On Sunday morning Stefan Lehfellner and the 9-year-old gelding Flying Dancer OLD, owned by hostess Sissy Max-Theurer, secured their second victory on this weekend.
The Austrian rider/horse duo did not only take first place in the Intermediate I but also achieved their personal best score in this category with 73.110 percent.
Second place was taken by 34-year-old Viennese Pia Gabriel, who completed the test with her 10-year-old mare Emira 11 and 68.471 percent. Italian Valentina Truppa with Smile di Fonteabeti (68.383) finished third.
"We had a great round today. The test was more difficult than yesterday due to the wind but we managed really well. Flying Dancer is quite sensitive when it comes to the circumstances. He did an amazing job during his only second Intermediate in the arena," said the Upper-Austrian with a smile and gave a little preview: "In the next weeks we focus on the development and want to prepare him for the more difficult tests - he is already able to do more than what he has shown today. Our goal is to start in an Intermediate II for the first time in fall."
The focus is not only on the training of the horses. Lehfellner will strongly support his partner Victoria Max-Theurer in regard to the Olympic Games in Tokyo: "For Vici and me the preparations for Tokyo are starting on this weekend. We'll work on them together. There are still a lot of things to do. We are looking forward to an exciting time."
Second-placed Pia Gabriel from Vienna was more than satisfied with her round, "I am really proud of my mare. The 10-year-old is very sensitive and shows a lot of elegance. We've already ridden Intermediate II but now focus on the Small Tour on the international level. Therefore it was possible to participate in such a beautiful show as it is organized in Achleiten. We've really enjoyed the weekend a lot."
N°17 FEI Intermediate I
1. Stefan Lehfellner (AUT), Flying Dancer OLD, 73,118 percent
2. Pia Gabriel (AUT), Emira 11, 68,471
3. Valentina Truppa (ITA), Smile di Fonteabeti, 68,383
4. Alexandra Pferschy (AUT), Luitpold 10, 68,176
5. Peter Gmoser (AUT), Don Jon OLD, 67,441 6. Alexandra Pferschy (AUT), Hanky Panky, 63,559
7. Pia Gabriel (AUT), Johann Strauß, 62,147 8. Luise Eigl (AUT), Da Vinci 195, 61,500
9. Nicole Berghofer (AUT), Ferrero Küsschen MJ, 61,471
10. Florian Bacher (AUT), Broadmoar’s Ulrich, Eliminated