NEWS at Stuttgart-German-Master.de
After 35 years, there will be no international horse show this year in Stuttgart’s Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle. After many months of planning and intensive discussions about alternative concepts in the face of the corona pandemic, it is now final that the 36thSTUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS from 11 to 15 November 2020 has to be cancelled. “The indoor horse show cannot be staged in the current corona conditions,” stresses Andreas Kroll, the CEO of the organisers, the in.Stuttgart Veranstaltungsgesellschaft. “We ask for the understanding of all the equestrian fans and naturally the riders. For a long time, we were hoping there would be a weakening of the corona pandemic, but after the latest reports, it appears we’re a long way off.”
The health of humans and animals is the uppermost priority which is why one has decided to take this course of action jointly with the horse show directors, the sponsors and partners. Though in the meantime there has been some, mainly without spectators, smaller and mid-sized outdoor horse shows, they however cannot be compared to a 5-star show in an indoor arena. The effort needed to stage the horse show in the “Hallenduo” complex in NeckarPark is enormous. From the competition in-field to the stables as well as the shopping areas and the media center, everything has to be built specially for the show.
As the organiser and operator of the indoor arena, a point in time has now been reached in which it can be safely said that holding the event is not financially viable. Simultaneously the safety and wellbeing of everybody involved in the running of the horse show as well as the visitors cannot be fully guaranteed. Kroll: “Without the spectators and the wonderful atmosphere, it simply makes no sense. The corona ordinance’s restrictions will remain in force until the end of October and momentarily we can’t assume that much will change up until the middle of November.”
The focus is now on next year when the 36th International STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS Horse Show is due to be held from 10 to 14 November 2021. One is in regular contact with the International Equestrian Federation, the German Equestrian Federation (FN) and the regional Baden-Württemberg Equestrian Association and this year’s cancellation has been agreed and accepted at all three levels. This also applies to the final classes for the BW-Bank Indoor Championship, the iWest Cup, the Nürnberger Burg-Pokal or the Piaff-Förderpreis. Together with their final classes, they should take place as usual in the coming year in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle.