Premiere for para riders

There was also a premiere on the agenda of Equine International Munich on the large Hufeisenplatz on Thursday: Hippo GmbH staged a show-jumping event for riders with a handicap for the first time. There were two winners in both categories in the prize donated by the Brose Group. Christian Feigl from the club RFV Chiemgau-Nord came out top on Erotic Extasy, while the second golden ribbon was picked up by Robin Wuttke (Spremberg) on Aimee. Michael Stoschek, Chairman of the Brose Group, personally presented the prize to the riders. Stoschek was one of the best show-jumpers in Germany in the 1990s and was Bavarian champion in 1992 and 1996.

It was a premiere for the still young discipline: A show-jumping contest for riders with a handicap was held at Equine International Munich for the first time. Several such contests have been staged at the national level in the past years, there have been German championships since 2015, and Bavarian championships have been held since 2014. However, one at the major international event in Munich-Riem was the highlight to date for the ambitious riders.

Supported by the interest group “Show-jumping for People with a Handicap”, organizers can apply rules that allow riders to be assigned to different grades to reflect their handicap. The course is essentially the same as usual, but the fences are reduced in height to 80 cm and 90 cm.

It was also a new challenge for the riders. Equine International Munich gave them the chance to line up in front of a large audience and compete with their peers on the international equestrian sports stage. The incentive was enormous and there was a mood of buoyant anticipation. Events of this kind are a model for inclusion in practice in the world of international equestrianism.