As Vice put it in a recent feature: Sunday at Hoppegarten is the new Berghain. It’s a hilarious, yet unfair comparisson, but I admit these where my thoughts too when I was at the horse race course on Sunday thinking how much more enjoyable my time there was than it would be in the cement garden of the techno club.
I was invited by Warsteiner who is one of the main supporters of the Hoppegarten horse race course to join them for the Big Price of Berlin which is the biggest award for horse races in Germany. I didn’t really know how to imagine it would be. I imagined it like a day-time version of Boheme Sauvage. And actually the reality was not too far away from it. We had such a beautiful afternoon there that we remained in a daze of wonder for days to come.
It was as nostalgic as you imagine it: A glamorous picknick in the park, pretty ladies with fancy hats, dandy gentlemen, horse-shaped balloons for the kids (I bought one too though). It is a really picturesque setting at Hoppegarten. And I haven’t even started with the horses yet. Hot Like Mexico, Sugarbabe, Lucky Speed, Berlin Berlin. Talking about popculture references for horse names here. It’s really as much of an elegant sport as it was promissed to us. In 8 races spread out over the afternoon all these horses with funny names and fancy manes gallopped over the meticulously groomed lawn for the main price. Three year old stallion Sirius turned out to be the winner of the Big Price of Berlin, unfortunately none of us made a bet on him due to lack of general horse race knowledge. But it was fun nontheless and I would definately come back here for another sunny afternoon at this beautiful place full of balloons, horses and hats. Enjoy my impressions after the jump.
