October, 24—Provided by International Horse Press— The 2021 NRHA Germany Breeders 4-year-old Open Futurity Finals concluded the week-long show at the Pferdesportzentrum Ostbayernhalle in Kreuth, Germany. 146 riders aboard 235 horses met to compete during the whole week and the best horse-rider combinations returned on Saturday for the 4-year-old Non Pro and Open Finals.

Italian Mirko Midili performed a breathtaking run on Domenico Giannitti’s stallion GD Peptos Olena Blue (Spat A Blue x Miss Peptos Jacky) that was awarded a 225 score and earned the pair the Open Level (L)4 Championship.
 
Midili was proud of his horse’s improvement during the week: “This horse is unbelievable. We had an overturn penalty tonight, but the rest felt so good. In the qualifier, he wasn’t so confident in the stops, probably because it’s new ground for him, he has never been here before; but after three days of riding him in the arena, he stepped up just in time for the Finals. He is a great stopper, so I knew if we could put it together, the judges would like his fancy stops and turns and I’m glad they did.” Midili added that for a stallion, the horse is super calm and quiet, so he enjoys riding him.
 
NRHA Two Million Dollar Rider Bernard Fonck of Belgium rode Lenka Lukackova’s stallion Face To Face (NRHA Two Million Dollar Sire Pale Face Dunnit x Wimpys Lil Diva) to a score of 222 to earn the Reserve Championship in the L4.
 

Gennaro Lendi – Photos by International Horse Press

Tying for third place honors was Gennaro Lendi. The Italian Professional knew he needed a little under $7,600 in earnings to pass the million-dollar mark when he arrived at the NRHA Germany Breeders Futurity. Thanks to his two mounts: OT Taris Yankee (Yankee Gun x OT Tarisme) owned by Cornelia Valentin, and OT Dont Miss To Wish (Dont Miss My Guns x OT Taris Wish Miss), owned by Domenico Giannitti, he made it! “I am so emotional tonight,” said Lendi. “This is really special for me especially having made the million riding these two horses I bred. I chose the breeding, they were born at home and trained myself. It’s incredible and I still can’t believe it!”
 
Emanuel Ernst & Wimpysdreamcometrue

German Emanuel Ernst and Celina Stuiber’s stallion Wimpysdreamcometrue (NRHA Seven Million Dollar Sire Magnum Chic Dream x Sheza Smart Wimpy) captured the Open L3 Championship scoring a 220.5 for the title. Ernst was thankful for the owners’ trust with their horse and happy to repeat the win from the 2020 NRHA German Breeders 3-year-old Futurity, where he also claimed the Open L3 Championship aboard the same horse. “It is really exciting to come back here with him and win the same title again; I’m very proud of him,” noted Ernst. “Before my run tonight, I talked to the owner and I said if we score above a 220, we should take him to the NRHA European Futurity in Cremona, Italy, so I hope now we get to go, but we will see,” joked Ernst about his accomplishment tonight.
 
Francesco Pedretti & Frozen Flame

Reserve Champion in the L3 division, Francesco Pedretti also claimed the L2 Championship. Riding Heike Strambach’s Frozen Flame (SG Frozen Enterprize x Kea Chex), the Italian rider scored a 220 to win the title. “I feel like a little boy, who just captured his dream,” smiled the happy Champion. “This horse is such a good mover and circles really well, so I know I can trust him in the show pen and speed up because he can do it.”
 
Kristiaan Hermus and Miss Maggie Brown (NRHA Seven Million Dollar Sire Magnum Chic Dream x Hollywood Footprints) owned by AK Quarterhorses scored a 218 to finish Reserve Champions in Open L2.
 
Philipp Küng & Lil West Side

It was a special win tonight for Swiss rider Philipp Küng and his family. The Open L1 Champion scored a 214 with Lil West Side (Out West Whiz x Ruf Cut Skills), a mare owned by Gabriela Küng, bred and raised by the Küng family. As Küng said, “I knew that she was something special, because she always stopped like a maniac, so it was a pleasure to train her.” Küng was especially excited to win on a homebred horse: “It is so much fun to see them since the beginning to when they walk in the show pen for the first time. She won a few little shows before, but this is her first major event, so I am really pleased with her and super proud of her performance.” Küng continued about the future plans for the mare: “We were thinking about selling her, but it is a special bond; when you get to win at such a prestigious show on a homebred horse, well, we may reconsider and keep her.
 
The L1 Reserve Championship went to French Jérémy Ropert aboard Yves Le Du’s Rolling Block Spark (NRHA Two Million Dollar Sire A Sparkling Vintage x CDS Ramb A Jenny). The duo scored a 213.5 to earn the title.
 
Tonight’s Finals concluded the show season for NRHA Germany. President Joachim Zangerle was pleased with the outcome of the show as well as with the progress of the season, which did not start as cheerfully as it thankfully finished tonight. “At the beginning of the year, we only offered show for open riders,” noted Zangerle. “In the summer, we reopened the shows to the public again, so that was exciting and it felt like we were back to normal. The riders were sure happy that they could hear cheering in the stands again.” About this show, Zangerle mentioned: “There was a very high quality of horses, which I am very pleased to see; both in the Non Pro and Open, 3-year-old and 4-year-old futurities. I think I’ve seen the best horses here in the last several years and I hope this quality will last in the years to come. We have several good breeders in Europe now, especially in Italy and Germany. Of course, we get a lot of breedings from the USA as well, and the breeders invest a lot of money to their programs, which helps improve the level of the sport.”
 
Zangerle thanked to all NRHA Germany sponsors for their support, and also welcomed incoming sponsors for the next show season. “Next year we want to raise the quality of the shows again. Bring more sponsors, have a VIP area at shows, create more audio-visual side effects, etc. We also want to promote the Youth program and focus on the young riders, who are the future of our sport,” he concluded.

Photos by NRHA Germany Breeders Futurity Official Photographer Tom Hautmann

By International Horse Press
Editor Simona Diale/Graphics and Editorial Chiara Milani/Writer Marie Klimová