There are those moments that stay with you for longer, that “do something to you”. I had more than one of these moments at the VR Classics, the horse show in the Holstenhalle Neumünster last weekend. The event took place for the 75th time. That alone commands respect.

The early bird – that’s me!

Six o’clock in the morning (yes, “dawn” for the less experienced early risers…), training of the dressage horses. Although this is not open to the public, it is open to the press. Watching Justin Verboomen, the world’s number one rider, in training – goosebumps! (yes, the term is worn out, which is why I don’t like to use it, but if that’s how it was, that’s how it has to be written).

The calm and concentration with which the Belgian worked his chestnut Djembe de Hus was simply beautiful to watch. It was perhaps (unfortunately) to be expected that barely 24 hours later there were already comments on social media wanting to see bad riding based on a short video sequence. But it’s annoying. No more and no less. Anyone who watched the warm-up in Neumünster – I didn’t see everything and everyone, of course, but I did see a complete training session – can’t help but notice how many riders are always trying to ride a little better. The fact that nose lines sometimes slip behind the vertical, that horses (for the moment) don’t really approach the bit – no problem. The journey is the goal. And from my point of view, many of the riders in Neumünster had the right goal in mind. Not all of them, but a great many.

In Amsterdam, there were controversial scenes during the warm-up for the World Cup competitions. Celebrities felt they were being targeted too much.

It’s nice to see how beautifully the “offspring” ride

Neumünster is always a place where national dressage coach Monica Theodorescu tries things out. The established “boys”, Raphael Netz and Moritz Treffinger, were joined by debutant Laura Strobel in the World Cup freestyle. A trio that makes you green with envy from the seat alone. This is how you should sit on a horse. And: this is how you should work with the horse. How much of this goal can be achieved in the arena is another matter. It’s not giving too much away to say that this German trio, which was completed by Ingrid Klimke, achieved quite a lot.

Not forgetting Juliane Brunkhorst, whose World Cup horse was overwhelmed by the atmosphere, but who showed in the national Grand Prix competitions how to carefully bring top-class horses into the big sport.

Less pleasant was the news that the judging for the Preis der Besten in Munich had to be canceled. The background: animal welfare-related incidents. The German Equestrian Federation (FN) made a statement in a press release. What actually happened was initially a matter of conjecture. We did some research and spoke to someone who was there.

For all Jecken, Narrhalesinnen and Narrhalesen – happy celebrations until Ash Wednesday and best regards to everyone else and see you next Monday!

Jan Tönjes

jan.toenjes@equi-pages.de

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