1956 - In the heavy downpour in Stockholm, the couple fights their way through the Olympic course, brilliantly and with great jumps: it is the first round on the way to team gold. In the afternoon the sun is shining, the second team round is about to begin and once again the couple is doing an enormous job. Fritz Thiedemann and Meteor win Westhues Olympic gold with Hans Günter Winkler and Alfons Lütke! A few months later, farmer's son Thiedemann crowned his Olympic year with victory in the Grand Prix in Frankfurt. Thiedemann was the first big Frankfurt winner; the first tournament took place in the Frankfurt Festhalle in 1956. The founder of the tournament was the entrepreneur and two-time team Olympic champion in dressage, Josef Neckermann. Neither Neckermann nor Thiedemann had any idea what tradition they were initiating back then.
1956 – was also the birth year of the Frankfurt tournament stable Schwarz-Gelb e.V. (TSG). The founding board included Adolf Schindling, his daughter Liselott Linsenhoff and her husband Fritz Linsenhoff, the grandfather and parents of Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff. The TSG is still involved in the organization of the tournament today. From the very beginning, the Hessian equestrian sport highlight was so closely linked to the Linsenhoff family - to this day in the fourth generation. Since 2019, the Schafhof's event agency, Schafhof Connects, under the direction of Matthias Alexander Rath, has taken the reins of the tournament into its own hands. Matthias is the son of Klaus-Martin Rath and stepson of Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff, both of whom support him with advice and support. It is a historical rarity that a traditional international tournament is passed down within the family over four generations - always traditional, always modern and always for sport - and this year for the 50th time. 1967 – The name Linsenhoff also shaped the tournament in terms of sport. In 1967 the Grand Prix de Dressage was added to the tournament program; the first two winners were Dr. Reiner Klimke and Liselott Linsenhoff. A year later, both were part of the Olympic gold team in Mexico. Liselott Linsenhoff has won the Grand Prix in Frankfurt three times, and her daughter Ann Kathrin has also won the Grand Prix twice. 1992 – The NUREMBERG Burg Cup celebrated its premiere and finale in the Festhalle. This most important dressage series for seven to nine-year-old young horses is the springboard for future championship horses; the best of the year traditionally compete in the final in Frankfurt. And here too the family has left its 'traces': in 2002 Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff won the final with Wahajama-Unicef, in 2014 and 2020 today's tournament director Matthias Rath dominated, once with Es Fangars Samba King and once with Destacado FRH. 2004 - the show competition of the Hessian riding clubs was added to the sports program - to this day the highlight of the year for many young Hessian riders and trainers, parents, friends and equestrian sports fans. Since 2004, international riders have also been jumping over obstacles designed by children in the Frankfurt Grand Prix. In the Cerberus home children's competition, regional children's homes let off steam creatively, and the best creations are awarded prizes. 2005 – Frankfurt hosted a World Cup final for young dressage riders (U21) for seven years. Around a dozen young riders from all over the world met in the Hessian metropolis to determine their best in a freestyle competition. Last but not least, the later team world champion Fabienne Müller-Lütkemeier was one of the winners of this World Cup final. 2012 - Germany's best young Grand Prix horses joined them in the Festhalle, and since then the final of the Louisdor Prize has been held in Frankfurt. And here too you will find the special family bond, because this dressage series is supported by the Liselott and Klaus Rheinberger Foundation. Liselott Linsenhoff and her second husband, Klaus Rheinberger, founded this foundation to promote equestrian sports. 2016 - The life-sized Purple Horse has been an IFRF ambassador for seven years in 2023. The Purple Horse charity campaign 'Hand in Hand for the Region' brings together commitment to selected projects and people in the metropolitan region. 2019 – Schafhof Connects takes over the management of the tournament and takes the event into a new era. 2023 – the IFRF celebrates its 50th birthday! It has experienced turbulent times, survived a 17-year tournament break from 1971 to 1988 and experienced various organizer constellations. For five years now, the tournament has been controlled by the steady hand of the Schafhof Connects - with five-star dressage and four-star jumping competitions, with the Hessentag and the finals in the NUREMBERGER Burg-Pokal and the Louisdor Prize, with the charity Purple Horse campaign, the home children's competition and the mountain of presents that grows year after year and the purple Christmas tree. In the 'Gudd Stub' in Frankfurt, Christmas and birthdays will be celebrated together this year. And it starts on Wednesday, December 13th, with the superlative anniversary show. Happy Birthday, IRFF! Tickets and information for the International Festhallen Reitturnier Frankfurt 2023 is available either directly via the website www.festhallenreitturnier-frankfurt.com or from the ticket service provider Reservix www.reservix.de. Be sure to save the date: 13th-17th. December 2023!
