Raphael Netz Wins the Fichtenhof Classics Grand Prix with Vita di Lusso
Grand Prix Victory for Raphael Netz on a “Loan Horse”
from Dominique Wehrmann 
Raphael Netz.
Photo: Sportfotos-lafrentz.de We’re talking about the 11-year-old Rhineland gelding Vita di Lusso, who actually belongs to Raphael Netz’s partner, Selina Söder. She had taken him over from Dinja van Liere, already Grand Prix-ready, after Dinja had placed fourth in the Grand Prix, second in the Special, and sixth in the Freestyle with the Vitalis son at the 2024 CHIO Aachen.
Söder also did quite well with the bay horse. Among other achievements, they placed fourth in last year’s Piaff Förderpreis Final. But right at the start of 2026, they scored under 60 percent in the Grand Prix at Halle Münsterland. Their second appearance of the season came in February in Stadl Paura, where they scored just over 65 percent in the Grand Prix. They didn’t have any other starts this year.
In July, Netz competed with the Brown horse for the first time at a regional tournament in Bavaria, where he won the Grand Prix (74.070) and the Special (74.770) with him.
Today marked their second tournament appearance in Schäftlarn at the Petit family’s Fichtenhof, where a stage of the Nuremberg Burg Cup is being held this weekend.
They won the competition by a wide margin, delivering a largely flawless performance that included, among other things, a very beautiful final line. The five judges awarded them 73.940 percent.
That was more than enough to finish ahead of Max Wadenspanner on Zardetto M (70.10) and Fiona Serafina Lukas riding Aragorn (70.020).
