The following press release has been translated from German; please forgive any translation errors!
Louise Romeike and Caspian 15. Photo via Eventing Marbach.
On Saturday, 34-year-old Louise Romeike defended her top spot during the cross country phase of the Marbach International Eventing competition in the CCI4*-Short, presented by iWEST Animal Nutrition. Although the Swede collected 3.6 time penalties on course with her gelding Caspian, she remained in the lead with a total score of 28.6 points after her closest competitor, Ingrid Klimke, withdrew from the competition.
Romeike’s fellow Swede Frida Andersen made a major leap up the leaderboard from 11th after dressage to second place. Riding her mare Stonehavens Baby Blue, she jumped clear and now sits on a score of 32.5 points. Austria’s Lea Siegl, riding the Brandenburg-Anhalt-bred gelding van Helsing P, picked up 4.8 time penalties on cross country but held onto third place with a total of 32.8 points, the position she earned in dressage.
German national coach Peter Thomsen (Lindewitt) praised the event during a press conference, saying, “We had excellent conditions today—the footing has never been this good!” He added that spectators had witnessed top-class sport: “I’m just really happy!” He concluded by complimenting course designer Bernd Backhaus: “He built very safely, with good distances that required accurate riding.”
Malin Hansen-Hotopp (48) from Gransebieth in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern currently sits fifth (33.4 points) after cross country with her Holsteiner gelding Carlitos Quiddith K. She confirmed, “That was a great and fairly built course today! I’ve competed here three times and am totally impressed with Marbach! I love coming here for early-season prep and always have a great time. A big thank you to Danièle Vogg and her team!”
Anna Haag from Ansbach, riding her homebred Hanoverian gelding Little Caterpillar, picked up 23.2 penalties in cross country and is currently in 18th place with a score of 53.5 points heading into show jumping. Nevertheless, she was enthusiastic about the Marbach event: “Today was amazing for all riders, even us amateurs—so many spectators and truly excellent conditions—and we got lucky with the weather, too.”
Course designer Bernd Backhaus (Gladenbach) was also pleased with how the day went: “The course crew did an outstanding job, and the riders were happy!”
Holger Sontheim (Veringenstadt), chair of the organizing group IGV-BW (Association of Event Riders in Baden-Württemberg), noted that ticket prices had been lowered this year, although exact attendance figures weren’t yet available. He said 1,000 tickets had been sold in advance. Dr. Astrid von Velsen-Zerweck, director of the Marbach State Stud, commented, “There were more spectators than last year.”
Marbach CCI4*-S (Germany): [Website] [Entries/Timing/Scoring] [Live Stream on ClipMyHorse.TV]
