It was their fourth German Amateurs Championship.
Alexandra Maier made it into the freestyle final for the first time.
Epfach - The well-being and woe of Bavaria - it was completely in the hands of Alexandra Maier and "Majestix W".
Of the five Bavarian dressage riders who had been nominated for the German amateur championship, only the woman from Epfach had made it into the grand finale, which was all about medals.
In addition, Maier and her 13-year-old gelding had to be the first couple to ride into the arena.
This is often a rather ungrateful task, because the judges also have to sort themselves out first.
But the Bavarian duo was not impressed by all the trappings and showed a remarkable performance in the Prix St. Georges Freestyle.
In the end there was a top ten place and a ribbon - it had never been so good for Maier in an amateur DM.
Her conclusion was accordingly: "What a weekend," she posted on Instagram and added a happy emoji.
Originally, the title fights for amateur riders (as such count those who do not earn their money exclusively from riding) in Ingolstadt.
But the Corona requirements thwarted the bill.
The Westphalian horse center in Münster-Handorf stepped in.
For Alexandra Maier and her mother Manuela this meant a journey of more than 700 kilometers.
With three horses this is a big effort.
"Fortunately, it was worth it", stated Alexandra Maier with satisfaction.
Maier takes a detour via the small finale
The 28-year-old passed the DM exams with “Majestix W”. She had sent another successful horse to “active retirement” this year.
In the qualification, a Prix St. Georges, the duo achieved a place, but with the 13th place the direct entry into the grand finale was missed by one place.
With an overall result of 762 points (66.842 percent), only 3.5 points were missing.
The Epfach woman was not discouraged by this;
So the next day it was “hold up again”, as she put it.
According to the regulations of the amateur championship, the best three of the small final still qualify for the freestyle.
In an exciting and close decision, Maier and her successful horse secured third place with 67.154 percent.
This defeated a "curse": In the previous years, the Epfach girl had always missed the top 15 finals, mostly only just barely.
Plenty of praise via the loudspeaker
In the freestyle, the 28-year-old and the gelding then showed "a very nice ride", reported Manuela Maier.
Immediately after the performance - the title fights could be seen live on the Internet - congratulations came in on the smartphone.
At Maier's appearance, “there was really steam in the kettle,” read a message from an impressed friend.
The woman from Epfach received another ribbon in tenth place.
In the DM overall ranking she came 14th out of 39 couples with “Majestix W”.
The medals all went to the north, Zara-Adina von Zitzewitz (with "Donna Dini") won gold from the Schleswig-Holstein regional association.
The second best Bavarian rider, Hanna Sammet (with "Dignity's Hope"), landed on 22nd place.
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White-blue troop in Münster-Handorf: the show jumping and dressage riders from the Free State at the amateur championship with Alexandra Maier (second from right).
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Alexandra Maier was in action in Münster-Handorf with two other horses as part of the supporting program.
With "Geronnimmo" she completed a two-star M dressage.
The special thing about it: After every ride in the medium level dressage, the respective participant received an evaluation via loudspeaker.
After the appearance of “Geronnimmo” there was plenty of praise for the horse Maier had trained himself - “a thoroughly harmonious performance”, that was the conclusion.
The fact that it wasn't enough to win, but “only” to third place was due to a failed move.
Maier's third horse, the gelding “Heronymus W”, should above all gain experience in tournaments.
That worked out quite well.
In an M * dressage (13th place) and an M ** - dressage (11th place) he showed "two decent rounds", according to the rider.
The amateur championship was “a nice end to the season”, says Manuela Maier.
The number of tournaments was limited due to Corona, but there was a lot of work to be done at the “Maier riding facility” due to various renovations.
Nevertheless, Alexandra Maier invested a lot of time in working with her horses.
“She did a great job and was hardworking,” said Manuela Maier.
The reward was four ribbons and a lot of praise in the amateur DM.
