Edited press releases from DKB Horse Week Hohen Wieschendorf

Germany’s Philipp Schulze Topphoff and the 11-year-old mare Carla NRW (Comme Il Faut x Potsdam) took a home win in Saturday's CSI4* 1.55m Championat der Autohaus Günther GmbH in Hohen Wieschendorf – the second qualification for Sunday's Grand Prix. 

The twelve best pairs from round one moved on to the second round, where Schulze Topphoff flew around in 42.24 seconds to beat some big names – David Will (GER) and Kansall (Kannan x Casall) jumped to second place with a time of 43.40, Marc Houtzager (NED) and Kevin Jochems (NED) followed in third and fourth place aboard Sterrehof's Dante (Canturano x Phin-Phin) and Camilla van de Helle (Crumble x Casall) respectively, while Marcus Ehning (GER) finished fifth riding Coolio 42 (Casalito x Quidam de Revel). 

The winner was self-critical and wasn't at all satisfied with himself after the first round. “Carla jumped really good, she wanted to do everything really well in the round, but I didn't manage to fine-tune it enough. I just didn't ride well," he said.  

About his jump-off, which secured him the win, Schulze Topphoff said: “After the ride I really thought: It’s still possible to beat this. Even if I had ended second or third, I would have been happy.” 

Schulze Topphoff has a certain 'dry period' behind him, had some success – but it wasn't enough to win. “It really takes a toll on you,” he admitted. “You start to question everything, every ride, every stride; it’s terrible.” 

Runner-up Will was beaten but not at all disappointed. “I haven’t had Kansall that long. This is only our fifth show together,” he said. “That’s why I’m really proud and happy. He’s just really playing along, even though he doesn’t have that much experience at this level.”

Earlier in the day, Christian Kukuk and Creature (Colestus x Re Mexico) won the CSI4* 1.50m Gebrüder Schütt KG Prize. "I think Creature is the smartest horse I've ever met in my career. He's really very intelligent," Kukuk said after his win. The two were the first to enter the jump-off, delivered a clear round and raced across the finish line in 35.48 seconds.

It was a good class for the Germans, who filled up the top five. Marcus Ehning and Flower Girl (Hickstead x Catoki) followed in second with a time of 36.36 seconds, while Gerrit Nieberg (GER) on D-Coroquada I (Contender x Coronado) took the third place after completing the jump-off in 37.09 seconds. Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann and Marco Kutscher followed in fourth and fifth.

Friday's biggest went to Latvia's Kristaps Neretnieks and the 10-year-old Quintes (Quinton x Consul). Stopping the clock on 61.96, Neretnieks bested a field of 55 horse-and-rider combinations in the CSI4* 1.45m Preis der Hanseklinik für Pferde – the first qualifier for Sunday's Grand Prix. Neretnieks was followed by Robin Naeve (GER) and Casalia R (Casall x Loran) in second 63.59. Michael Kölz (GER) and Cellato (Cellestial x Calato) placed third in 63.77, ahead of Alessandra Volpi (USA) and Berlinda (Berlin x Gento) in fourth in 63.83 and Sophie Hinners (GER) aboard Helwell du Chabus (Elvis ter Putte x Orlando) in fifth in 64.15.