Five horses need to be selected for the upcoming Evening with Olympic champion, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl at the Adequan Dressage Festival [AGDF] close by to the Winter Equestrian Festival – and the list of prospects is oversubscribed.
“I’m getting far more requests than I can take,” said AGDF director of sport, Thomas Baur. “It needs to be the right horse. That’s the most important part here.”
In the past AGDF has hosted Carl Hester in 2018 and Isabell Werth in 2019, presenting in the same formula. Teams at the Equestrian Sport Productions and the AGDF are expecting the “Evening with Jessica” on 24 March to be a big hit in the international arena at the showground with an expected crowd of some 1,500 spectators.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for dressage riders and fans in Wellington to learn from a rider like Jessica von Bredow-Werndl,” said AGDF Director of Sport Thomas Baur. “We are pleased to have her here and be able to share her experience with those at AGDF.”
Jessica will first discuss the horses with the riders in a briefing session, before she offers advice from the ground to each rider in front of everyone attending. Her comments will be shared over a microphone so spectators can benefit from her live analysis and training tips.
“We will have five different horses from our dressage community that evening,” said Thomas. “And Jessica will give a clinic for half an hour to 45 minutes per horse; it depends – if it’s a five-year-old you cannot do that long. She’s giving them riding lessons.”
In 2020 Jessica won individual and team gold at the Tokyo Olympics. At the 2021 European Championships, she and her top partner TSF Dalera BB won the team and two individual gold medals. Jessica also won the team gold medal at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games and the 2019 European Championships. Unsurprisingly the chance of having a horse critiqued by Jessica has proved popular.
Jessica is part of the selection process and will review videos of the horses before making a decision as to which ones will work best for the clinic.
“We are trying to show through the ages – so from a five-year-old through to grand prix — or a young grand prix horse,” said Thomas.
Meanwhile, the search for the right candidates goes on. “We are still looking for those suitable horses,” he said.
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