The first Hanoverian champions were celebrated. As is traditional, the cross-country horses competed in Luhmühlen. The white-and-yellow winner’s sashes went to Hann.Pr.St. Ruby and Annika Behr, Do it together with Alexandra Paulini, and FRH Butt’s Liam with Antonia von Baath, who successfully defended their titles with this victory.
The title for the four-year-olds was contested in a suitability test for riding horses including cross-country jumps. The Raven/Heinrich Heine daughter Hann.Pr.St. Ruby (breeder: Jennifer Schweig, Kirchnüchel) and her trainer Annika Behr secured victory with confidence. The black mare already has successes in riding, dressage and cross-country classes to her name. The runner-up was Blümlein by Belvedere DB/Sir Calypso (breeder: Dr Felicia Wehrenpfennig, Verden), ridden by Marie Claire Maaß. The third-best result was achieved by the All Star/Diacontinus daughter All Star’s Azizam (breeder: Eggerk Groenewold, Holthusen) with Mathis Huisinga in the saddle.
The 2021 crop demonstrated exceptionally high quality in the Class A** cross-country test. Three offspring of the Celle state stud stallion Diacontinus – whose sons and daughters are hugely popular amongst eventing riders – took the medals amongst themselves. With an excellent cross-country round, Do it Together by Diacontinus/Waitaki was crowned Hanoverian Champion of the five-year-olds. Much to the delight of his rider Alexandra Paulini, who also bred the grey gelding and had already enjoyed success in the saddle on his dam, Kaitika M, right up to the German Young Riders’ Championships. Second place went to the Diacontinus/Perigueux daughter DiaLotta so Well (breeder: Georg Müller, Heeslingen) and Ayleen Stuhr. Third in the line-up of Diacontinus’s offspring was Dialario R by Diacontinus/Inliner (breeders: ZG Reinstorf and Hopp, Neustadt), ridden by the breeder’s daughter Lena Reinstorf. His dam, Ilara W, was runner-up in the 2022 European Young Riders Championships with Paula Reinstorf.
In the six-year-old class, FRH Butt’s Liam by Grey Top/Heraldik xx (breeder: Prof. Dr Volker Steinkraus, Ollsen) and Antonia von Baath successfully defended their title – the first time this has happened in the five-year history of the Hanoverian Cross-Country Horse Championship. The bay horse comes from one of the finest Hanoverian dam lines, which has produced not only Andreas Dibowski’s Olympic horses Leonas Dancer and Butts Leon, but also Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour’s top dressage horse Mount St John Freestyle. Antonia von Baath had a second ace up her sleeve in the form of the Asagao xx/Chakiris xx son Alfie Undercover (breeder: Thomas and Maja Eichhorn, Heilshoop). Riding last year’s runner-up, she galloped her way to the bronze medal. In between them came another Diacontinus daughter, Diabellina (dam’s sire: Black Jack, bred by Dr Ariane Latz, Nindorf), who put in an impressive round with Nadine Marzahl and took the lap of honour with the silver ribbon.
