08 Oct BEMER Riders Tour meets Arena Nova: Equestrienne first in the Qualifier
(Wiener Neustadt/ Austria) The CSI Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt is one of the season’s first indoor shows and features a leg of the BEMER Riders Tour for the first time. 42-year-old Sabrina Berger from Amberg in Bavaria secured a decisive advantage in the qualifier for the BEMER Riders Tour. Riding Quidams Star Melloni she won with the only clear round in 61.12 seconds.
The 12-year-old Holsteiner already made a very good impression in Munich at the second leg of the BEMER Riders Tour, finishing sixth in the qualifier. The winner’s explanation sounds like a very good “recipe” for flawless rides: “I have a very good horse. I have already competed him twice here — winning a Grand Prix before — so I know that he feels comfortable here and that he likes to jump in front of an audience,” said Sabrina Berger. And there was certainly no lack of that in the Arena Nova. Berger can now take her time as the last competitor in the Grand Prix — the BEMER Riders Tour rating competition — to see how her colleagues fare before it is her turn to ride.
Just ahead of her, the best Austrian rider, Stefan Eder, will enter the course. Eder finished second in the qualification with a time of 59.22 seconds and one rail with DR. Scarpo. He emphasised the challenge of switching from the outdoor to the indoor season: “The challenge lies in the background noise, the audience that is close by and that the riding surface is different. Everything comes very quickly, horses and riders have to get used to that.”
One, who could give the two women ranked ahead of him in the overall ranking a run for their money this weekend finished third. Mathias Norhaeden Johansen, a Dane who lives in Pfungstadt, relied on his 14-year-old Camelot. “This already has great significance,” said the Dane with regard to the BEMER Riders Tour and his position, “all the stages are big, traditional shows where people like to go.” To win on Sunday in the Arena Nova and to score a lot of points before the eighth and final stage at the VR CLASSICS in Neumünster, that’s something I’m definitely going to try,” stressed Norhaeden Johansen.
On Sunday from 1:00 pm, it is all about the seventh competition of the BEMER Riders Tour in the Grand Prix, presented by Sport.Land Niederösterreich, which will be held with two rounds and can be seen live on Clipmyhorse.tv.
Results Prize of Arena Nova powered by EPP, Qualification for the BEMER Riders Tour, int. class with jump-off (1.45m)
1. Sabrina Berger (Amberg), Quidams Star Melloni 0/ 61,12
2. Stefan Eder (Österreich), DR. Scarpo 4/ 59,22
3. Mathias Norhaeden Johansen (Pfungstadt/ Dänemark), 4/ 60,49
4. Siegfried Schlemmer (Österreich), Flick Flack 4/ 61,99
5. Jennifer Jaritz (Österreich), Nektini 4/ 62,48
6. Lena Binder (Österreich), Viano Z 4/ 62,77
PHOTO: Sabrina Berger won the qualifier for the rating competition of the BEMER Riders Tour (photo: Stefan Lafrentz)