- and it started right away with a very fine round by Kwahu in the dressage horse A of Ankum. This was not our first public appearance - we did that last year at the Trakehner Gala Evening in Neumünster - but it was our first show. And I have to say: Yes! It felt really, really good. Kwahu (Owner: Wolfgang Diehm, Gestüt Hörstein, u. Margit Eisner, Gestüt Eisner) is just so sweet, so trusting, so relaxed and on the other hand closed and expressive. That is a very pleasant mixture - and just fun. And he also got scores that were really fun: 9.5 for the trot and walk, 9.0 for the general impression and 8.5 for the canter and the permeability - that was second place with a total of 9.0. I'm a big fan of spreading out the grading scale - upwards and downwards ... Why? Because I think we have a wide enough range of marks to evaluate the execution of a lesson in a very differentiated way - and this in turn helps to improve further. If you are now wondering why I am riding a - at least on paper - six-year-old horse in an A-level dressage class, the explanation is quite simple. Kwahu is just learning the flying changes. He's already doing that very well, but he still has to consolidate it a bit. That's why I didn't want to confuse him. In a dressage horse elementary class, we would only have been allowed to show outside canter - but no flying changes. So he would have waited for my help with the changes, which wouldn't have come ... which might have irritated the horses in a learning phase. I didn't want to take that risk. That's why I preferred to shift down a gear. This way it was a very uncomplicated start for Kwahu. And he only took home positive impressions from the show. That was the most important thing for me! Fürst Knight EDI and Manuel brought home the second silver ribbon from Ankum. In the medium dressage class for young horses, Fürst Knight (Owner: Exclusive Dressage Imports) shone with his incredibly valuable basic gaits, for which he received scores between 8.5 and 9.0. For the overall impression he received an 8.5. He is incredibly confident and really delivers. A real star.
