At the CSI ** from the 22nd to the 25th of October at the HORSES RIVERA RESORT San Giovanni in Marignano, the team HORSES FOR CHAMPIONS, with their German showjumper Matthias Schäfter and Anamarija Hodko from Croatia, had its debut on the international stage. Both riders were highly motivated and, having participated in some national competitions this year, very curious about how their horses would perform for the first time at a CSI.

Anamarija Hodko was in her first international competition in the 1.30m class with her white horse “Furano Fun de Cryenveledn” and she managed to get into the reserve pool on the last day. Matthias Schäfter participated in a CSI for the first time with his young ZfdP stallion, which he had trained himself. After getting a very satisfying 6th place in the 1.15m class on the Friday, horse and rider unexpectedly ended the last day of the tournament in 2nd place.

Matthias Schäfter: “This ‘little’ success means a lot more to me because I was able to train the horse myself. Because of this, I have no problem starting out with an inexperienced horse. I believe in the potential of our horses and I would naturally have hoped that we would have achieved some great results, but the fact that both horses exceeded my own expectations on this day surprised even me.”

Uwe Dost, Anamarija Hodko and Matthias Schäfter