Horses, manes and flying hooves – this year’s events were indeed worthy of an anniversary celebration. Over a period of four days well over 22,000 horse lovers, riding enthusiasts and families attended the twenty-fifth edition of HIPPOLOGICA Berlin. Plenty of activities for the public, fantastic shows and exciting tournaments created an electric atmosphere in the halls on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. What is more, visitors were able to buy lots of Christmas presents for themselves and their loved ones from a total of 190 exhibitors.

“We were delighted with the atmosphere at this anniversary event. The tournaments and shows were received with great enthusiasm by the public“, said Kerstin Ebel, the project manager at Messe Berlin. “It proves how well HIPPOLOGICA Berlin has established itself in the Berlin / Brandenburg region as a competition venue for riding enthusiasts and as an event for all the family to enjoy. Exhibitors, riders, and visitors also gave a positive assessment of the fair.”

Tournaments: Kati Lekander wins the ’Grosser Preis von Berlin’

At this year’s HIPPOLOGICA Berlin Kati Lekander from Finland was the winner of the ’Grosser Preis von Berlin’. A member of the riding club PferdeSG Gut Angermünde e.V., she rode her horse Cannary to victory and was the only contestant to master the difficult 2-star course in the jumping event without errors, in a time of 40.21 seconds.

Lekander: “This is the first time I have been to HIPPOLOGICA Berlin. The spectators desperately want you to win and the whole setting is just great. The atmosphere is really special and the event is quite demanding as the obstacles are very closely spaced. I really like it here and even managed to win, so I am delighted all round!”

The first official polo tournament at HIPPOLOGICA Berlin was very well received by the public. Team Prora Solitaire took first place in the Prora Solitaire ARENA Polo Masters Berlin competition.

The HIPPOLOGICA MASTERS event was also one of the highlights of the fair. Representing the stud Brandenburgische Haupt- und Landgestüt in Neustadt (Dosse), Anna Weilert won the MASTERS dressage event on her exceptional stallion Quarterback. In the MASTERS jumping event André Thieme of the riding club Hofgut Redentiner Mühle e.V. took overall victory with his horse Cupertinoden.

In the MASTERS handicap dressage Annemarie Ondrusch won the senior event riding Rusty S, and in the junior event the winner was Fabian Marcel Biallowons on Nele J.

In the HIPPOLOGICA Team Cup team Mecklenburg Idas took first place.

All the results of the HIPPOLOGICA Vaulting Cup can be found at www.hippologica.com.

Featuring a total of 20 horse trials, this year’s equestrian event hosted the capital’s largest indoor riding tournament. Peter Fröhlich, managing director of the Berlin Brandenburg Regional Equestrian Association, was very satisfied: “The way the events went as well as the performances of the individual riders and drivers showed that a lot of effort was put into preparing for the tournaments at HIPPOLOGICA Berlin. The competitors want to do more than be part of an event. They want to achieve results and give a good all-round display.”

Programme of events – satisfaction guaranteed

The 30 show acts in the three arenas were met with much applause and enthusiasm from the spectators. The joint performance of star singer Nevio Passaro and the vaulting team of LRV Spandau was one of the musical highlights, and afterwards the singer took his ‘donkey riding test’.

The organisations pro agro and Samosaea e.V. conjured some magical moments with performances that featured dragons and ’ice princesses’. The mounted police gave the enthusiastic spectators a spectacular show of their routine work, for instance when policing demonstrations.

Thomas Kriewenz, chief of the mounted division of the federal police: “We are happy to be taking part in HIPPOLOGICA Berlin again this year. The new HIPPODROME setup is outstanding.”

Activities for visitors and Meet & Greet event

At the second Horseday4Kids the focus was not only on spectating, but on taking part as well. At the fair 250 pupils from elementary schools in Berlin learned plenty about horses in entertaining ways. They were all able to try out their skills, be it at taking a ’donkey riding test’, amateur crafts, children’s polo or participating in a quiz rallye. At the farriers’ stand young horse lovers were able to wield a hammer themselves and forge a heart out of iron. There were long queues of people in Hall 24. Dozens of young fans took the opportunity to have their picture taken with Damiana Spöckinger, a rider prominently featured on YouTube.

Damiana Spöckinger: “I had 500 autographed cards which were gone in no time at all. This was my first time at HIPPOLOGICA Berlin. There was a family atmosphere here which was very pleasant.”

Farriers donate their stand proceeds to Förderverein Waldschule

At HIPPOLOGICA Berlin the farriers not only made sure that children had lots of fun, they also demonstrated their support for a good cause. At the close of the fair they donated their entire stand proceeds from four days at the fair to Förderverein Waldschule Zootzen e.V. This non-profit organisation from the Oberhavel region supports children and young people, for example by organising holiday camps, excursions and outings for the younger generation.

Specialist information at the HIPPOFORUM

The educational programme consisted of around 190 practical demonstrations, seminars and workshops. For those who were interested, information on breeding, training and equine health was available at the arenas and at the HIPPOFORUM. Franziska Görwitz, a lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin representing Pferdezentrum Bad Saarow, demonstrated breaking in untamed young horses to visitors. “The self-awareness we radiate is important, our body language. A horse has to recognise a certain pattern in order to gain trust”, said Görwitz. The lectures given by ProSaani GmbH and Berlin Brandenburg-based veterinary practices and other professionals were always followed by lively debates.

190 exhibitors from five countries rounded off HIPPOLOGICA with a wide range of products and services. Exhibitors were very satisfied with their results at the fair. The products on offer included equipment for horses and riders, care products, horse feed supplies, as well as vehicles for transporting horses and technical equipment for stables.

Comments on HIPPOLOGICA Berlin 2016

Thomas Strunck, Baltic Polo Events, organiser of the first official polo tournament: “This year’s HIPPOLOGICA witnessed the first official polo tournament here. By the afternoon many of the seats had already been taken. The visitors were very interested and represented all levels. The new setup in Hall 25 was sensational. Our partner on our stand sold polo-themed furniture and with polo emblems as well. That was quite fitting and business was good.”

Jörg Kotenbeutel, Freie Universität Berlin, Pferdezentrum Bad Saarow: “We had plenty of visitors on our stand. There were a lot of enquiries about our Equine Studies course which has only been running since 2014. There were all kinds of visitors here. The information provided by most of the lectures was very good and the audience was demanding and knowledgeable.”

Thomas Schmitz, Gut Marggraffshof: “The trade fair was excellent and very well structured. The new HIPPODROME was very well thought out.”

Ralf-Dieter Montag-Girmes, proprietor of Gut Kallinchen: “This was our second time here and we liked it even better than last year. We had lots of enquiries about our Lippizzan stud, about riding lessons and the advice we offer regarding young horses.”

Uwe Weinzierl, Natural Horsemanship: “We met lots of customers and interested visitors from the local region. Our premises are 130 kilometres away, so it was definitely worthwhile coming here. It was a good way to round off this year’s business before closing down for the winter.”

André Thieme: “I was amazed at how many spectators came to the tournaments every day. It was a lot of fun. The new HIPPODROME setup was also much better for the horses. I would have liked to win some other prizes here too. I rode the same horse, Cupertino, on all three days here and took the title in the overall rankings.”

A fifteen year-old student, commenting on Damiana Spöckinger: “I like the way she treats horses. She has a very positive air about her. She has lots of good tips and is very open about subjects. I like reading her blogs.”

Annemarie Ondrusch, handicap dressage winner in the senior event: “The whole setting and the atmosphere at HIPPOLOGICA Berlin is great. I am very proud.”

Ina Dreher, veterinarian at PetBioCellL:

“This was our first time here. At HIPPOLOGICA we were able to make direct contact with the consumer. Until now we had only been to fairs for medical professionals. Here, animal owners came to us for advice on autoimmune therapy and self-healing methods.