Danish double lead among the six-year-olds
FEI WBFSH World Championships for Young Dressage Horses
“…but I had a great feeling right away.”
Saffron was bred by the Slangerupgaard breeding farm from a Scolari dam, is still owned by the breeders and has been ridden by Anne Troensegaard for two years. Today, the elegant brown mare impressed the judges most in the trot test, scoring 9.7. She received an 8.9 for her walk, 9.0 for her canter, 8.9 for her rideability and 9.6 for her prospects.
Troensegaard, a former nurse, has been riding all her life. For the past 15 years, she has devoted herself entirely to training horses and is participating in the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses for the fifth time this year: “When I rode Saffron for the first time, I liked her right away, even though she was like a ‘long, thin spider’. But I had a great feeling about her right away.” As a five-year-old, the mare won the young horse competition in Herning, Denmark, and was awarded a 10 by both test riders. In the same year, she also qualified for the World Championships, but then broke her pastern bone. “I had to walk her for three months, then started riding her very slowly, and now here we are.” The mare held her breath a little in the arena today, but she was very relaxed in canter. The Danish championship rider knows how to win a World Championship medal. She celebrated the bronze medal in the seven-year-old class with the Trakehner Kipling in 2017. Anne Troensegaard is also familiar with the World Championships venue in Verden, having competed here in 2014 with Litvinenko Sjaelstofte. The stage is set for the final. Is she excited? “No, not really. All I have to do is ride.” Saffron will be given a light workout over the next two days leading up to the final, enjoy some massages, and go out to graze. “Everything is very relaxed,” emphasizes Troensegaard, who is looking forward to the final.
The second-placed Brandtbjergs Divya is by Hesselhoj Donkey Boy, goes back to Blue Hors Don Olymbrio on her dam's side and was bred by the Buhl family, Brandtbjerggaard. Divya is owned by Gestüt Søbakkehus and was presented by Anders Sjöbeck Hoeck. Her individual scores were: trot 9.5, walk 9.0, canter 9.2, rideability 8.7 and prospects 9.6.
Two Danes at the top – what is the ‘secret’ of Danish horse breeding in the eyes of winner Anne Troensegaard? “I think the success is due in no small part to the fact that Danish breeding has become very open and also uses a lot of stallions from Germany and Holland. They work a lot with German bloodlines.”
Last year, he secured the World Championship title for five-year-olds, at that time still under the saddle of Bart Veeze. Now Olympic rider Dinja van Liere is in the saddle: Red Viper by Blue Hors Romanov out of a Sir Sinclair dam, bred by Coen Kerbert and owned by Reesink Hengsthaltung. The impressive chestnut scored particularly well in the canter with a 9.5, the highest score of the day for this gait.
Double pack for the final
Only one rider managed to qualify two horses for the final of the six-year-olds on Saturday: Greta Heemsoth. Riding Endorphin FRH, a son of Escolar, the rider from the Pape stable took fourth place with 87.80 percent, and with Felice FRH she took eighth place with 84.60 percent. Both horses already attracted attention at last year's Bundeschampionat. The Hannoveraner mare by Fürst Samarant earned the title of Bundeschampioness, while her stablemate Endorphin became Vice Bundeschampion. This is Greta Heemsoth's first time participating in a World Championships, and she was thrilled: “I am very happy with both horses. They are so different, but both performed very well today. Although, one or two things could be a little better,” she added with a smile. Neither horse managed the first flying change in the test today. "Endorphin likes to draw attention to himself, he has a lot of presence, but on the other hand he is very easy and refined to ride. Felice is very shy and very sensitive. She always needs someone she can really trust, who takes her by the hand and tells her, ‘You can do it.’“ The 32-year-old grew up in Verden and is looking forward to the final in the Horse24 Arena on Saturday. ”I'm sure some friends and my family will be there to cheer me on."
These World Championships are also a special experience for Greta's employer, the breeder and owner of Endorphin and co-owner of Felice, Ingo Pape: “I am a horse breeder with all my heart and am already proud that Endorphin is the first horse I have bred myself to compete in a World Championship.” He emphasizes that you always have a special relationship with a horse you have bred yourself, and then to ride that horse in a World Championships is something very special. Pape also has a relationship with Felice that spans generations: “I bred Felice's mother, her father, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother.”
Very good riding
The equestrian town of Verden is hosting the World Championships for the 18th time this year. Kurt Christensen, international dressage judge from Denmark and chief judge for the six-year-old qualifiers, summed up day one: “The arena here in Verden has improved significantly. There is a lot of space around the arena, which is very good for the young horses.” Christensen added about the quality of the six-year-olds: “We had some really good, high-quality horses at the start. It's also very close at the top, so there could be some changes in the final. And what we were very happy about in the judging panel was the good riding.”
World Championship highlights
Graf Rantzau Trophy for Verden
On the sidelines of the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses, the competition venue Verden was honored with the Graf Rantzau Trophy for show organizers. With this award, named after Breido Graf zu Rantzau, Honorary President of the German Equestrian Federation (FN) who died in 2022, the FN honors show organizers from all over Germany for their commitment and their exemplary role model function. German Equestrian Federation (FN) chairman Prof. Dr. Martin Richenhagen traveled to Verden especially to present the trophy to the show directors, Ulrike Kubelke and Wilken Treu.
Australian euphoria
At the age of three, Alexandra Vordermair bought Exact, son of Escamillo, right here in Verden and took him with her to her new home in Australia. Two years later, Exact became Australian Young Horse Vice Champion of the five-year-olds, and in 2025 he secured the Champion title among the six-year-olds. Shortly afterwards, in March this year, Vordermair, who now rides for Australia and has taken Australian citizenship, moved back to Germany. Since then, Exact and she have been at home at the Fichtenhof farm of her twin sister Andrea and her husband Arnaud Petit, where they train with Ferdinand Csaki. “We have worked towards this goal, this dream, for the past three years to be here today,” beamed the rider. “And it was magnificent!” At the final salute, the joy was unstoppable, Alexandra Vordermair threw her arms in the air, cheered euphorically, and showered Exact with countless kisses. With 15th place and 81 percent, it wasn't quite enough to qualify directly for the final. The best twelve horses from the qualification round will advance. But on Thursday, the six-year-olds who didn't make it directly to the final will compete in the so-called small final. The best three in the small final will also secure a ticket for Saturday, when the World Championship medals and titles will be up for grabs.
Photo credit: Stefan Lafarentz
