A goose bumps moment at the end of the anniversary show in Achleiten. Victoria Max-Theurer and Abegglen FH NRW showed magic in the castle park arena with a flawless Freestyle for which they received a score of 83.01 percent from the judges.
Second place was taken by Swiss Estelle Wettstein with West Side Story and 77.835 percent. Belgian Laurence Roos and her Fil Rouge followed on third place with 75.535 percent.
Victoria Max-Theurer had tears of happiness in her eyes, "I am overwhelmed by what has just happenend in the arena. It was after all our first Freestyle that we rode entirely for the first time yeesterday. Dad would have been proud of us."
Indeed the 35-year-old Upper Austrian came very close with Abegglen to her own Freestyle record with the legendary Augustin OLD (83.05). "I was already in the stable to give Augustin a carrot and to tell him that he still had the record," Victoria Max-Theurer joked.
The Freestyle to music from Verdi's La Traviata and Mozart's Don Giovanni seemed to spur the 11-year-old Westphalian gelding, "This classical music that was play and perfectly mixed for us by Michael Erdmann suits Abegglen. He was totally committed. I trusted him, he trusted me because I could give him assurance. It was really cool!"
There's only little time left before Victoria Max-Theurer will be on her way to Tokyo to participate in Olympic Games for the fifth time. On 6 July Abegglen and the other Olympic horses will go to Aachen for a 7-day quarantine. Max-Theurer, "We only have three weeks until the quarantine starts, then we fly to Tokyo. I am very happy that my team supports me so much; Stefan (note: Lehfellner, partner), my mom and Isabell (note: Werth, trainer) were here as well. An exciting time lies ahead of us!"
N°3 FEI Grand Prix Kür
1. Victoria Max-Theurer (AUT), Abegglen FH NRW 83,01 percent
2. Estelle Wettstein (SUI), West Side Story 77,835
3. Laurence Roos (BEL), Fil Rouge 75,535
4. Günter Seidel (USA), Equirelle 73,685
5. Valentina Truppa (ITA), Ranieri 73,4
6. Oliver Valenta (AUT), Valenta’s Fantast 72,675
7. Franzika Fries (AUT), Atomic 72,385
8. Ulrike Prunthaller (AUT), Bartlgut’s Quantum 71,725
9. Zaneta Skowronska-Kozubik (POL) Romantic P 71,530
10. Timna Zach (AUT), Chico 71,095
11. Amanda Hartung (AUT), Dresscode Black 68,915
12. Isabella Willibald (AUT), Richterhof’s Farbenfroh 68,260