Frederic Wandres and Imo Pectore win Louisdor Prize qualifier in Hagen

Frederic Wandres and the elegant chestnut Imo Pectore were the second pair today in the qualifier for the Louisdor Prize of Hagen. They came third in the warm-up test. But as Wandres deliberately did not want to let his winning partner Veuve Clicquot go a second time today, one competitor was eliminated.

The Louisdor Grand Prix was ridden today, in which the first passage-piaffe-passage tour comes directly after the strong trot and the final line is already ridden with piaffe at X. For Imo Pectore, this was the second S*** test of his life today and he did really well.

He went through the test without any major mistakes and showed a lot of promise, especially in piaffe and passage. The passages went really well. In the piaffe, “Imo” takes on a lot of weight and lowers his croup, he also moves diagonally, but remains behind in front and in this way still finds his balance. The collected walk was beautifully worked out and the Asgard’s Ibiza son marched off relaxed and diligently in a strong walk. The two slowed down a little in the pirouettes, but the lesson itself was also successful. In short: there was a lot to like here, but everything is still in the making.

In his comments, Dr. Dietrich Plewa praised the way Wandres guided the horse through the task without overtaxing him. “The rider’s empathy enables him to present himself in the best possible way,” said Plewa.

Wandres himself had not expected that this would be the lap to victory: “I would have expected anything, but not that Imo would be able to come out on top here in Hagen on the first leg – Hagen is always a difficult place, both in terms of competition and quality. We are REALLY happy about that! I’m very happy that he got through this task without any major slip-ups. I’m sure there are still 100,000 areas that we can work on – and we will. But for now, it’s good to have a moment to take a deep breath and continue training the horse in peace without having to think about the qualification. That takes the pressure off.”

Wandres has his boss Bianca Kasselmann to thank for his next Louisdor Prize candidate. Because he wasn’t all that keen to take over Imo from her. “She pushed me a bit,” he admits. He got him under the saddle last fall. In the meantime, he also says how much talent the gelding has for piaffe and passage. He is now continuing to fine-tune the horse so that he can present himself in top form in Frankfurt in eight months’ time.

Overachiever Szechuan

Candidate number two for the final is the ten-year-old Oldenburg gelding Szechuan by Sezuan with Dr. Annabel Frenzen in the saddle, who presented the stately black bay in her usual sensitive manner. However, even she was unable to prevent the gelding from spooking considerably at times. The horse’s great strength is the pi and pa tour, where he is sure-footed and bounces through his whole body, even in the transitions.

Dr. Dietrich Plewa’s conclusion was: “I rate the prospects as a plus,” and Annabel Frenzen can only confirm this: “I’m totally happy, he’s so motivated and has so much fun and he always wants to keep going during the changes. That’s great, but he needs to listen to me a bit better,” she smiled, thinking about a small mistake in the middle canter when the gelding “stole” the change.

All in all, Szechuan scored 71.149 percent, second place, and after five years of partnership they are now qualified for the big milestone Louisdor Prize.

Winner of the hearts

U25 European Champion Anna Schölermann and the smart dark chestnut stallion Vitally PCH were the third last pair to enter the arena in Hagen. The eight-year-old son of Vitalis, whose dam is none other than Weihegold OLD, is not the tallest, but he moves like a big one. Added to this is his riding. None of today’s competitors presented such a supple body, always with an actively carrying and pushing hind leg, always secure and content in the contact. And he was also sure-footed with great changes in series and clear highlights in piaffe and passage. It was a one-piece ride. Sure-footedness? Check! Looseness? Check! Leaning? Check! Drive and diligence? Check! Straightening? Check! Assembly and load bearing? Check, check!

“Really cool round,” cheered presenter Kim Kreling. And former 5* judge Dr. Dietrich Plewa as commentator was also enthusiastic: “I really liked that! I found the round impressive in that this is still a young Grand Prix rider who rides professionally in the best sense of the word with great empathy and a lot of experience, and on the other hand we see a horse here that has obvious talent.”

He particularly emphasized the piaffe-passage tour: “always with a lowered croup, always uphill.” Good reinforcement is known to be the result of real collection. Plewa added: “In trot and canter of the very highest quality.”

The judges obviously took a different view, as it turned out when the scores came in: 70.532 percent, fourth place. The side judges at B and E awarded less than 70 percent. The audience, on the other hand, placed the pair first in the Spectator Judging.

This made Schölermann and Vitally the winners of the hearts. Unfortunately, this means they can’t buy themselves a ticket to Frankfurt. They would have deserved it.

Piaffe-Passage-Machine Theo

The runner-up in the Intermédiaire II, the KWPN stallion Majestic Taonga, stable name “Theo”, came third today with 70.617 percent. Mistakes in the changes were his downfall today. In terms of looks and talent, the black stallion is clearly influenced by his grandfather Totilas. Isabell Werth’s stable rider Lisa Wernitznig already had him under saddle as a youngster and showed him today with many beautiful moments. The piaffe-passage work stood out. That could be really good. The two pirouettes were also very successful. The walk was also good. But: the contact. It is almost always firm and the stallion often has an open mouth.

Lisa Wernitznig explained later: “The two firebirds (as her boss Isabell Werth calls her and Majestic Taonga) perhaps had a little too much energy today. But he has everything – talent, spirit, this horse just needs strength and routine and needs to become a bit more relaxed. But when we get into the arena, I grow a bit too. He gives me the feeling of being something special.”

You can find all the results from Hagen here.