2005 Bundeschampionate

Belissimo M and Insterburg Win Silver and Bronze

It was a very busy weekend for Kathrin Meyer zu Strohen. With three horses qualified for the Bundeschampionate, and three of them making it to the Finals on Sundays, Meyer zu Strohen had to hop from one horse onto the other, just like Heiner Schiergen in the 5-year old Finals. Meyer zu Strohen opened the 6-year old division with a ride on the Oldenburg gelding Donic (by De Niro), a horse she took over from Birgit Wellhausen-Henschke. Donic finished fourth last year and this year he scored 7.9 with his new trainer.

Donic is a good dressage horse, but Meyer zu Strohen was betting on her other two rides for the title. With Belissimo she won the group one qualifier with 9.2 and with Kaiserdom she led group two with 8.9. Her supremacy with those two horses was undeniable but the judges and audience seemed to favour Belissimo. The Rhinelander stallion Belissimo (by Beltain x Romadour II) became Bundeschampion two years ago under Holga Finken, but is now being schooled by Meyer zu Strohen

Tipped to be the favourite for the title, Belissimo did not fulfil this role. The horse was presented in a fantastically light frame with a soft contact between the rider's hands and horse's mouth. The trot work was good, but not brilliant. He made a mistake in rhythm in the two extended trots and though the walk showed much overtrack, it could have clearer 4-beat rhythm.

The canter work, however, was superb. Belissimo is uphill in every single stride with much self carriage, but at the end of the ride he lacked some oomph and his rider couldn't squeeze a good fourth flying change out of him.

"It would have been the winning ride," Christoph Hess said, but because of a lack in concentration the flying change didn't come through. Belissimo still received 9.2 from the judges which ranked him in silver medal position.

The bronze medal went to Trakehner stallion Insterburg (Hohenstein x Giorgio Armani) under the young Carola Koppelmann. The duo already won bronze at the 2005 World Championships in Verden two months before the Bundeschampionate, but the horse looked even better here in Warendorf. The black Insterburg stands out by his harmony, his quietness, his peaceful performance in the ring. He's trot, which looked a bit weak in Verden, was more engaged and active. The walk was good, but Insterburg is a real canter machine. He's super engaged, uphill, every single stride regulated and active.

Koppelmann did a fantastic job presenting this stallion. Unfortunately, she made a programme error starting the medium trot at M instead of R, which reduced her score by 0.2. The judges gave the duo a 9.2, but it dropped to 9.0 due to that error. Insterburg was not as spectacular as the winner Kaiserdom, but this Trakehner could easily have swopped places with his breed mate Kaiserdom for the victory. Koppelmann and Insterburg were one pure harmony with no tension whatsoever, but Kaiserdom probably has that extra bit of super star potential for FEI.

Text and Photos copyrighted Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed without permission

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