Lisa Wernitznig and Superb Win the Grand Prix Special at the CDI Achleiten
Lisa Wernitznig and Superb Take Another Step Toward the World Championships
from Dominique Wehrmann 
Lisa Wernitznig, pictured here on Majestic Taonga.
Photo: sportfotos-lafrentz.de A little over four weeks ago, Isabell Werth’s Austrian-born stable rider Lisa Wernitznig competed in the Austrian Equestrian Federation (OEPS) internal trials with the 14-year-old Hanoverian mare Superb, achieving the best result of the three participants —71 percent in the Grand Prix—and qualified for the World Championships in Aachen. However, the pair was still missing one crucial thing: international qualification. As of this weekend, they have that in the bag.
Victory in the Special
To be eligible for the World Championships in Aachen, all participants must meet the FEI requirements in addition to their country’s internal qualification criteria. And in dressage, those requirements are: at least two scores of 66 percent or higher in Grand Prix and/or Special at two different CDIs. Lisa Wertnitznig has now achieved that.
In Lier, she placed sixth in the Grand Prix with a score of 68.826% and third in the Special with 68.830%. This weekend, they managed to step it up a notch: fourth place in the Grand Prix with 69.152% and victory in the Special with 71.107%.
The team medals at the World Championships are awarded after the Grand Prix. In Achleiten, five of the nine Grand Prix participants competed for Austria. Wernitznig and Superb were third behind winner Florian Bacher on Da Vinci (70.913) and Peter Gmoser with Dante’s Daiquiri (70.609). Only Laura Strobel, riding Valparaiso (70.109), managed to squeeze in between the host country’s representatives. That said, Achleiten is also something of a home game for her, as she is a rider at Gestüt Vorwerk, which is also owned by Achleiten’s host, Max Theurer.
Another new Austrian couple
So, on paper, things are looking pretty good for Wernitznig in terms of World Championship qualification. However, there was also a pair competing in the three-star tour who need qualifying results: Stefan Lehfellner with the half-Lusitano L’Espoir, the horse belonging to his partner Victoria Max-Theurer, who has let her partner ride the eleven-year-old gelding because she is expecting a child. This weekend marked the pair’s tournament debut, and it got off to a pretty good start.
They won the Grand Prix of the Three-Star Tour with a score of 69.913 percent, ahead of an old acquaintance: Ann-Kathrin Lindner’s former U25 European Champion, FBW Sunfire. The now 17-year-old son of San Amour is currently competing for Austria under Florian Bacher and scored 67.695 percent. This weekend also marked a joint debut for the pair. Following their second-place finish in the Grand Prix, they took third place in the Special with 66.042 percent.
Once again, it was Lehfellner and L’Espoir who outperformed their competitors. They received a score of 70.766 percent. So the couple has secured the first of their two qualifying results. They have until July 6 to secure the second. That is the day of the nominations.
The third horse in this lineup—a familiar horse under a new rider—was the Oldenburg gelding Mist of Titanium, ridden by Australian Alanna Richards. Emma Kanerva had originally trained the Millennium son. The 34-year-old Australian has been competing with him since this year. For the pair and for Richards as a rider, Achleiten was their second international competition, which they finished third in the Grand Prix (66.022) and fourth in the Special (65.213).
You can find all the results here.
