Ridden To Death

S3, E7: Horses have galloped across Farmer Pauli's forage meadows, leaving deep furrows in their wake – again! Hubert and Staller drive to Claudia Hagen's horse farm to ask her to stop riding across the precious fields. But it doesn't come to a conversation: Claudia Hagen lies lifeless in the stable box of her favorite stallion Poldi – yet there is no trace of him. When Hubert and Staller break the tragic news of Claudia's fatal accident to Thekla Schiller, Claudia's partner, her world collapses around her. Staller's masculinity is massively tarnished: a woman who doesn't want him to comfort her after such a blow of fate? This, however, is by no means the most puzzling aspect of the case. Back in the stable, an unconventional idea by Staller leads the police to realize that Poldi's stable door must have been locked after Claudia's death. Someone must have been there when she died. It soon dawns on the detectives that the rider seen by farmer Pauli in the morning could have been the murderer, who fled on stallion Poldi's back. Pathologist Anja Licht confirms this suspicion: the fatal injury was not caused by hoof kicks, but by a blow to the back of the head with a blunt object. Hubert and Staller feverishly search for motives, and they are quickly found: Since Poldi is a well-known dressage horse of high value, there are now many suspects from within the equestrian circle. The first clue leads to Hermann Meixner, Poldi's former owner. He is firmly convinced that he sold the stallion to Claudia for less than he was worth. However, he has an alibi. The police then focus on Claudia's brother Michael. He lives penniless in a run-down shack, and recently had a heated argument with his sister.Thekla Schiller also arouses suspicions. She is not only the sole heiress after Claudia's death, but also often felt that Claudia preferred to spend her time with horse riding rather than with her.