On his comeback after eight years, Matthias Alexander Rath brought the German dressage team into the lead at the home European Championships.
The 39-year-old from Kronberg received 74.845 percentage points for his ride with Thiago on Wednesday (September 6th, 2023) in Riesenbeck, Westphalia. The host team are ahead of Great Britain and Denmark after the first of four pairs. The decision will be made on Thursday.
German dressage team is on course
The German team is on course. Dressage national trainer Monica Theodorescu had already underlined the goal before the first rides on Wednesday and Thursday in Riesenbeck: “As always, preferably team gold.”
German teams have won 25 gold medals at European Championships, most recently two years ago in Hagen am Teutoburg Forest. At the World Cup a year ago, Germany took third place in the team classification.
In addition to Rath and the three-time European champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl with Dalera (Tuntenhausen), Isabell Werth with Quantaz (Rheinberg) and Frederic Wandres with Bluetooth (Hagen) are also part of the team at the European Championships in Riesenbeck.
Thiago is descendant of Totilas
Rath rides with Thiago, a son of Totilas, who has gone down in dressage history as a miracle horse. The last time Rath rode in a German team at a championship was in 2015 with Totilas. Before Rath, Totilas had won three gold medals at the World Championships in the USA with Dutchman Edward Gal and set several world records.
Paul Schockemöhle and Rath’s stepmother Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff then brought the stallion from the Netherlands to Germany in 2010 for an estimated ten million euros.
