Moritz Treffinger and Morricone win Piaff-Förderpreis kick-off in Mannheim

To say it straight away, it’s not down to his mathematical skills. Because Treffinger rode 17 changes of one instead of the required 15 in today’s decisive Piaff Förderpreis qualifier in Mannheim. No problem for his four-legged partner under the saddle. Treffinger shook his head at himself: “We haven’t been to so many shows together yet. Mannheim was only our second CDI, but it’s such fun to ride him. Because he wants to present himself, because he is also beautiful and has a huge ego, which he uses to the full for the rider.” And what he is particularly good at is sitting elegantly on horseback and responding sensitively and discreetly.

The pair’s performance today was rewarded with 71.128 percent. That was enough to relegate the winning pair of the inspection, Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel and First Vienna, to second place (70.359).

The winners of the warm-up test, Rose Oatley and Charlotte Dujardin’s Alive and Kicking, were narrowly beaten into third place with 70.308 percent. They were still ahead in the trot. But in canter, they messed up two double-counting exercises, the left pirouette and the single changes. The scores for the pair were 1, 10, 5, 2, 4.

Treffinger’s second iron

What is also remarkable about Moritz Treffinger is how many horses he now competes with at S*** level. He told us how he came to Gestüt Bonhomme in a home story at his home in Werder. He was given every opportunity here, but he also knew how to make the most of them, not only with the horses that were already fully trained, but also, for example, with the ten-year-old Oldenburg mare Florida Keys by Fiderdance, who was produced by Bonhomme himself. Treffinger trained this mare up to Grand Prix level himself and rode her to 14th place (66.014) at her first appearance in front of a large crowd.

Summary of the national coach

When asked about his impressions, junior national coach Hans-Heinrich Meyer zu Strohen explained: “Moritz Treffinger was able to celebrate his ride. Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel and Rose Oatley, who came third, are two riders who love the sport and always want to prove themselves. They have strong nerves, are very experienced in their preparation and can deliver. They proved this once again today,” he praised the three top pairs and stated: “I’m going home satisfied because we had very good conditions here in Mannheim, saw a lot of good pairs and because it has been shown once again that our work with young riders is proving its worth.”