Marcus Ehning may have won the Grand Prix of Dortmund, but the big news was Thomas Frühmann’s performance at the Dortmund CSI, April 7-9 in Dortmund, Germany.

“If everything goes as planned, nothing will keep me from going to [the Rolex FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas, Nev.],” Austrian show jumper Frühmann, the 1992 World Cup winner had said.

Frühmann had planned to use Dortmund as a final prep for the World Cup Final, but nothing went right for him there. The Sixth Sense, the highest money earning show jumper in the world in 2006, stepped into the middle element of the triple combination, an oxer, and also crashed into the third element, another oxer. Frühmann retired the gelding, who left the ring slightly lame. Frühmann later announced that he would not participate in the Rolex FEI World Cup Final, April 19-22 in Las Vegas.

“I cannot explain why The Sixth Sense had stepped in the first oxer. We had approached perfectly the first element of the triple combination, a vertical, but then The Sixth Sense jumped over the second element, the first oxer, high into the air instead of over the fence and stepped into it,” Frühmann said.

“He got the back top pole between his front legs and put his hind legs into the fence and had a fault. After that, I wanted to stop him before the third element, but he did not react and jumped on a much too far distance and could not make it over the oxer and crashed into it. After that he had been very slightly lame and had to be treated. He has never done something similar in a combination and it was not even a very difficult one. Most of the horses had had no problem at all at this combination.

“But, he lost a shoe. Maybe he had stepped on it and that irritated him so much that he did this strange jump over the first oxer. But, maybe not. How the sequence of events was, I do not know,” said Frühmann.

While his slight injury will keep The Sixth Sense from Las Vegas, Frühmann does not anticipate long-term problems. “He is really very tough. I am very sad that I had to withdraw for the World Cup Final at Las Vegas—I would really have loved to go and it would have been a great thing,” he said.

“But, the health of the horse comes first. It is really a shame that this had to have happened right now.”
Ehning, the 2006 FEI World Cup Final (Malaysia) winner on Sandro Boy, will be making the trip to Las Vegas with Gitania. But he fit in one more win on home turf with the victory in the Grand Prix of Dortmund. The feature class took place on Easter Monday and surprised the crowd, not by the rider’s name, but by the horse’s.

As the last starter of the eight-horse jump-off, Ehning took victory with the just 9-year-old For Germany RD, a son of his former top mount For Pleasure. The Hanoverian stallion looks and jumps very much like his sire and is out of a dam sired by Cassini I, a former top international show jumper with Franke Sloothaak.

Ehning bested the time set by Ludger Beerbaum aboard Couleur Rubin by just fractions of a second. For his splendid round, Ehning received a standing ovation and seemed surprised.

“As I watched the first combinations in the initial round, I had been wondering if the course would not still be too difficult for For Germany. But he has shown so well in the last weeks that I thought, ‘Let’s give it a try,’ ” Ehning said.

“I was extremely happy with his performance after the first round. I have ridden him already a few times very fast, but, that he would cooperate so well, especially at the last two fences, where I gained the time towards Ludger, that is unbelievable. In the beginning he was quite hard to handle because he always likes to go very fast, but now he is already easier to control. His strong nerves he has got from his father. After I have already been so successful at Dortmund aboard For Pleasure, it is something special for me to win here now with his son.”

A field of 50 contested the Grand Prix of Dortmund. Julia Brauweiler, who is one of the rising German show jumping stars, kicked off the jump-off. The 22-year-old rider had already been a Junior European Individual Champion, and in December 2006 won the Championat of Frankfurt (Germany) aboard the 16-year-old Dutch mare, Jet Set.

She set the fast time of 37.65 seconds, which Beerbaum and Couleur Rubin bested with a ride on full attack with fast, long strides on the long distances and very short turns.

Ludger’s brother Marcus—headed to Las Vegas for the Final with Leena—took many risks in an attempt to beat his brother’s time. But he lowered a rail, taking fourth as the fastest four-faulter. Fifth place with the same fence down went to Christian Ahlmann and Cöster, who are considered to be one of the favorites for the Final.

But Ludger wasn’t to be beaten in the Championat of Dortmund on Saturday. He rode the 15-year-old Hanoverian mare Gladdys S to the win over Ehning with the same-aged Holsteiner mare Gitania. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum put in a slow clear round aboard her World Cup Final mount Shutterfly as a warm-up for the Final.