Elmlohe: First Hanoverian Dressage Champions Crowned; Dorothee Schneider Wins the Grand Prix
Great Movies in Elmlohe
from Jan Tönjes 
Elmlohe Horse Riding Festival The qualifying competition for the Derby Stars of Tomorrow took place on Saturday. The winner was Malin Wahlkamp Nilsson from Sweden—who has been training in Germany with Patrick Kittel for quite some time—riding the Oldenburg gelding Frankdon de Fontaine. As the name suggests, Chateau de Fontaine—also the owner of Isabell Werth’s Wendy—is the breeder. The gelding is owned by Helgstrand Dressage and scored one and a half points higher on the scorecards than the second-place pair. That was Friederike Tebbel in the saddle of the Oldenburg horse Serious by San Amour. The ten-year-old scored 72.5 percent. Once again, just two and a half points behind: Helen Langehanenberg with Dreikäsehoch by Dimaggio, whom she bred herself, scoring 72.368 percent.
The Extraordinary Benjamin Franklin
With a score of over 9.0, Benjamin Franklin, a stallion from Celle, won the Hanoverian Dressage Horse Championship for five-year-olds. The bay by Bon Vivaldi NRW was presented, as always, by his trainer Janina Tietze. She was immediately delighted to receive four individual scores of 9.0 or higher. His trot and responsiveness earned a perfect “very good.” His canter was rated 9.5, and his overall impression was rated 9.2.
Second place, just one point behind, went to Vinario, a son of Vitalis out of a St. Moritz dam, owned by Bernadette Brune and presented by Hanna Kaczmierczak. Behind them, Stefanie Viehhoff-Wolf secured third place (7.9) with Dynamic’s Exclusive by Dynamic Dream.
Kira Goerens-Ripphoff rode the Hanoverian champion among six-year-old dressage horses: Fürst FRH by Fürst Romancier, once the most expensive horse sold at auction at Klosterhof Medingen, scored an 8.4. The silver medal went to Lena Berwe, who rode Valhalla, a daughter of Valverde (8.28). Thomas Schulze rode Sinato by Secret to third place (8.16).
Piaff Award: Gagel Ahead of von Wulffen
Pia Carlotta Gagel, riding Riccio V. Punkt Rock Forever, won the competition for the Piaff Promotion Prize. The third-place finisher at the German U25 Championships scored 72.737 percent, placing her 20 points ahead of Elisabeth von Wulffen, who rode two horses onto the podium. Riding Triple A, she scored 71.658 percent and took second place. Riding Vis a Vis, a son of Van Vivaldi, she finished in third place (71.184).
San to Alati in Pole Position
In the qualifying competition for a spot in the 2026 Nuremberg Burg-Pokal, victory went to Ammerland. Bernadette Brune scored 73.122 percent on the dark chestnut stallion by Secret, with individual scores ranging from 75.732 to 69.634. Second place went to Franziska Haase, who rode the Hanoverian Alissimo by Asgards Ibiza (72.659). Laura Strobel took third place in this class with Füchtel’s Highlight OLD., scoring 72.512 percent.
In total, 13 horses scored 70 percent or higher in this highly competitive event. There were 25 starters.
Grand Prix Victory for Karlijn
Dorothee Schneider and Karlijn V. picked up right where they left off in Görlitz: with a victory in the Grand Prix. The pair scored 73.94 percent, clearly placing them at the top of the 24 pairs competing in this class. Juliane Brunkhorst and Fürst Enno took second place with 72.14 percent, ahead of Malin Wahlkamp Nilsson, who was riding Sky-Man (70.74).
Hanoverian Show Jumping Champion
In the Hanoverian Show Jumping Championship, the seven-year-old final was a race against the clock. Thies Johansen and Hey Johnson by Heartbeat (breeder: Frank Johansen) were the fastest clear round among the seven finalists, clocking 70.29 seconds. He finished more than two seconds ahead of the runner-up: the gray Shaman’s Harvest by Grey Top-Stolzenberg, bred by the Meyer and Aller Breeding Association and ridden by Hans Jörn Ottens.
Another 1.3 seconds behind, and thus in third place: Julia Plate with Ginger Nut FRH, a daughter of Glasgow van’t Merelsnest-Canstakko, bred by Ulf Plate. The fastest riders on the course were Ole Klintworth and Cherry Fly K FRH by Checkfly P.S., bred by Martin Clintworth. With a time of 68.15 seconds, they were over three seconds faster than the eventual winner and champion, but had to contend with one knockdown.
