Helmut Morbitzer sleeps three to four hours – not more – every day. The organizer of the Linz horse festival is not responsible for the CSI three-star show jumping tournament in Linz-Ebelsberg, which runs until Sunday. “A doctor examined me, that’s normal for me,” says the 67-year-old with a smile. Morbitzer would have little reason to sleep badly. The sponsorship contracts for the EUR 160,000 tournament are on board until 2024, the current edition fills the capacity with 300 horses and riders from 18 nations – and with Martin Fuchs, an absolute star of the scene can be admired in the saddle.
“Linz is a charming and well-organized show. It suits me well to start here with four younger horses,” says the 29-year-old Swiss, who won the World Cup final in Leipzig last weekend. “It’s not always possible to get the best rider in the world at the start in a non-equestrian country like Austria,” says Morbitzer proudly.
The only thing he struggles with is that he is still not in the saddle himself because of a serious riding accident in November. “But it’s better for the event if I don’t ride because I have more time to take care of everything. And it’s also better for my horses if I don’t quickly, quickly jump on a horse and start riding.” He has entrusted the riding of his horses to Barbara Babanic from Burgenland, whom he would like to help to qualify for the Olympics. In it, after a few years of doubt, he found a new vocation. “When equestrian sport in Austria has been going downhill more and more in recent years, I asked myself: Morbitzer, what do you still want here? But now I’m as motivated as I was before Atlanta 1996.” At that time he had qualified for the summer games.
Tokyo winner in dressage
The CDI four-star dressage tournament in Stadl-Paura, which runs until Sunday, also gets high visitors: The German Olympic champion of the Tokyo Games, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, shows her skills here. The highlights are the Grand Prix on Saturday (3.30 p.m.) as well as the GP Special (12) and the Freestyle (14) on Sunday.
Source: Nachrichten
