Sometimes everything just falls into place, paving the way for the most wonderful success stories that only equestrian sport can produce: Riding her ten-year-old Nickel by Numero Uno-Lorentin I (Hindrick Stüvel, Rosengarten), line 4303, Julia Krajewski won the four-star eventing competition at the Soers in Aachen.
It was an Aachen eventing competition full of ups and downs, at the end of which Julia Krajewski was able to add her name to the winners’ list for the second time, ahead of Calvin Böckmann and Laura Collett, who, together with the British team, won the Nations Cup. The German team finished in fourth place. Having already secured his place at the Olympic Games with his performances in dressage and show jumping, Michael Jung was therefore granted a dispensation for the cross-country. Christoph Wahler and Carjatan S by Clearway-Galant ver xx (Carl-Friedrich Söhrmann, Groß Buchwald), line 6788, had established a very strong position but, after consulting with the national coach and the eventing committee, withdrew from the cross-country stage about halfway through to spare his grey for Paris.
This cleared the way for Julia Krajewski, who scored 23.9 penalty points in dressage with Nickel and had remained clear in the show jumping. The cross-country ride also posed no problems for the pair; it was only the time that proved a little tight. “Nickel lost a shoe on his front left leg quite early on; I noticed it here and there in the tighter turns and I’m afraid that cost me a few seconds,” she said. As one of the first riders to start, however, Krajewski had to wait two and a half hours with her final score of 30.3 penalty points before she could be celebrated as the winner. This was because there were still a few riders who could have challenged her for the victory. When Krajewski’s victory was confirmed, a few tears were shed. “When you train a horse from scratch, bring it into top-level sport yourself and ride a test like this to victory, it’s simply something very special,” said the moved rider. “He’s very willing, always tries to do everything right and is always looking for the next task,” she continued, speaking of her horse Nickel, whose dam, Orchidee V, was honoured just a few weeks ago as Holsteiner Mare of the Year 2024.
Third place also went to a Holsteiner: the Diarado-Canturo son Dacapo (ZG Bock, Schülp), line 8805, ridden by Laura Collett – the pair also galloped to team victory with the British team. Clever Louis by Cyrkon xx–Cor de la Bryère (Louis Sellier), line 1475, and Christopher Burton (AUS) finished fourth.
Show Jumping
In the Prix de l’Europe, a former Holsteiner auction horse took the silver medal: In March 2013, the Casall-Coriano daughter Callas (Jürgen Böge, Bunshoh), line 7492, was put up for auction at the Holsteiner Spring Auction. She was discovered by Theo Molenaers and Jos Lansink, who purchased her jointly. She is now enjoying great success with McLain Ward (USA): last year they finished fourth in the Aachen Nations Cup, and this year they took silver in the Prix de l’Europe and bronze in another 1.55-metre show jumping competition.
Another horse bred by Jürgen Böge also enjoyed great success in Aachen: Tokyo, a daughter of Toulon-Cassini I (line 7492), ridden by Hannes Ahlmann, added another victory to their already long list of successes: they won the qualifier for the U25 Show Jumping Cup Final. The final of the prestigious U25 series traditionally takes place at the CHIO Aachen, for which 20 riders qualified across four rounds. Tokyo and Hannes Ahlmann have had an outstanding season so far and have already won the round in Balve. In the final, they finished sixth with one knockdown in the jump-off.
Further results for Holsteiners from around the world can be found here:
Watch the show jumping segment featuring Nickel and Julia Krajewski:
Photo: Stefan Lafrentz
Video: ClipMyHorse.tv
