June 8, 2020: Towards "normal"

We've all been through truly memorable months - the whole world and thus also the Fleyenhof, of course. Looking back I can say that we had quickly found into a new rhythm, of course we had to, because with the four-legged friends a real shutdown would not have been possible. Sure, for weeks many customers and pupils were not allowed to come by, but we ran major parts of our daily business. We would like to thank our team for their excellent and helpful participation and for keeping to all rules in their free time, for the benefit of our horses.

And now, as more and more steps towards normality are being taken, a show was about to start. Hof Kasselmann has put up a great tournament with their usual commitment. Of course, many things are different - mouth-and-nose protection, no spectators, no presentation ceremony - but I was very pleased to be able to show the results of the "extended winter work".

For the qualification for the Louisdor Prize, I had taken Beryl and Denoix PCH with me. Although older by two years, Beryll is definitely less experienced than his stable mate. We finished eighth in the first test and sixth in the qualifying. The Benetton Dream son did really well and with more than 72 per cent he really doesn't have to hide.

Denoix PCH was simply outstanding. 77.5 pe rcent in the warm-up test and 78.45 per cent in the qualifier, which put him right at the top both times. This eight-year-old is not only a lot of fun for me as a rider, he is also well received by the judges. And once we'll be allowed to compete in front of spectators again...

In the Grand Prix I introduced Escorial. He really couldn't hide his joy being away from home again, neither that he is a stallion. 70.76 per cent in the Grand Prix and 72.19 per cent in the Spécial were nevertheless pleasing.

Yes, the current circumstances are not quite ideal, but in the end I'm glad that things are gradually returning to normal. And as long as slightly different tournament conditions are our biggest concern, there isn't too much to complain about!