On Tuesday morning, Engarde Marketing GmbH sent out a press release, and because it sees itself as a “full-service agency”, it immediately presented a ready-made interview with its own managing director. The sports marketing agency from Hagen in Bremen is responsible for a number of major equestrian events, including the Munich Indoors.
And the interview actually offered the attentive reader a few extremely readable passages: The traditional tournament, which takes place every November in Munich’s Olympiahalle, has been canceled for this year.
This comes as a surprise, even if it is mentioned rather casually. It had recently failed three times in a row due to the corona pandemic or the uncertain situation about possibly increasing numbers of infections, 2020, 2021, 2022. But the current year is “the first really restriction-free season”, with this sentence Managing Director Volker Wulff is equal beginning quoted. But this time, he explains, “it’s about energy costs, staff and service providers.”
The multi-day event last attracted more than 30,000 spectators
In view of the increased costs, it is simply not economical to hold the major event in the Olympic Hall. The last talks with the operators had apparently just taken place. He doesn’t want to write off the Munich Indoors yet, emphasizes Wulff, it’s – “hopefully” – just a break. In any case, the tournament homepage now says in red letters: “Postponed to 2024.”
The Munich Indoors have a long tradition, they have been around since 1998. A look at the list of winners makes their sporting quality clear: The Grand Prix of Munich, the most valuable test in show jumping, was won three times by Brit John Whitaker, and the Germans Marcus Ehning, David Will and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum were each successful twice. Until the separation in 2019, it was also the last special stage of the Riders Tour. In the dressage Grand Prix, divided into freestyle and special, Isabell Werth was by far the most successful; Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, Dorothee Schneider and Ulla Salzgeber also appear in the lists several times. The multi-day event last attracted more than 30,000 spectators, making it a second highlight in the city alongside the Pferd International in May.
When the Munich Indoors was canceled two years ago, Wulff had assured that he absolutely wanted to hold on to the event, and in 2022 he said: “Now we hope for next year.” In the current press release he speaks of a cleansing effect that the Corona crisis had on the tournament landscape, which he probably does not relate directly to Munich, which he does not want to shelve yet. Wulff was initially unavailable for inquiries on Tuesday.
