August 6, 2023 
The Jiva Hill Stables CDI belonged to Germany’s Mattias Alexander Rath on Saturday.
The 2010 World Championship team bronze medalist and three-time European Championship team medalist swept the CDIYH, 3* and 5* divisions in Crozet, France on the penultimate day of competition.
Rath’s winning day started with a clean sweep in the CDIYH 6-year-old division.
Aboard Maddox Mart, he claimed Saturday’s test with a score of 93% and Friday’s preliminary test with a 91%. Crozet marks the first international appearance for the pair and CDIYH 6-year-old division debut for the black KWPN stallion. Maddox Mart was previously campaigned by Jessica Lynn Thomas (SWE) and won two of five CDIYH appearances during his 5-year-old year.
In the CDI3*, it was Rath and Destacado FRH, aka “The King” at his Gestüt Schafhof stables in Kronberg, leading the victory gallop on Friday and Saturday. The veteran pair has logged podium finishes in every CDI performance but one since 2022, winning 11 of their 16 classes.
At Jiva Hill, 10-year-old chestnut Hanoverian stallion topped Friday’s CDI3* Grand Prix, scoring 75% from the judges, and danced to the Star Wars movie soundtrack and Freestyle victory on Saturday on a 78.125%.
Rath’s biggest win of the day was the CDI5* Grand Prix. Against 24 elite couples attempting to win over the five international judges and secure a last-minute selection for the European Championships in Riesenbeck this September, and the 2024 Olympic Games, Rath came out on top with Thiago GS.
The 10-year-old black Oldenburg, bred by Rath and sired by the legendary Totilas, his partner from 2010 to 2015, achieved the winning score of 74.913% to finish more than a point ahead of his compatriot Sönke Rothenberger and his eleven-year-old Oldenburg, Matchball (Old) (73.413%). France’s Morgan Barbançon and Habana Libre A also logged a new personal best of 72.326% for third.
Related reading: Sönke Rothenberger: From Jumper Rider to German Dressage Team in Three Years
“I am super happy because the development of Thiago is, I think, really good,” said Rath.
“The development of the last 12 months is really amazing, especially in the last two to three months, when I competed him again. It’s his first 5* Grand Prix and the first victory so I am super happy with him.”
Canada’s Ryan Torkkeli and Sternenwanderer were the only North American pair on the 5* start list, and earned a 71.196% to beat their personal best.
Classes Rath didn’t win on Saturday: the 7-year-old CDIYH and the CDI1*.
KWPN stallion Lord Diamond and Dutch rider Krista Kolijn dominated the CDIYH 7-year-old , leaving the ring with an average score of 74.186% and their first international victory in the division. The pair has only logged podium finishes in their three international shows this year.
Frederic Wandres (GER) and Quizmaster FRH won the CDI1* decisively with a 77.655% score, ahead of his compatriot Anna Christina Abbelen and Quantanamera (73.480%) and Dutch rider Linda Verwaal with James Bond LVD (72.585%).
Five star competition continues Sunday at Jiva Hill Stables with the CDI5* Freestyle and Grand Prix Special.
