Pia Fortmuller of Priddis, AB, currently living and training in Germany with her coach, Olympic medalist Heiki Kemmer, contested among dressage’s international equestrian elite at the World Equestrian Festival, CDIO5*/DCI4*/DCI-U25 CHIO Aachen 2013, held June 21-30, in Germany at the show grounds of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV).
Fortmuller and her partner Orion, a 17- year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding sired by Jazz, took on a field of world class athletes under the lights in Saturday’s Grand Prix Freestyle CDI4* test where their performance earned them a ninth place finish on a final score of 69.350%, bumping Denmark’s duo, Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittengenstien and Fabienne (69.000%) down into the 10th place.
In Wednesday’s CDI4* Grand Prix test, Fortmuller and Orion took on 22 of their talented peers to finish 14th with final score of 67.340%.
“It was an honor to be able to dance down the centerline with Orion in Aachen. It is such a magical competition because you really have to earn your invitation to be able to ride there. I was exceptionally proud of Orion in his Grand Prix test because it was one of our best Grand Prix performances ever and to be able to perform a clean test in such an atmosphere was a true team achievement. Our freestyle also had some great highlights but we unfortunately had a very expensive spook, as we were the first to go, and the strange looking tractor tread marks on the centerline really gave Orion a scare. But overall I could not be happier with how the competition went, being able to compete successfully in Aachen is a dream come true,” said Fortmuller, the second reserve for the Canadian team at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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