13 February 2020

Lipica to host Donau Alpen Pokal for single and pair drivers

During the international driving competition in Lipica on 17-20 September, single and pair drivers will not only be competing to win their individual classes, but the Donau Alpen Pokal will once again be awarded for the first time since 2016.

Single and pair drivers from Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Serbia will compete both individually and in teams for the coveted trophy, the Donau Alpen Pokal. The organization has acquired extra prize money for the additional competitions.

The Donau Alpen Pokal was established in 1976 to stimulate competitors from the countries mentioned above t0 work and share their knowledge with each other. In 1979 the DAP was presented for the first time. Since 2002 the DAP has been given out in non-World Championship years. The individual competition is open for competitors from all countries, but the team competition is open only to the drivers from the mentioned countries.

Miroslav Matuska
Photo: Krisztina Horváth

It is the first time in the history of the award that the Donau Alpen Pokal will be hosted in Lipica. The teams can be made up of competitors in both the two and three-star competitions. A team will consist of minimum two and maximum three competitors, and a country may send more than one team. The following divisions will be offered:

-Individual single horse  (open for all competitors from all countries, results CAI2* and CAI3* will be combined)

-Individual pair horse (open for all competitors from all countries, results CAI2* and CAI3* will be combined)

-Team single horse (open for competitors from aforementioned countries, team members can compete CAI2* and CAI3*, minimum 2, maximum 3 team members)

-Team pair horse (open for competitors from aforementioned countries, team members can compete CAI2* and CAI3*, minimum 2, maximum 3 team members)

The DAP team competition will be driven over the dressage, marathon and cones competitions, where the two best final results of the team members will be used to calculate the winners.

Drivers starting with more than one entry will have to identify which entry will compete in the DAP, both for the individual and team. A driver may only compete for the trophy with one entry.

For the individual DAP classes prize money will be awarded.

For the winning DAP teams trophies will be awarded.

World Cup points

The competition in Lipica is also open to four-in-hand drivers as a qualification competition for the indoor World Cup season 2020/2021. Lipica is the last competition of the season for team drivers wishing to accumulate valuable points for the prestigious indoor circuit.

Slovenian Championship 
For the Slovenian drivers Lipica will hold the national championship for pair drivers.

Miha Tavcar
Photo: Krisztina Horváth