Current27 - 29 October
Licensing in Hannover and Stud Fair 2011
18 - 21 August
Bettenrode Days of Dressage 2011
With many tests up to the Grand Prix Special the organizers of the days of dressage in Bettenröde presented once again dressage sport of the highest level, already for the eighth time now. Heike and Feleciano started with a fourth place in the Short Grand Prix, with Quantico she came tenth. In the Freestyle the result was place seven for Quantico. The weekend was rounded off for Floh and Heike by their victory in the Grand Prix Special on Sunday.
28 - 31 July
Dressage Gala in Franconian Heroldsberg
"As everybody knows Heroldsberg is one of my favourite feel-good tournaments – the atmosphere is very hospitable and cosy. And to ride the Freestyle in floodlight on Saturday night is a real highlight. A great audience creates a magic setting here", so Heike. The results: Feleciano came third in the Grand Prix and fifth in the Grand Prix Freestyle, Quantico made a second place in the other Grand Prix and an eighth place in the Special.
23 - 26 June
Off to the Mountains – CDI in Austrian Fritzens
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| Orion and Feleciano were the two horses that took part in the tournament in Austrian Wattens, on the beautifully located Schindlhof of the Swarowski family, accompanied by two more horses that were supposed to work and to "sniff some tournament-atmosphere". With Westphalian Feleciano Heike came seventh both in the Grand Prix and the Freestyle. Pia qualified in the Grand Prix for the Freestyle which the two completed with place 13. | |
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The Stable Aisle |
At Work |
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Feleciano and Heike |
Orion and Pia |
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Showpiece by Jean Francoise Pignon |
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| Copyright Photos: Hans-Günter Grunke |
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09 - 12 June
Competition in the Palace Gardens of Wiesbaden Biebrich
At the top of the "Hessen-Agenda" was the Grand Prix for Heike and Quantico, the qualification for the Special. Place seven secured them the permission to take part in the Freestyle on Saturday evening which resulted in a twelfth place because Quantico was quite a bit put off by the shadows of the floodlights on the ground. With Feleciano Heike came sixth in the Grand Prix, eighth in the GP Special.
06 - 08 May
Four Victories for Heike – Two Places for Pia: the Competition at Bartlgut in Neuhofen was a hit
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| Once again the weekend's destination was Austria. This time Pia and Heike took the four horses Orion, Thunderbolt ("Blitz"), Quantico and Feleciano with them to Neuhofen im Innkreis. This beautiful competition offers about everything the dressage rider's heart desires: Great arenas, great stables, and a fantastic organisation. "If everything works out so well for you in such a super atmosphere you almost want to travel to a competition every week", Pia and Heike grinned after the successful tests. They started with the Prix St.-Georges for Pia and her 11-year-old Dutch Thunderbolt called Blitz. | |
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Quantico and Heike |
Blitz and Pia |
| By no means all went well in this test, but Heike thinks that her student Pia is on the right track with this difficult horse. The next start was Heike's who presented her Quantico in the Grand Prix for the Special. And this presentation sufficed for a win. On Saturday morning Pia and Blitz made use of their second chance: | |
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In the Inter I-Freestyle the two improved noticeably and closely missed the rostrum. In the afternoon the Grand Prix for the Freestyle was on. This time Pia started with her Orion and they presented themselves extremely well. With 67,25% they came fifth and were more than pleased. For this test Heike saddled up Feleciano. And again this bundle of energy showed what he is made of. With 71,93% the two took the lead of the test |
| before Anja Plönzke with Le Mont d'Or and Christiane Eglinski and Cosmopolitain CC. The second victory in this tournament. And so it continued, as Heike secured victory number three with Quantico in the Grand Prix Special, and number four in the last test of the tournament, the GP-Freestyle. Pia and Orion gained another fifth place with their lively Freestyle. "Throughout the tournament these two gave a steady performance. |  |
Feleciano |
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| Quantico, Heike and his Groom Hilke |
Orion and Pia |
| I'm absolutely pleased with this. And with my own horses as well, of course. Quantico went awfully even and I'm really proud of my Feleciano.He has shown how much power, liveliness, and vigour he's got in him and I'm really happy because I feel that we have many more wonderful competitions before us", so Heike after the fantastic successes. "I would very very much like to | |
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| Feleciano |
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Quantico, Heike, Organizer Edda Schmidt and Sponsor Peter Ebinger |
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| start again next year in this competition which was organized so very kindly and beautifully by the Schmidt family. What they have achieved here is simply remarkable! Bartlgut should really be a place for international championships, you can't possibly improve this." | |
Fotos Copyright: Hans-Günter Grunke |
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21 - 25 April
Successes at CDI3* in Austrian Stadl Paura
| On the Easter weekend Pia and Heike set off on their long trip to Austria with four horses. With them were Feleciano, Quantico, Orion and Thunderbolt. The first start in the qualifying Grand Prix was Heike's with Quantico who qualified safely with a third place for the Special which he finished as fifth. With Feleciano she started in the Freestyle tour. They came second in the Grand Prix with 69,94% and gained another great result in the Freestyle: Again place two with 73,83%. | |
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| Equestrian Centre Stadl Paura |
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| Yet another reason for joy were the successes of Heike's student Pia Fortmüller. With her KWPN Wallach Orion, by Jazz, she came third with 69,77% in this international field of starters in the Grand Prix – directly behind Feleciano and Heike - and showed also in the Freestyle that she is to be reckoned with: Again place three with 72,85%. "My super placings make me totally happy but I'm almost more delighted about Pia's success than about my own |  |
Orion and Pia |
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results" so Heike after the great rides of her student. "Pia worked very intensively with her Orion but never forgot that fun and change are also very important for the horse. I think that this demonstrates very well how positively this management affects her horse. And Pia herself – both always worked with concentration and joy". |
Feleciano and Heike |
Fotos Copyright: Hans-Günter Grunke |
16 April
Late Entry Competition at Margarethenhof in Dahlenburg
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With eight horses Mayke, Pia and Heike headed for Dahlenburg that Saturday. On the agenda of horses and riders were tests ranging from A to Prix St. Georges. In the Novice test A assistent Mayke Liebregts-Busch and five-year-old Frankie (Fidertanz/Falkland) came third with 7,5 points. In the Elementary test L she achieved a second place with Caruso (Competent/For Feeling). Pia Fortmüller came fourth with her Dutch gelding Anited. Next was the Medium test M where Pia started with Dutch |  |
| Coriano and Mayke | Thunderbolt and Pia | |
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Zephyrus Utopia who mastered the test very well. Heike and her Riedinger won the M**, Mayke came third with Coriano, and Pia rode her Thunderbolt to place four. Only Pia and Thunderbolt entered the last test of the day, the Prix St.-Georges Special. Even if it didn't quite suffice for a placing Pia was highly pleased with her "Blitz" because the very spooky gelding was concentrated, easy to ride through the test, and passed his lessons with increasing calmness. All in all that Saturday was a thoroughly successful day in a pleasant, comfortable competition. |  |
| Caruso and Mayke | Riedinger and Heike | |
| Fotos Copyright: Hans-Günter Grunke |
13 April
Mercedes Benz Forum in Osnabrück
04 April
Mercedes Benz Forum in Duisburg
28 March
Mercedes Benz Forum in Schwäbisch Gmünd
25 - 27 March
Clinic at Riding Club Castell
This was Heike's third clinic in Bavarian Freystadt.
22 March
Mercedes Benz Forum in Eutin
18 and 19 March
Mayke Places "Youngsters" in Wolfsburg
At the days of dressage in Wolfsburg assistant Mayke Liebregts-Busch fared very well with Amselhof's youngsters. With 5-year-old Hanoverian For Asgard (For Edition/Acord II) she came fifth in only the second dressage test of his career, with Caruso, son of Competent/For Feeling, she came fourth in the Elementary test L. In the Medium test M** Mayke managed to ride Fürst Heinrich/Weltmeyer-mare Fein Cera to place two.
10 - 13. March
10. Löwenclassics in Brunswick
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Orion |
Heike did her rounds at the Löwenclassics this year with the Florestan-son Feleciano. Also starting in Brunswick was Heike's Canadian Student Pia Fortmüller with her Orion. In the Grand Prix Feleciano and Heike came seventh with a fine ride, and Pia qualified with her Orion for the Freestyle on Sunday. In the Freestyle finally Heike came sixth and Pia eighth.
Successes on Anakenenhof
Quantico and Feleciano were once again the horses Heike chose to accompany her to Hamburg. Her student Pia Fortmüller from Canada with her KWPN-gelding Orion made two more of the party. In the Grand Prix Heike came third with Feleciano behind winner Juliane Brunkhorst with Flirt de Lully and runner-up Alexandra Bimschas with Wito Corleone. Quantico didn't place at all due to some "moments of shock". After that it was clear that Feleciano should enter the Special and Quantico the Freestyle. "Floh" presented himself in top shape in the Grand Prix Special and came second with Heike behind Alexandra Bimschas. Quantico was very convincing in the Freestyle and secured place two after a good performance. Particularly pleasant was the success of Pia and Orion in the Grand Prix Special who ranked right behind Heike and Feleciano on place three.
8 - 10 September
Three Days on the Road for the Stallion Licensing 2010
Among about 700 registered stallions the Licensing Committee of Hannover, including Heike, are looking for the best stallions of 2010 in all of Lower Saxony. From 21 to 23 October the licensing and stallion fair will be held in Verden.
20 - 22 August
Hof Bettenrode invited to the Dressage Days
In this tournament on Hof Bettenrode Heike started with Feleciano and Quantico again. As in Dresden she managed to stand her ground very well with both horses in the field of starters. In the short Grand Prix "Floh" secured place three, in the Grand Prix Freestyle Heike and Quantico came fifth, and in the Grand Prix Special on Sunday the result was a second place for Feleciano and Heike.
30 July - 01 August
Successful "Grand Prix" Dressage Tournament in Dresden
Heike travelled to Dresden with two horses, 15-year-old Feleciano of Fidermark and 11-year-old Quantico of Quattro B. In the Intermediaire II she came third with "Floh" and fourth with "Quaddi" behind winner Ronald Lüders with Sansisco OLD and Jochen Vetters with Fanano as runner-up. For the Short Grand Prix on Saturday she saddled Quantico and achieved another fourth place. With Feleciano she entered the Grand Prix on Sunday and came fourth once more. |
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Feleciano |
Quantico |
| "I haven't had Floh under the saddle for a very long time yet and I'm totally happy because he turned out to be a real "show horse" that goes along, likes to present himself and impresses especially with his beautiful Piaffe-Passage-Tour. Mr and Mrs Marion and Gerhard Müter gave him to me for training, it was our tournament premiere here in Dresden. That it also worked so well here at first go after the great training results is more than I expected", Heike rejoiced. | |
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Piaffe |
Award Ceremony |
| Quantico also knew how to display himself. Heike: "All the work that Jonny Hilberath and I invested in Quaddi's training in the past months really paid off. He was able to take all he had learned along into the arena and was much more secure in all lessons/exercises." | |
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Pirouette |
After the Freestyle |
On Saturday Heike presented her Quantico also in a little Freestyle demonstration as part of the show evening. "The Dresden Grand Prix tournament was a premiere. And I can only say, a very successful premiere. The conditions were super throughout, the surfaces great and everything here was perfectly organized for the riders. The organizers simply know what they want and I think that with their inventiveness they will develop and establish this tournament", so Heike after the successful weekend. |
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21 – 25 July
Clinic in Hungary
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| Equestrian Centre of Pulai Lovas Park | The Stables |
Once again, the equestrian centre "Pulai Lovaspark" provided the "venue" for Heike's second clinic in Hungary. |
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| the participants are eager to learn and | In Class |
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The Group |
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| one can see that with many of my do's and don'ts from last year's clinic they clearly helped their horses to improve. I was able to build on this straight away. And on top of it all the hospitality here is simply unbeatable. So every evening I was acquainted with the local culinary delights in good company. Naturally I would love to come back." | |
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In the Wine-Cellar Restaurant |
14 - 16 July
Heike on Foot at CHIO - and Bonaparte is Fine at Home
This year's big world festival of equestrian sport at Aachen Soers sees Heike without any horses at all. A participation this year was out of the question. In the current season Heike hasn't been able so far to start in any test with Bonaparte so that she has to abandon the target she had originally set herself for 2010 – the World Championships in Kentucky. She also postponed the presentation of her younger horses in tests because she isn't quite satisfied yet with their development. |
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"The last months were rather frustrating. Bonaparte fell ill in the middle of the stamina training after his fairly long pause. For more than a week he had a temperature of over 40 degrees which we only very slowly managed to get a grip on. Finally an anaplasmosis was diagnosed, a tick-borne infection. In the meantime he has fully recovered but the time left for training until the presentations at the CHIO in Aachen and the German Championships is much too short. This time the World Championships will probably take |
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| place without me. | Bonaparte Enjoys Grazing again
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Of course I don't give up but keep on concentrating on my horses – so eventually it will go up the hill again. Most of all I'm happy that Boni is well again and really enjoying grazing and wallowing again", Heike said. |
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| Wallowing in the Paddock
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| In the meantime things are starting to look up a bit. Federal co-trainer Jonny Hilberath is helping out in the training of two of Heike's horses. |
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| A nice highlight was the tournament in Vorsfelde which Heike | Jonny Hilberath |
entered at short notice to present 7-year-old Trakehnen stallion "Feenzauber iWEST" (of Connery x Sanssouci x Fierant xx) in his first M**-dressage. They won. "It was our first tournament and I was delighted how well everything worked. I took a lot of time to train him and I think that he has taken everything in very well now. Before his owner, Dr. Dorothee Meyer, gave him to me to be trained he was used as an event horse. At 5 he was in the finals of the Federal Championships for event horses and came sixth. |
Feenzauber |
Now he has entered on a career as dressage horse and |
| I think he is really talented. He puts everything into action very well and is eager to work. Let's see where this is going to lead us", Heike smiled. |
