The Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage will be pulling in the crowds from 13th to 16th February at the Holstenhallen in Neumünster.
The VR Classics will be hosting a World Cup leg for the 28th consecutive time, and will not fail to impress with a fantastic field of competitors lined up for the sixth station in the current World Cup competition. The qualification for the World Cup event will begin on Saturday at 08.00 in the Holstenhallen with the Grand Prix de Dressage – and six of the top ten candidates in the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Rankings will be taking part.
Overall World Cup titleholder, Helen Langehanenberg from Billerbeck, will be back in this legendary hall with her horse Damon Hill, who helped the diminutive Westphalian secure record scores and first place in the 2013 VR Bank Neumünster and Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall Prize. Joining her in the “witches' cauldron” Holstenhallen will be current top German female World Cup rider and five-time Olympic Champion Isabell Werth from Rheinberg (3rd). And one of the most highly-successful young riders will be coming from Paderborn to the VR Classics in Neumünster, in the form of Fabienne Lütkemeier (8th). That means that two thirds of the European Championship team will be gathering in the Holstenhallen. The German quartet won gold in Herning. Also flying the German flag in Neumünster will be Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (4th) from Aubenhausen.
A World Cup stage is always a real crowd-pleaser thanks to strong competition, and this one will have plenty of it. Anna Kasprzak (8th), who is surely one of the young stars of neighbouring country Denmark, will be making an appearance. Swiss rider Marcela Krinke-Susmelj (4th) is hoping to pick up some World Cup points in the Holstenhallen, as are Dutchmen Hans Peter Minderhoud (6th) and Patrick van der Meer (13th).
The FEI World Cup first came to Neumünster in 1987. This was preceded by a “pow-wow” between tournament director August-Christian Horn and the Dressage World Cup director at the time, Joep Bartels, in a hotel in Bad Bramstedt. Why this specific place was chosen is no secret. There were lengthy discussions to be had about the Dressage World Cup with the freestyle at its core…
Ever since that day, Neumünster's international tournament has been a constant component of the VR Classics and a magnetic draw for spectators. For the 28th time, the international series will be hosted by the Holstenhallen, which is always completely sold out and receives unanimous praise, particularly thanks to the fantastic infrastructure around it. This makes Neumünster the longest-serving station in the Reem Acra World Cup and the only German one besides Stuttgart.