Nuremberg Burg Cup Qualifying Race in Guxhagen: Victory for Debutant PS and Rose Oatley

When Rose Oatley, riding the Oldenburg horse Ferdades, brought up the rear of the 28-horse field, the only person she could beat was herself. And indeed, the performance by the Frascino son included several elements that would easily have been enough for a victory in a less competitive field.

The entire trot sequence was elastic and dynamic, the horse was confident in the dressage movements, and all of this was performed with three solid basic gaits. That’s quite a few elements that you have to get right from the start. But the backward movement on the center line was the deciding factor. That should have been straighter. It also took a while for the U25 European champion to get the stately gelding from the backward movement into the required medium trot. With a score of 73.512 percent, the pair ultimately placed third.

Debutant PS and Rose Oatley deliver

This made him the first horse Rose Oatley had entered in the competition to win this qualifying round for the 2026 Nuremberg Burg-Pokal Final. The Oldenburg stallion Debutant PS—as the last two letters of his name suggest—a horse bred by Paul Schockemöhle, displayed impressive natural balance and plenty of drive.

The horse always worked from the back. The thrust and dynamism from the hindquarters were transmitted with a springy motion to the front of the horse’s mouth. The poll was the highest point, and the tail swung calmly. There was little to criticize in the performance of this stallion, whose lineage traces back through Deparon to De Niro. His strong walk could have been a bit more expansive; the very long stride with maximum shoulder reach is not his forte. However, he possessed a very secure four-beat rhythm, which was never compromised in any way, even in the collected walk.

Finely Tuned Contact

Riding with fine contact, the experienced U25 rider—who has been among the best in her age group internationally in this class for years—also guided Debutant PS through the canter sequence. The open angle of the jaw and the consistently high head carriage were particularly noteworthy. In the left pirouette, the Oldenburg horse almost tried a little too hard. Nevertheless, the rhythm was maintained, and this pirouette—like the first one—was executed confidently on a small circle.

Highlight

:

’s flying

changes

. His well-coordinated hind leg allows the debutant PS to pull off some impressive feats even in flying changes. The stallion executed both the four-stride and three-stride changes straight, uphill, and with the confidence of a sure-footed horse. There was a minor hiccup before the final salute, but that was a minor hiccup in a ride that was scored at 74.293 percent and will see Rose Oatley compete as the favorite on Sunday for a spot in the final qualifying round for the 2026 Nuremberg Burg Pokal.

Bombastik Second

The name Bombastik promises a lot, and indeed, the way this son of Escolar moves on his forelegs can certainly be described as “bombastic”—or at least comes close to it.

However, in terms of strengthening the trot, it would be desirable for the hind leg—which does indeed push off actively—to reach out as far as the front leg. This would result in even more stride in the strong trot. The gelding presented by Fernando Esteban Ruiz was bred in Poland. He has already won international young horse competitions. This spring, he placed in the first qualifier for the Nuremberg Burg Cup in Hagen.

,

a walk specialist

. Bombastik set off at a strong walk, taking strides of up to four hooves with a clearly defined footfall pattern. Despite this “long” stride, the footfall pattern remained clearly in four-beat rhythm even during the collected walk. Perhaps one might have expected the horse to be held a bit more nobly in its posture during the collected walk.

The eight-year-old gelding’s half-gallop pirouettes were already very well balanced on both sides and performed in a small circle.

The upward momentum continued even during the canter half-passes. The gelding executed the four- and three-jump series changes on the diagonals almost perfectly straight, with plenty of volume in every single flying canter change. The pair scored 73.756 percent, placing second.

Carina Scholz with a Textbook Ride

Fourth place went to Carina Scholz and Matisse GG OLD, a son of Morricone. Carina Scholz presented the beautiful black stallion exactly as one would expect a young horse on its way to competing at the S level. The connection was refined, and the horse was supple, balanced, and straight. With a score of 71.95 (1 percent), the Oldenburg stallion—who has already competed twice in the Bundeschampionat final—finished in fourth place, ahead of Moritz Treffinger.

Third Tournament Together: Moritz Treffinger and “The King”

A score of 71.78 percent earned Treffinger and the Oldenburg-bred For Kingdom fifth place. It was the third tournament together for the U25 European champion and the eight-year-old son of For Emotion.

The pair began with a lively trot sequence with good lateral movement. The walk pirouettes could have benefited from a bit more engagement in the hind leg—and thus better rhythm. It was clear: an eight-year-old horse with a great deal of talent and potential. But everything was not quite as polished as nine-year-olds are already capable of demonstrating. The canter pirouettes were still quite large; the flying changes were good in terms of the basic movement but not yet fully balanced. Points were lost because it took a while for the bay to hold a steady and calm position before the backward movement.

The qualifying round for the Nuremberg Burg Cup will take place tomorrow starting at 1:30 p.m.

Results from Guxhagen-Dörnhagen