From 4–6 May, the famed Aachen showgrounds hosted Aachen Dressage Days, providing competitors with the opportunity to compete at this elite venue without the electric atmosphere of CHIO Aachen or an FEI World Championship. The event drew competitive fields across the CDI classes, and two Australians featured with strong performances.
Warwick McLean and nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding Abtwald’s Goetterfunke (Grand Galaxy Win x Sandro Prinz) won the CDI1* Prix St Georges on Tuesday from a field of more than 20 combinations, scoring 70.294% as clear winners.
In the horse’s first Intermediate I the following day, the pair placed second on 68.627%, less than one percent behind the winner.
Started with Warwick
“I’ve had him now since he was a four-year-old, we started him,” explains Warwick of Abtwald’s Goetterfunke. “The story behind this horse is that he was meant to go to Australia I believe. He was I think bought in the time of Corona, and then the deal did not end up going through and a customer of mine bought him, Dr. Stefan Erdtmann, who then sent him to us for backing and we’ve had him ever since.
“He was actually nominated for the World Championships [FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses] as a six-year-old. He then had a little break and now he’s been back doing the Prix St Georges work and had his first Inter I start here. He’s also doing a lot of the Grand Prix exercises too. He’s a horse I think that we can look forward to for the future and he has a lot of talent for the high level movements.”
Le Special debuts in the Special
Warwick also campaigned 10-year-old KWPN gelding Le Special (Grey Flanell x Sir Oldenburg) at Aachen Dressage Days, contesting the CDI Big Tour.
In the CDI3* Grand Prix on Monday, which featured a strong field of 30 combinations, the duo placed 17th with 66.304% in what was just their second international Grand Prix start. On Tuesday, they made their CDI3* Grand Prix Special debut, scoring 66.553% for 12th place.
Le Special is owned by Warwick (McLean Reitsport GmbH) in conjunction with Andrew McLean, Manuel McLean, Helena Westerlund and Per Westerlund.
“Le Special was quite good in the Grand Prix. There were few expensive mistakes, but we got an [FEI] MER score for the World Championships. It was his second big Grand Prix and I think from one judge he had 68%, even with three big mistakes – which were all times two [co-efficient marks].
“We also a good round in the Special except for a mistake in the one-tempis. It was the first time riding that test on him, and so we will then ride the next shows in the coming weeks. I think he’s going to be very promising this season and for the future.
“It’s very exciting to have two horses on this level with this quality, and to be competitive in this kind of company.”
CDI PBs for Will Matthew and Faye 43
Fellow Australian Will Matthew also contested the CDI3* classes with 11-year-old chestnut Oldenburg mare Faye 43 (Fuerst Heinrich x Aljano 2). The combination placed 14th in the CDI3* Grand Prix on a score 67.022%, and also finished 14th in the Special on 65.808%.
New to the Grand Prix level, Aachen marked the mare’s fourth CDI Grand Prix competition and both scores were PBs for the combination at international level.
The CDI3* Grand Prix was won by the experienced Portuguese combination of João Pedro Moreira and Fuerst Kennedy OLD (Fuersten Look x Don Kennedy) with 71.413%. The duo had been due to represent Portugal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and passed the trot-up before the horse suffered an inguinal hernia that evening and was withdrawn from competition. Fuerst Kennedy OLD fortunately returned to competition in early 2025 and has since been a prolific and consistent performer, once again showing his experience here in Aachen.
The CDI3* Grand Prix Special was won by Finland’s Henri Ruoste and Delaurentis FRH (Delorean) on 71.170%.
Full results from Aachen Dressage Days can be found here via Equi-Score.
