Horse Connection

geoff young

I half expected to run into Hansel and Gretel as I walked on the soft path of wood chips that meandered through this forest in the North Rhine Westphalia district of Germany. I wasn’t lost or looking for a gingerbread house, but I was in need of direction. Before me a post stood at a crossroads with several signs pointing in many directions. I was in need of direction no longer. To the left was the dressage ring. To the right was the showjumping arena, and straight ahead was the cross-country course. I wasn’t in horse heaven, but it was the next best thing - the Bundeschampionate

The Bundeschampionate is the German young horse and pony championship, and while the four-legged champions in Aachen had already achieved their goal at the FEI Games, the horses of the next generation were taking their first steps at this national event in Warendorf.

Warendorf was an important trading center in the Late Middle Ages, and is best known today for its well-preserved medieval town center and the National German equestrian training center, which is the home to the Bundeschampionate.

Every year the best three to six-year-old junior horses and ponies bred in Germany, compete to become champion of the year in the riding horse, dressage horse, jumping horse, event horse, driving horse, riding pony, dressage pony, event pony, and the jumping pony.

Last year more than 40,000 breeders, riders, owners, dealers, and friends of the horse came from all over Germany and many foreign countries to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Bundeschampionate’s permanent location in Warendorf.

With over 100 exhibitors of all things related to the horse, as well as wine bars and beer gardens, the Bundeschampionate is truly a celebration of horses and ponies and the equestrian culture.

The horses and ponies have to qualify to get to the Bundeschampionate, and once here, have the chance to start their career with a championship under their belt, or girth as the case may be.

To be a spectator at this championship is a treat. And for five days, from September 6th to the 10th, the sights and sounds of hundreds of horses and riders, competing in all of the equestrian disciplines, is an experience any horse lover would relish.

The forest on the grounds of the national equestrian training center helps to separate the various competition venues, and keeps everything and everyone from being crowded together in one big open area. Wide paths through the forest connect all of the areas of competition, and provide a nice peaceful walk through the soft shade of the trees.

With the sun streaming through the tall pines, the dressage warm-up ring was full of riders working out the nervous twitches of the young horses and ponies before entering the competition ring. Spectators packed the stands as pair after pair entered, with hopes of catching the judge’s eye, and a high score. As each horse and rider in the six-year-old championship round left the ring, a steward gave him or her a glass of schnapps to drink in front of a cheering crowd.

Just a short walk from the dressage ring was the cross-country venue. The Germans refer to cross-country as “Military,” which evolved out of a test for military horses, and it was there that hundreds of people lined the course as the muffled boom of horse’s hoofs pounded the ground on the way to the log jump or down into the water. Dogs barked and yelped every time the horses came galloping by. In Germany, dogs are everywhere that people are, and there might have been as many Jack Russell Terriers as horses at these championships.

Back through the forest, on my way to the jumping competition, I ran the gauntlet through Vendors Row. This was the place for shopping, drinking a cappuccino with a legendary German pastry, or celebrating a horse’s achievement with beer, wine, and a brat or two. You didn’t have to have a horse competing to feel like a part of the Bundeschampionate. Germans strolled the grounds with dogs and children, enjoying a part of their culture that few countries can claim. You can see the pride they have for their horses, and how important it is to them.

The jumping course was lined with tents and stadium seating, as it was the location for the finale of these National Horse Championships. After five days of qualifying rounds, the champions of each discipline in each age group, ponies and young horses alike, assembled outside the course entrance towards the end of the six-year-old championship round in show jumping, for the parade of champions that would close out the 2006 Bundeschampionate.

After the six-year-old showjumping champion was crowned, a precision military dressage team put on a breathtaking demonstration, and then the other champions came onto the course and lined up for the crowd’s appreciation and adoration. With tricolor ribbons and big smiles on the rider’s faces flashing in the fading afternoon sun, these champion horses and riders began their victory gallop.

Breeders and owners of champion horses had tears in their eyes as they hugged each other in elation, knowing what producing a Bundeschampion means to their career and business. To those who say the Germans are unemotional, they have never seen them with their horses.

If you have ever imagined what an “Equestrian Disneyland” might look like, then you owe it to yourself to attend the Bundeschampionate in Warendorf, Germany. It is there that you will find your heart beating faster as you discover a forest full of the best young horses that Germany has to offer.