The 10th Bavarian Missouri Fox Trotter and High Point Tournament took place August 3 – 5 at the beautiful equestrian facility in Altusried, Bavaria.
This was the eighth year that Tom Heberle, with his competent assistants Gerti and Johanna Merk, hosted this event for the European Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Association (EMFTHA e.V.). The Clay Pit Stables equestrian center has a beautiful large indoor riding arena, which is a perfect venue for a Missouri Fox Trotter tournament. Although the number of participants was smaller compared to previous years, the tournament was still well attended with 21 horses, 23 riders and 111 entries. Judges for the tournament were Julie Moore from the USA and Carolin Raddant-Zakrzewska from Germany.
In order to participate in the High Point rating, participants must participate in Model, Performance and Versatility classes. Judges will evaluate each element of the class for each participant according to the percentages listed in the MFTHBA Rulebook. The results are written down on evaluation sheets. The points of the two judges are added together and divided by two, which leads to an average grade for each participant. The score sheets not only clarify judges’ placements, they also provide participants with valuable information so they can identify the areas they need to keep working on to improve their performance. Furthermore, the participants can see that often the ratings are very close together and differ only by half a point.
The Clay Pit Stables team extended the advertised classes and added a Gaited Working Equitation (GWE) competition. The GWE consists of a gait class, horsemanship / rideability and a working equitation trail. This trail includes obstacles such as picking up a ring attached to a bull silhouette with a garrocha, parallel slalom, and a few more. The obstacles must all be completed in a pre-selected four-beat gait (no slower than a flat foot walk). This discipline is a wonderful way to demonstrate the versatility of the Missouri Fox Trotter.
As part of the closing ceremony of the 10th Bavarian Missouri Foxtrotter Tournament 2018, an awards ceremony was held to celebrate the 2018 High Point Champions.
European High Point Champion Allround 2018: Legend Outlaw’s Maximus M.R. mit Julia Schäfer Reserve: Arizona Outlaw’s Chanel No. 5 M.R. mit Judith Schilling
European Champion Youth LK 2 2018:
Cloud’s Watergait mit Anna Leimbach
Reserve:
Velvet’s Bambina M.R. mit Sandy-Sue Frank
European Champion Allround LK 2 2018:
Southern Smokey’s Julia mit Petra Feuchtmüller
Reserve:
Prince Phillip M.R. mit Shelly Frank
European High Point Champion Performance 2018:
Legend Outlaw’s Maximus M.R. mit Julia Schäfer
Reserve:
Arizona Outlaw’s Chanel No. 5 M.R. mit Judith Schilling
European Champion Junior Horse 2018:
Legend Outlaw’s Lady Coco HL mit Karl Schilling
Reserve:
Star Of Golden Pixie TH mit Gerti Merk
Gaited Working Equitation Wertung:
1. Platz: Velvet’s Giant Shadow mit Gerti Merk
2. Platz: Legend Outlaw’s Maximus M.R. mit Julia Schäfer
The results of the individual tests can be found here:
https://www.horsemanager.com/php/shows.php
