Secret equestrian project

Will the Danube in Linz become a moat?

The feasibility of spectacular show jumping events is being tested on the banks of the Danube.(Bild: Tommy Kreidl)

Behind the scenes of the State Show Jumping Championships in Linz, which are taking place up to and including Sunday, several top equestrian events are being tinkered with at a completely new location in the steel city. A former Olympic rider is in the thick of it instead of just being there . . 

Will the Danube even become a moat?

Even if this is unlikely to happen, Linz is flirting with a spectacular equestrian event, about which the city's politicians are already in the know and in which at least the moat is likely to be filled with Danube water . . .

This leaked out at the State Show Jumping Championships in Ebelsberg on Sunday. In other words, former Olympic rider Helmut Morbitzer would like to use the fairgrounds in Urfahr as an event professional from 2025, and not just for his CSIO - the FEI only awards one event of this tournament category per year and nation.

Delicatessen giant as sponsor

"I would also like to hold a horse festival there," says Morbitzer, who is already in contact with the city's deputy mayor and sports councillor Karin Hörzing regarding the construction of a mobile riding stadium. "There will be further talks in the next 14 days," says the 68-year-old. He emphasizes: "This idea, which I have had in mind for some time, only seems feasible to me because the Sprehe company recently extended its sponsorship contract with us by three years."

Equestrian events in the city center

This refers to the German delicatessen giant, whose most recent annual turnover was 700 million euros and who, like Morbitzer, now wants to bring show jumping more into the city center and thus reach out to spectators.