German friendships
The German Friendships are an international children's equestrian tournament that takes place every two years in Herford .
history
The basic idea of creating an event like the German Friendships came from the internationally active course designer Frank Rothenberger in the 1990s. He had seen a similar event in South America, where riders from other nations without horses were invited. The foreign guests were given the horses by the local riders, as it is expensive to travel with horses from other countries. First, Rothenberger spoke to the then national coach Fritz Ligges , who waved off. Then he spoke to Ulrich Meyer zu Bexten, who recognized the potential. So the former Herford Nations Cup rider became a tournament maker. Thanks to his good network with his farm, things went pretty well from the start and got better and better over the years. Ulrich Meyer zu Bexten and his son Lars Meyer zu Bexten held the tournament for the first time in 1999 on his Bexter Hof on Laarer Strasse in the Diebrock district . It has been held every two years for six days in July or August since then. Since 2004, the international children's equestrian tournament "Bexter-Hof-Open" has been held in alternation.
Attendees
Each time between 100 and 120 riders from 30 to 35 nations take part in the tournament.
concept
The motto of the tournament is "Friendships - no Championships" (friendship, not competition). One foreign and one German child in the age groups 12 to 15 and 16 to 18 form a team. The foreign youths can bring their own horse, but the German participants should have a horse ready for their partner. In addition to the team tests, the focus is also on training units given by well-known show jumpers such as Ludger Beerbaum , Franke Sloothaak , Otto Becker and Andreas Kreuzer .
In addition to the international part, there are also tests for regional young riders with over 200 participants. There is now a competition for former participants who have become too old in the meantime. A tournament will also be held for the "Club of European Senior Riders". German leaders are preparing another competition.
Supporting program
At the beginning of the tournament, the riders pay a visit to the Herford mayor in the town hall . The march of nations marks the beginning in the yard. On the fringes of the tournament, products related to equestrian sports or for home and garden are sold on a marketplace. There are also show programs with horse demonstrations. There is a big party on Saturday evening. Donations will be collected for social purposes during the event. The event ends with the award ceremony and the closing ceremony.
The visit of the jester Pedro Cebulka has become a tradition. The native of Lüneburg , who has lived in Canada for years, speaks German, English and Spanish perfectly and can communicate in French, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Indonesian and Malaysian.
patronage
The first patronage in 1999 was taken over by Princess Haya bint al-Hussein , the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan and the half-sister of the current Jordanian King Abdullah II.
In 2001 Princess Haya took over the patronage together with Hans Günter Winkler .
The patron in 2003 was the then wife of the then Prime Minister of Lower Saxony and later Federal President Christian Wulff , who has already visited the tournament several times.
The patron in 2005 was the German Federal President Horst Köhler .
In 2007 the German Chancellor Angela Merkel took over the patronage. However, she was represented on site by the then Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Ursula von der Leyen , who was in Herford for four days with four of her accompanying children.
Ursula von der Leyen then took over the patronage in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. She was there with her children during the entire event from 2009 to 2015. Only in 2017 was she unable to come to Herford because of important political appointments. In 2019 she attended the event as the new EU Commission President elected directly beforehand and gave a speech on July 26, 2019 with the title "Peace, freedom, liberal world order, united Europe - just a utopia?"
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ History of the German Friendships at: german-friendships.com , July 11, 2019
- ↑ Stefan Schelp, Matthias Bungeroth: Asked: Ursula von der Leyen is the star in Herford. Retrieved July 28, 2019 .
Coordinates: 52 ° 6 ′ 29.5 ″ N , 8 ° 37 ′ 8.5 ″ E