Piaff-Förderpreis Sighting in Warendorf

Following two selection courses at the beginning of March, the selection course for the new Piaff-Förderpreis class has been taking place in Warendorf since today. The Piaff-Förderpreis is the most important series for U25 dressage riders at Grand Prix level in Germany. After a training day today, 21 talented riders will face the three judges Katrina Wüst, Dr. Evi Eisenhardt and Sven Günter Rothenberger in the U25 Grand Prix tomorrow from 8.30 am.

Reunion with former world champion

One name on the list of starters, which also includes former medal winners from the junior and young rider camps (such as Lucie-Anouk Baumgürtel with First Vienna or Valentina Pistner on Harley Khan, previously presented by Dutch rider Vincent van Gasselt), catches the eye: Lordswood Dancing Diamond.

The Hanoverian black stallion by Dancier-Wolkenstein II, bred by Heinrich Ebeling, was once celebrated as the best young horse in the world when he won gold at the 2017 World Championships for six-year-old dressage horses with Anne-Kathrin Pohlmeier, the current dressage trainer of the eventing squad riders. He had already been Bundeschampion as a five-year-old.

He was then sold. His new owner Tamara Rehnig presented him at two shows in 2018, including in his first advanced (S) level test, but he was not placed. After that, the black stallion went quiet again before returning to the sport in 2020 with Dorothee Schneider in the saddle.

Lordswood Dancing Diamond competed with the riding mistress at two tournaments in the Corona year, in Balve and Ludwigsburg. The then nine-year-old came third in the Nuremberg Burg Cup qualifier in Balve and won both Prix St. Georges classes in Ludwigsburg. That was the last show of the season for him and he was not seen again in 2021.

But in 2022 and then at S*** level. Dorothee Schneider presented Dancing Diamond in five competitions at four shows and won them all, including the Stars of Tomorrow qualifier in Munich with almost 76 percent. Lordswood Dancing Diamond looked like a horse with all the potential for Schneider. But after 2022, he was never seen at a show again. And now he goes tomorrow in Warendorf.

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The Dancier son has a 9.18 a.m. start time, now with 24-year-old Henri Schamburg in the saddle. He is already familiar with various well-known horses, including the Bundeschampionat finalist Bon Vivaldi NRW, with whom he competed in the international small tour in 2025. Schamburg also already has experience at S*** level thanks to DSP Donna Karan, trained by Stefan Puschmann, with whom the student of Sönke Rothenberger was nominated for the Piaff-Förderpreis last year.

Sohler and Queolito

Another exciting pair is the 2024 European Junior Champion, Marie Sohler, and Queolito. When Sohler became European Junior Champion with the former dressage horse world champion Global Player OLD, she was still a student of the Aubenhausen team. After taking over Bianca Nowag-Aulenbrock’s Grand Prix horse Queolito, she also changed trainers. After coming second in an Intermédiaire II in Ankum a few days ago, tomorrow will be the second competition for the pair.

Springborg’s Guardian back at it again

Among the pairs who took part in last year’s Piaff-Förderpreis were the future European champions Anna Schölermann and Springborgs Guardian. Both are taking part in the selection again this year, but not together. Springborgs Guardian now goes under his owner Celestine Kindler. Anna Schölermann is presenting a promising new young horse in the form of nine-year-old Westphalian For Romance II son First Romance.

You can find the complete list of starters here.