80 Days to CHI Donaueschingen
In 80 days, on September 18th, it all begins: the second edition of the International S. D. Prince Joachim zu Fürstenberg Memorial Tournament, organized by the Schafhof Connects team. For the 26th time, Germany’s best U25 dressage riders will meet for the Piaff Förderpreis Final, and for the second time, the final will be held as part of CHI Donaueschingen.
Preparations are already in full swing to ensure everything for the Piaff Final and the entire tournament is in perfect order. There’s planning, assembling, planting, path-laying, and much more going on. New partners from the region who discovered CHI last year and are excited to join in this year are giving things a boost. Among the new partners is Ricosta Schuhfabriken GmbH, known for their children’s shoes, based not far from the tournament grounds. They will host the newly designed Kinderland and invite, among others, CHI participants to Private Shopping.
Also new to the partner portfolio is Ingenieurbüro Liebert, with locations in Hüfingen, Hamburg, Berlin, and Frankfurt, who visited CHI 2024 and have enthusiastically joined in for 2025. With his winery, Il Salotto, Thomas Liebert will also provide excellent wines and a special honorary prize for the best female rider in the DREAME’s Grand Prix – S.D. Prince Joachim zu Fürstenberg Memorial Prize – presented by Longines.
Two examples of new regional partners that tournament director Matthias Rath is particularly pleased about: “I didn’t expect that even in our second year in Donaueschingen the demand from new and valuable partners would be so great – it’s an incredible and rewarding feeling. And it allows us to make the tournament grounds even more beautiful for spectators and, of course, for the riders.”
For the U25 riders, the Piaff Förderpreis is often referred to as a ‘springboard’ into top senior dressage – and it truly is! “For me, it was definitely the springboard – personally, to gain a foothold in Grand Prix sport at all, and then to do so with two horses: first with Flanell and last year with Farrington.” Semmieke Rothenberger knows exactly what she’s talking about. In 2021 she won the ‘Piaff Final’ with Flanell, and in 2024 she dominated the final’s premiere in Donaueschingen with Farrington.
“The Piaff Förderpreis Final last year in Donaueschingen was the start of the journey with ‘Farri’ into the big tour for me. In Donaueschingen we rode our first Grand Prix together.” She already sensed at home the direction things could go, but as for how the two would actually perform together in the test… “you just don’t know. That’s why it was so exciting and even more wonderful to come home with a victory. I’m still enjoying that win today!”
Just a few weeks ago, the pair passed another milestone, competing for the first time among the seniors at the German Championships in Balve—with top results. The series is just awesome, because it lets you take an interim step and not just be thrown in at the deep end, the 25-year-old explains. “It gave me so much courage. After that, you can dare to join the big leagues.”
The next generation of U25 riders has already presented themselves during the first two Piaff Förderpreis stages of the 2025 season. Afterward, the team of the top four was named for the European Championships in mid-July at Schafhof in Kronberg. With Felicitas Hendricks and Drombusch, the team features a pair who have already won the Piaff Final in 2023. Whether the U25 team can defend their European Championship title will be decided in Kronberg. The question of who will be allowed to compete for victory at the Piaff Final in Donaueschingen in September will be answered as the season progresses; there are still two more stages to come in Elmlohe and Pinneberg.
There are 80 more days of building and planting to go, then the Princely Castle Park Donaueschingen will be ready to welcome the best national U25 dressage riders, international carriage drivers, dressage and show jumping athletes, and many thousands of enthusiastic spectators.
(KiK/pe&pa)
You can purchase tickets in three ways:
• Online on the website: https://chi-donaueschingen.reservix.de/
• By phone at the Reservix Hotline: +49-761-888499-99
• Or directly at the Tourist Info Donaueschingen, Karlstraße 58