Articles: Press Release
Todd Flettrich Rides Otto and Danseur in Grand Prix Special at Hof
Bettenrode
Todd Flettrich on Danseur with Olympic Gold Medalist Hubertus Schmidt. Photo
by Mary Hilton
Contact:
Lauren Fisher for
Phelps Media Group, Inc.
at (561) 753-3389 or at pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com
Paderborn, GER - August 24, 2009 - Dressage trainer Todd Flettrich is
currently in Germany training with Olympic Gold Medalist Hubertus Schmidt at
his Paderborn farm and has begun competing with Cherry Knoll Farm's horses,
13-year-old Otto and nine-year-old Danseur, in national competition. At a
recent show at Hof Bettenrode, Flettrich qualified both Otto and Danseur for
the Grand Prix Special after very successful qualifying tests. The
Wellington based trainer was very pleased with both of the horse's
performances.
"This was Danseur's first horse show ever and to be in the top twelve and
qualify for the Grand Prix Special was very gratifying," Flettrich
explained. "When I came out of the arena the first day, Hubertus had a huge
smile on his face and he encouraged me to do the Special."
Flettrich felt that to do the Special might be too much for Danseur's first
show since he and the horse hadn't practiced it, but the test went well.
"The wonderful thing is that the horse stayed with me considering it was
raining and there were some first show issues," Flettrich pointed out.
"We came to Germany with Otto to prepare for competition," Flettrich
continued. "The wonderful thing about Otto is that what you have in the
warm-up you have in the ring and now I feel that I need to prepare him
better for the test. It is a great compliment to the horse, as he has no
hidden agendas, and we are beginning to form a nice partnership."
Flettrich ended up in third place in the Grand Prix Special with Otto,
placing just behind fellow Wellington rider Michelle Gibson. He
acknowledged how nice it was to have the camaraderie of another American
rider, trainer Hubertus Schmidt, bereiter Hubertus Hufendiek, and groom
Catherine Malone at the show. "It was really a team effort," Flettrich
smiled. "The whole show was a great experience. I got to see where we are
with our training, and we did well. There is a lot more there, and I think
that we will only get better from here."
Todd Flettrich and Margaret Duprey will be in Germany through the end of
August and will continue to train with Schmidt at his farm in Paderborn.
Upon returning to the United States, Flettrich plans to compete in
Saugerties, NY, and Devon, PA, to kick off the fall season.
Todd Flettrich is based in Wellington, FL, has earned his USDF Silver and
Gold Medals, and is a graduate of the USDF 'L' Judge Program. Flettrich
competed at the North American Young Riders Championships (NAYRC) four times
and won the Individual Gold Medal and Team Silver in 1991. Flettrich served
as Region 1 Coach and Chef d'Equipe at NAYRC from 1988 through 1994. His
student Catherine Malone won the Individual Gold in 2005. Flettrich's
current mounts are owned by Cherry Knoll Farm. For more information, call
Todd Flettrich at 484-459-2749.
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