The 40 five-year-old horses with the best scores from both qualifications competed on Sunday afternoon for the title of the 2022 Bundeschampion of five-year-old show jumpers, presented by 28 riders. It was particularly stressful for Hendrik Dowe, who reached the final with five horses. Sophie Hinners brought three candidates to the start, five riders presented two horses each. In all cases, a reliable ground staff had to assist the riders, especially Hendrik Dowe's helpers had to work hard.
The Bundeschampionat for five-year-old show jumpers is decided in two rounds, the ten best scores from the first round reach the second round. The winner of the day and thus Bundeschampioness was Kalifa, a Holsteiner mare by Million Dollar, MV Caretino, presented by Sophie Hinners. Kalifa completed four courses at the Championships, all with scores better than "very good". She had entered the final as the favourite after finishing the qualifications with a win and a second place. She also received the highest scores in both rounds of the final, with a 9.5 and 9.7 for her victory. 19.2 final score for "an almost ideal horse that convinces above all with her overview and rideability", the judges justified their verdict, and praised "the beautiful lateral appearance that characterises the mare". Kalifa's rider Sophie Hinners also raves: "Kalifa is a really great horse, I don't know how to describe her except with superlatives. I especially love her because she has so much similarity to Million Dollar, for that reason alone she has a huge place in my heart." The breeder Natalie Kock is also Kalifa's owner and proudly accepted the congratulations and the prize for her Bundeschampioness.
The silver medal was won by the stallion Chaloubino PS under Patrick Stühlmeyer in Mühlen, breeder and owner of the Lewitz Stud. "It could hardly be better," announced Peter Teeuwen as spokesman for the judging group. "The son of Chacoon Blue - Centadel, was always forward, always secure at the aids, energetically dismounting". For this, the bay OS stallion received a 9.4 and a 9.6, final score 19.0.
Cornetino WZ with Felix Hassmann in the saddle entered the second round with a score of 8.9, here the OS chestnut gelding, who is also bred at Gestüt Lewitz, improved considerably once again, he was certified as having "impressive quality, a lot of overview at the jump and bonus points for the balance in his performance", score 9.4, final score 18.3. Wolfgang Zipperle, owner of the Cornet de Lys son - Conthargos, congratulated Paul Schockemöhle, who was responsible for the mating, on the phone.
The Westphalian Dacantos` Boy received a score of 9.1 twice for two equal rounds in the Final. With a final score of 18.2, the stallion bred by Martin Dieckhoff-Holsen ranked fourth. Tobias Toenes presented the stallion for his owner, Sylwia Rau.
Sophie Hinners had managed the feat of qualifying her three presented five-year-olds not only for the final, but also for the second round. She finished fifth with the Dominator son Diacaron (final score 18.10), the mare Dialotta by Diacontinus in sixth place, final score 17.9, tied with Chaccothage Blue PS by Chacco-Blue under Patrick Stühlmeyer. "The stallion probably has boundless jumping ability," the judges surmised after the Lewitzer's performance.
Hendrik Dowe had brought no less than five horses into the final, two even reaching the second round. Draco, the son of Dominator Z, finished the Championships in seventh place with a final score of 17.8, closely followed by Unicor, the son of United Touch, with a final score of 17.7. The stadium announcer, Rainer Kohaus, rightly called for a special round of applause for the many hard-working helpers in the stables and on the warm-up area, who ensured that Hendrik Dowe always had the right horse in the right place at the right time. Davis, the Holsteiner gelding by Diarado MV Casall under the Belgian Thibaut Huyvaert, was tenth in this year's Championships for five-year-olds with a final score of 17.5.
