Hemmer and Denoix win Grand Prix in Lier ahead of Klimke and Vayron

Relaxed, fresh and motivated, Katharina Hemmer and Denoix put in a faultless Grand Prix in Lier today. The 14-year-old Destano son had a very satisfied face, his ears pricked up, his mouth closed, his tail swinging, his rider with discreet aids and a hand that you only really noticed when she tapped the chestnut because he had once again done something particularly well.

But the ride not only looked beautiful, it was also technically at the highest level with great traversals, exceptionally good backwards (for which Irina Manami, who was sitting directly at the point at C, understandably even gave a 9), active piaffe and passages, relaxed series changes jumped forwards and upwards.

In the past, it had often been the case that Denoix lost his strength in the second half of the test and fell behind the reins. This was much better last season and it was the same today. The only small but: before the second piaffe, Denoix swerved his hindquarters briefly. Hemmer corrected, nothing happened. When cantering, the gelding then pulled his right hind leg extremely upwards once. But apart from that, he hardly made any wrong steps today. Result: victory with 75.587 percent.

Vayron was at the gym in Münster

Ingrid Klimke’s Vayron has also come through the winter very well. The Westphalian stallion by Vitalis has once again put on muscle. It was noticeable in the task that this was the result of real work, not always and at every moment, but again and again. This was particularly noticeable in the exercises that used to cause difficulties for the giant with the giant movements, especially the pirouettes. They were much better today than they were last year – balanced, in sync and with the maximum load that Vayron’s body is capable of. It’s not to be taken for granted how motivated he is here. And the first piaffe was really diagonal in time, springy and active. All the forward movements are a highlight of the pair anyway.

At the beginning of the task, Vayron was still looking quite closely at what was going on outside the arena, but essentially stayed with it. Klimke endeavored to release him from the hand again and again. She succeeded every time. However, she was still unable to prevent Vayron from seeking the support of the bit from time to time and then opening his mouth. They came second with 72.848 percent. But the end of the line has not yet been reached.

Neumünster World Cup winner on three

A prominent Belgian pair will also be competing in Lier – no, not Verboomen and Zonik Plus, but the World Cup winners of the stages in Mechelen and Neumünster, Larissa Pauluis and Flambeau. The single changes were their undoing today, so they had to settle for third place with 72.435 percent.

Fourth place went to Anabel Balkenhol and her Hohenstein son High Five. The 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding showed a solid, well-rounded test with highlights particularly in the series changes and the canter pirouettes. The judges awarded 71.370 percent.

The pair narrowly beat an up-and-coming pair from the Netherlands, Marieke van der Putten and Kuvasz. The eleven-year-old black horse doesn’t quite have the presence of his sire Glamourdale, but otherwise has a lot going for him, from his looks and color to his movement. If both pirouettes – which counted double – had not been problematic, they would have scored significantly higher than 71.152 percent.

The other Germans

Fabienne Müller-Lütkemeier must also have been satisfied after her performance with her Vitalis daughter Valencia AS. They also managed a largely faultless performance, which was rewarded with 70.326 percent and eighth place. It was the first time since July 2024 that the mare had scored over 70% on the international stage.

The Louisdor Prize winners from 2024, Carina Harnisch and Sheldon Cooper (68.196) and Lisa Müller and Zonik Hit (66.043), once trained by João Pedro Moreira, who had carried the Portuguese rider to the freestyle final at both of their first championships, the European Championships in Riesenbeck in 2023, before the Müller couple acquired him, did not make it into the placings today.

You can find all the results here.