The traditional international dressage tournament at Schloss Achleiten (Upper Austria) will be held from June 13th to 16th and it is all about the last form check before Paris 2024. The Olympic Games will take place from July 26th to August 11th and on July 30th things will get serious with the first part of the Olympic Grand Prix in front of Versailles Palace.
So there's a lot at stake for Austria's best pairs in the Schlossparkviereck in Achleiten. Olympic champion Elisabeth Max-Theurer, as host, is delighted with the current form of the red-white-red dressage team: "Our team has already achieved very pleasing results in the run-up to this final Olympic selection tournament. Now it's time for the individual pairs to show themselves once again under the same conditions. We have a top-class panel of judges and perfect conditions all round. After all, it's all about the Olympics and, as in the other disciplines, we want to send the best current pairs in dressage!"
Victoria Max-Theurer, who has entered her two top horses Abegglen FH NRW and Birkhof's Topas, is looking forward to the tournament at home: "We have a very good atmosphere across all disciplines in the entire Austrian team, and not just since the joint Paris kick-off in Salzburg at the beginning of the year. It is motivating to see how our para-team, the show jumping team and also eventer Lea Siegl are in form ahead of Paris. As a dressage team, we naturally also want to show our best side. That's not always easy, after all, our sports partners are very sensitive creatures, and we humans sometimes have good days and then less good days. I hope that everyone can perform at a high level so that we can send the best team to France."
In addition to the Olympic duo from Tokyo, Christian Schumach and Te Quiero SF, World Championship rider Stefan Lehfellner will be competing with Roberto Carlos MT.
The successful Olympic duo Florian Bacher and Fidertraum OLD had to cancel at short notice, which was immediately accepted by all their Austrian riding colleagues and, above all, team manager Diana Wünschek: "Florian asked me to skip the Grand Prix on Friday because Fidertraum is currently showing symptoms of illness with a cough that need to be treated by a vet. This is all about the horses' welfare and ensuring that they are in top shape for the Olympics after their outstanding performances this season!"
For the numerous young Austrian dressage riders, the U25, the Young Rider and the Junior Tour are also about delivering their best performances. This year, the European YR & U25 Dressage Championships will be held at home in St. Margarethen near Wolfsberg from July 16 to 21. From July 25 to 28, the European P, Ch & J Dressage Championships will be held in Opglabbeek (BEL).
The provisional schedule, current start and result lists, as well as live scores can be found HERE
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