Press release from Wellington International

Germany’s Richard Vogel picked up another win at Wellington International during week five at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). This time, the win came in the CHF37,000 Bainbridge CSI5* 1.45m Speed on Friday in the International Arena aboard Accoton PS.

Sixty-six entries tackled a large and technical one-round speed track designed by Frank Rothenberger (GER). Vogel set an early time to beat at 59.16 seconds from the 18th position in the original order. A pair of Irishmen tried their best to top him but came up just shy of his winning time. Bertram Allen and Over Lux finished second by only fractions of a second in a time of 59.31 seconds for owner Ballywalter Stables. Third place went to Ireland’s Daniel Coyle and Amalia, owned by Ariel Grange’s Lothlorien Farm, after crossing the timers in 59.49 seconds.

Vogel’s lead stood strong, delivering a win for Accoton PS, a 2012 Oldenburg gelding (Pikachu De Muze x Chacco-blue) owned by Csakvari Agrar KFTS.

Vogel described his strategies and thoughts going into today’s round, saying, “I had a good feeling from the beginning, and I got the first distance everywhere. I did one less stride into the double, I had a good rollback and then also to the plank, and after the plank was good. The five-stride got short but that was a good setup for the turn. Then in the last line I was a bit lucky; I didn’t get there with one less, so I had to add a stride at the end. He saved me so I think it was a good team effort.”

While their partnership is relatively new, the pair has been successful together and Vogel is excited about the gelding’s future. “I’ve had him now for five months and he was produced by Patrick Stühlmeyer and he comes from the stable of Paul Schockemöhle so he’s a very talented horse."

“He’s a fast horse and he never gets tired,” continued Vogel. “The course could be five times as long and he would still be on it. He really wants to go forward so every now and then we let him do some speed rounds and he is very happy, but in-between sometimes he needs to learn to slow down. He does get really motivated at shows but at home he’s a bit more relaxed, which is a good combination.”

Vogel, who now has two FEI wins to his credit at WEF, has high hopes to step Accoton PS up to the 1.50m level by the end of the season while continuing to improve the gelding’s speed and technique.