In addition to the two Grand Prix, the preliminary tests for 5-, 6- and 7-year old horses were also on the agenda in the castle park arena at the beginning of the 24th CDI4* in Achleiten.
Preliminary test 7-year-old horses
Austria’s dressage ace Astrid Neumayers was the clear winner of the preliminary test for 7-year-old horses on Friday afternoon with Dinay and 74.140 percent. “Our round was really very good. It was our first start together today and for Dinay it was not only the first advanced dressage but generally also the first international show,“ Neumayer was visibly pleased with her sport partner, who as a 6-year-old had already competed very successfully in various young horse competitions and had also taken part in a Bundeschampionat.
Christina Trost (GER) with Dickens and 73.0 percent and Belinda Weinbauer (AUT) with Danieli VMT and 70.011 percent completed the podium as second and third.
FEI Vorbereitungsaufgabe 7-jährige
1. Astrid Neumayer (AUT), Dinay 74,14
2. Christina Trost (GER), Dickens 70,429
3. Belinda Weinbauer (AUT), Danieli VMT 70,011
4. Xenia Herta Schumann (ITA), Xenia's Satiro Danzante 63,4
Preliminary test 6-year-old horses
Germany’s Franziska Stieglmaier won the preliminary test for 6-year-old horses with Zahin. With 80.2 percent, the 29-year-old, who most recently finished 9th in the Grand Prix Special at the CDI3* at the Pferd International Munich with her number 1 DSP Dauphin, she was followed by Czech Jan Zamec with Kajool (73.000 percent).
FEI Preliminary test 6-year-olds
1. Franziska Stieglmaier (GER), Zahin 80,2
2. Jan Zamec (CZE), Kajool 73,0
Preliminary test 5-year-old horses
Luxembourg's Sascha Schulz not only achieved first place with Louis Vuitton in the castle park arena in Achleiten with 80.2 percent, but was also very satisfied with the performance, “Louis Vuitton is still very inexperienced and this was only the second time I had him at a show. I am very happy with the performance he showed, especially with his walk. There he was very relaxed, pulled well to the hand and made a nice easy change in the canter tour. Maybe we could have ridden out five minutes less – that made the trot a bit querulous in the contact. That was definitely also a bit of a strength thing. But this aspect will get better in the coming weeks and months."
Second place went to Austrian Tamara Michei, who scored 72.6 percent with Francis Drake MT, “I am quite satisfied with the performance. The fact that everything is a bit different at home upset Francis a bit – he was then a bit unfocused. He has a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to the upcoming tests."
FEI Preliminary test 5-year-olds
1. Sascha Schulz (LUX), Louis Vuitton 80,2
2. Tamara Michei (AUT), Francis Drake MT 72,6