the 2004 German Professional Dressage Riders' Championships at Hof Kasselmann in Hagen, Germany. Schmidt won the finals with horse change by beating second placed Rudolf Zeilinger with 17 points more in total. Third place went to newcomer Uta Gräf who is the new rider of the exciting Grand Prix horse Duvalier.

The German Professional Dressage Riders Championships consists of three tests, a Grand Prix and Special on one's own horse and a final with horse change. Only three riders can qualify for the Finals in which they have to ride a short Grand Prix on their own horse as well as on the horses of the two other finalists.

Schmidt excelled on all three horses. Aboard his own 10-year old Hanoverian Motown, Schmidt scored 1146 points, with Zeilinger's The Lion King B he got 1244 points and on Graf's Duvalier, he rode his best test with 1280 points in total.

By winning the Championships in Hagen, Schmidt won his fifth professional dressage riders' title. During the award ceremony, Schmidt thanked show host Ullrich Kasselmann for perfectly organizing the Championships for a second time on his premises in Hagen.

Despite severe weather conditions, the show never lost its flair and was the right setting for the Championships. In 2003, Dolf Dietram Keller and the licensed breeding stallion De Niro won the Championship.

Hubertus Schmidt runs a fantastic training facility in Borchen-Etteln, near Paderborn, where he is currently preparing Olympians Oded Shimoni and Dr. Cesar Parra for Aachen and the Olympics. Schmidt still has a chance to qualify for the German Olympic Team if he puts in a stellar performance at the CDI Aachen in two weeks.

In the past, Schmidt has trained with Siegfried Peilike, Jean Bemelmanns, Dr. Reiner Klimke, Harry Boldt, Albert Stecken and Rudolf Zeilinger. He currently is trained by Klaus Balkenhol.

Text and photos copyrighted Astrid Appels/Eurodressage

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Related Link: Horsemagazine Interviews Hubertus Schmidt