Meaghan's Days in Germany: Hagen Show

Hi Everyone,

Here is another article I wrote for DressageDaily about the show in Hagen, Germany this past weekend. What a show. It was wild! There were so many people!

Hagen, Germany
By: Meaghan Byrne

The only way to describe the show this past weekend in Hagen, Germany is ‘standing room only.’ With over 2000 thousand horses and 50,000 spectators there was barely room to browse the enormous trade fair. This was an international event for both Dressage riders and Show Jumpers. The show was held at the Kasselman’s property. The Kasselmans are the owners of Professional Sales International (PSI).

Their property spans over several 100 acres in the rolling hills of Northern Germany. The grounds were immaculate, complete with two Dressage arenas and two showing jumping arenas. Every inch of the property was decorated with beautiful flowers and surrounded by stadium seating. The path to the Dressage arenas weaved its way through the private stables of the Kasselmans. There were several stables and various indoor riding halls that mimicked old European style cottages with white siding lined with natural wood trim.

Every year there is a different nationality that is deemed the theme for the show. Last year it was an American theme where the Beach Boys were the main entertainment, and this year it was an Italian theme. There was a huge tent set atop one of the hills that provided the space for this year’s entertainment. Each night, starting Wednesday and spanning through to Saturday there was a different Italian inspired event. There were opera singers, pianists, an Italian pop trio, and a DJ that provided all types of music for an enormous dance party. Riders, grooms, and spectators danced the night away.

As usual, I found myself draw to the warm-up arena rather than the competition arena. After the initial shock of seeing several top riders all in one place, I started to watch several riders over the 5 day period as the schooled and prepared their horses for the competition arena. As I saw in Den Bosch every rider has their own style of riding and in one way or another it is working, as they are competing at the top level. However, in Hagen I realized how concentrated some of riders were. Some riders came into the arena and put their game face on. They have such a look of concentration so as to feel every movement their horses make. Some riders rode around the arena as if no one else was there. Such concentration was both intimidating and magnificent. Other riders were not so concentrated, some were preoccupied with their surroundings such as other riders, spectators, photographers, dogs, and anything else you could possibly imagine. The level of concentration really set the competitors apart from the riders.

As the weekend came to a close with the Grand Prix Kur and the Show Jumping Finals several thousand people packed the stands for the final competition. Trying to maneuver through the crowds of people with a horse in hand was quite the adventure. As I continue my European experience, I am continually reminded how popular equestrian sports are here in Europe. A family outing on a Sunday afternoon would entail a trip the horse show to enjoy the competition along with great food and shopping. Families in Europe enjoy the weekend horse shows as American families enjoy basketball or baseball games. Hopefully, one day equestrian sports will be as widespread in America as they are here in Europe.