Be my Guest Wins the Bundeschampionat Qualifier for Four-Year-Old Stallions

Be My Guest, a son of Bonds Sezuan bred by Zoe Sierks, had already set the standard at the Baden-Württemberg Horse Breeders’ Association State Championship. The impressive dark chestnut has Dutch owners and is ridden by a Dutchwoman, Dionne Korringa. At the Württemberg State Championships, he won the final (Class A dressage test) with an overall score of 8.4, receiving a 9 only in rideability. Today, the scores were significantly higher—although today’s qualifying round initially featured “only” the riding horse class on the schedule.

The stallion has impressive forequarters mechanics and was presented by the rider with a beautiful profile. However, one would have liked to see his movements flow even more freely through his body, and the stallion did not carry his tail quite as freely as one might have hoped. When allowed to chew with the reins out of the rider’s hands, he lost some of his movement quality (trot 9.8). At a walk, he moves freely, eagerly, and with a convincing stride, 9.5. At a canter, the picture was similar to that at a trot—an impressive front end with plenty of mechanics and good engagement from the hindquarters—although one would have liked to see an even more energetic drive from the inside hind leg beneath the center of gravity, 10.0.

The trio of judges—Katrin Burger, Reinhard Richenhagen, and Catrin Wingender—also awarded the top score for rideability to the stallion, who indeed appeared very stable and well-balanced. His conformation had been rated 8.6 yesterday. The final score for harmony and functionality was 9.8. This brought his overall score to 9.7—a score that hadn’t been seen in Warendorf in quite some time.

Regarding the harmony score, Wolfgang Egbers—who did not judge this competition but merely commented on it for those interested in his capacity as a judge and chair of the Dressage Section of the Federal Association of Professional Riders (BBR), that he strongly supported it because the current breakdown allows judges to evaluate the harmony of the performance separately.

Greetings from Zanetti

Zoom, the Warendorf-based stallion who is now competing at the Grand Prix level with Helen Langehanenberg, has sired many foals and already has an heir to carry on his line. Zanetti’s offspring are increasingly coming to the forefront—such as Sina Aringer’s Westphalian stallion Zacolar, who was bred by Markus Schulze Finkenbrink out of an Escolar dam and is owned by Sportpferde Beckmann GmbH & Co. KG.

Under Sina Aringer, the bay had already been named Westphalian Champion with a score of 9.6; today, he took second place with a score of 9.46. The stallion, who is rather unconventional in type (conformation 7.9), displays tremendous elasticity in his movement, which he combines with plenty of drive, push-off, and reach—all while swinging his entire body through the motion. You can see that this movement is truly natural, at the very latest, when he’s allowed to chew on the reins out of hand—each stride is consistent with the next (trot 9.7). The same applies to his turns; he is well-balanced, a fact that was also evident in his very beautiful transitions. However, one would have liked to see a slightly more open jaw angle and a calmer, more contented expression. Nevertheless, the stallion’s good balance earned him a 9.8 from the judges for rideability.

The gait was relaxed, controlled, and energetic, while still covering enough ground—9.0. The score for harmony and functionality was 9.7.

Oldenburg Champion Stallion Takes Third Place

The final segment of the competition was the champion stallion race—Oldenburg champion stallion La Paix versus DSP champion stallion Bonds in Gold. It was a photo finish. In the end, it came down to a close race, with the Oldenburg stallion winning by a short head.

La Paix, a son of La Vie bred by Dr. Katharina Paschertz, is owned by Helgstrand Dressage and is trained by Vanessa Crnadak, who rode him to a silver medal in the three-year-old class last year. Today, he took third place with a score of 9.06. Like Zacolar, La Paix is more of a square, practical, solid type. However, he is nowhere near as elastic or as supple as Zacolar. Although he looked appealing from the side, he appeared rather stiff, so he occasionally showed a nodding motion and wasn’t always comfortable in contact. His rhythm is steady in all three basic gaits, his reach is sufficient, and he has an upward tendency, but as mentioned, everything flows with little fluidity through his body. He received an 8.4 for his trot, a 9.6 for his canter, a 9.0 for his walk, and a 9.5 for rideability. From yesterday, he carried over an 8.6 for conformation, with a score of 9.0 for the degree of harmony and functionality. Final score: 9.06.

,

a close fourth-place finisher

. The strikingly handsome DSP champion stallion and this year’s DSP champion, Pramwaldhof’s Bonds in Gold by Bonds-Goldberg (breeder: Hendrik Niehe/Brandenburg-Anhalt breeding region, owner: Pramwaldhof Stud) also made an appearance under the saddle of Sina Aringer. He trots with grace and elasticity, swinging his entire body, while always remaining soft on the bit—though he should be allowed to chew with only a slight release of the reins (9.3).

His canter, too, was energetic on the uphill, with plenty of reach and volume. He also consistently managed to bring those large movements back in a balanced manner for the transitions (9.4).

The downside today was his walk. During the test, he barely managed to relax, and even after finishing the exercise, he didn’t really settle into a relaxed walk and showed only limited reach. He received an 8.3 for this.

The judges awarded a 9.0 for rideability, as well as for harmony and functionality. The conformation had already been rated a 9.3 yesterday.

Two more finalists

The Hanoverian vice-champion Salsero CF by Secret-Vivaldi, a half-brother to Bon Courage—the Burg-Pokal finalist and sire of a champion stallion who is now competing at the S*** level—bred by Dr. Christine Feichtinger, narrowly missed a score of 9. In the saddle was Thomas Schulze, the regular rider of the Feichtinger horses. The stallion’s highlight is his canter, which was scored a 9.5. In the trot, however, one would have liked to see his movements flow a bit more smoothly through his body. The judges awarded a 9.0. In the walk, he received an 8.5, and in rideability, an 8.8. In the category of harmony and functionality, they again awarded an 8.5. Combined with a 9.6 for conformation from yesterday, the final score was 8.97.

,

the crowd favorite

. If the spectators had been the judges, the winner with a score of 9.13 would have been Danubio. The Westphalian stallion by Damaschino-Dimaggio, bred by Karl-August Schulte-Varendorff, was presented by Linus Keller on behalf of the Marbach State Stud and performed exactly as one would hope a four-year-old would —with natural basic gaits, a head-and-neck carriage that allowed him to find his own balance, and a confident response to the rider’s aids throughout the entire test. The judges rewarded this with a 9.8 for rideability.

In the three basic gaits, he demonstrates rhythm, suppleness, drive, reach, and elasticity. However, he does not exhibit the kind of “exaggerated movements” that make one wonder if they might be a bit too much of a good thing. In the trot, the judges gave the chestnut an 8.4; in the canter, an 8.5; and in the walk, an 8.7. He carried over a conformation score of 9.2 from yesterday. Added to that today was an 8.8 for harmony and functionality. Final score: 8.88, qualifying him for the finals.

You can find all the results here.