Piaff-foeder prize course in Warendorf
The Piaff Förderpreis is one of the most important and prestigious dressage competitions for young riders in Germany. The following is said about it: "The participants in the Piaff Foeder Prize are young dressage riders up to the age of 25 who are on their way to growing into the big sport. Where the sport used to lose many good young talents, either because they missed the jump to Grand Prix, shied away from the "big" competition or simply because professional training took precedence, today - thanks to the Piaff Sponsorship Prize - a scene of its own has emerged. A scene of young Grand Prix riders who take the opportunity to slowly familiarize themselves with the highest demands of dressage without having to compete against professionals and current top riders. In the Piaff Promotion Prize, riders are "among themselves" and grow together with the tasks - just as they did when they were juniors or young riders. The qualifiers are the Intermediaire II and the U25 Grand Prix. At the final, the finalists have to master the U25 Grand Prix as well as the current international Grand Prix.
The Piaff-Förderpreis was named after the famous dressage horse Piaff ridden by Olympic champion Liselott Schindling-Rheinberger, better known as Linsenhoff. The Liselott Schindling Foundation for the Promotion of Dressage Riding is also what makes this series possible."
Before the first qualifier gets underway soon, national coach Sebastian Heinze wanted to see all of his protégés once again. Among others were Ann-Kathrin Lindner with Flatley and Sunfire, Raphael Netz with Lacoste and Elastico, Evelyn Eger with Whitley and Flynn, Alexa Westendarp with Der Prinz and Cafe's Caletta and Semmieke Rothenberger with Dissertation and Flanell.
National coach Heinze draws a positive conclusion: "Of course it's great when riders with two horses take part in the series," Heinze emphasizes. "This way they get a tremendous amount of routine and also take a lot with them for the training of their next horses."
The training also happened with the upcoming stop in Mannheim in mind. "The course is similar in size to the one in Mannheim," Heinze explains. "So riders and horses have already felt a big place this year. I think that is very good and important for many as preparation. Some of the Piaff participants have never been through a vet check before. We just want to give them the security that they know what to expect in Mannheim."
Last year, too, top-class sport could be seen in both the qualifications and the finals. So it remains exciting this year as well!
