Germany’s Brigitte Wittig & Blind Date Add Intermediaire I to Prix St. Georges Victory
15 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Germany’s Brigitte Wittig & Blind Date Add Intermediaire I to Prix St. Georges Victory
By ILSE SCHWARZ
AACHEN. Germany, July 4–Brigitte Wittig and her Hanoverian mare Blind Date (Breitling W x Donnerhall) followed their win in the Prix St Georges with victory in the Intermediaire I with 74.474 percent. The pair again showed great accuracy with a highlight being huge flowing flying changes.
Second place, with 74.105 percent went to the young German rider Matthias Alexander Rath riding the gelding Weltmeyer Junior (Weltmeyer x Brentano II), owned by his aunt, Ann. K. Linsenhoff.
The Prix St. Georges on Wednesday celebrated not necessarily the future champions but the further development of the Young Horse classes. No fewer than five of the 14 horses competing in the Deutsche Bank Stadium were highly placed in either World Young Horse Championships at Verden or the German Bundeschampionate.
The winner, Blind Date, ridden by Brigitte Wittig, wife of trainer, Wolfram Wittig, was first in the qualifying round for five-year-olds in 2007, but did not compete in the finals.
Blind Date, like all of Brigitte’s youngsters, is by the stallion Breitling.
While not dazzling with huge gaits, his pure technicality, perfectly straight tempi changes and balanced, well executed pirouettes put the pair at 73.474 per cent on Wednesday.
The Prix St. Georges at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO in Aachen on Wednesday celebrated not necessarily the future champions but the further development of the Young Horse classes. No fewer than five of the 14 horses competing in the Deutsche Bank Stadium were highly placed in either World Young Horse Championships at Verden or the German Bundeschampionate.
The winner, Blind Date, ridden by Brigitte Wittig, wife of trainer, Wolfram Wittig, was first in the qualifying round for five-year-olds in 2007, but did not compete in the finals.
Blind Date, like all of Brigitte’s youngsters, is by the stallion Breitling.
While not dazzling with huge gaits, his pure technicality, perfectly straight tempi changes and balanced, well executed pirouettes put the pair at 73.474 per cent on Wednesday.
That placed them ahead of former five- and six-year-old World Young Horse champion, Florencio, ridden by Hans-Peter Minderhoud of The Netherlands for a score of 72.105 per cent. This stallion received scores of 10 for his canter in both of those finals and though now 10 years old, seems not to have lost his tremendous gaits.
The other horses to have had successful “Young Horse” careers are Furst Khevenhuller, ridden by Helen Langehanberg of Germany who was ninth in Aachen, Polka Hit Nexen ridden by Andreas Helgstrand of Denmark in 10th place and Dante, ridden by Ingrid Klimke of Germany to 12 place.
