The best friend with the ‘wow factor’
Tears glistened in Mette Sejbjerg Jensen's eyes: “‘He is simply fantastic! He is talented, beautiful and, at the moment, the best friend I have. FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses”. “He” is the Jameson RS2 son Proud James. This fantastic horse was bred by Dutchman M. van Maasacker out of a Glock's Johnson dam and is owned by Helgstrand Dressage. The grey stallion had already made a big impression last year, securing victory in the final of the four-year-olds in the show programme of FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses. At that time, he was still under the saddle of Maxi-Kira von Platen, but Mette has since taken over his training. “He's just incredible when you ride him into the arena,” enthuses the 36-year-old Dane. "He just seems to ask, 'Where do you want to go? Relax, I'll take you there.'‘ Even when she rode him for the first time, she thought: “Wow!” “He always gives me that wow feeling, the feeling that I could ride him to the moon if I wanted to." He is always very focused in the test, even today, and he has that certain show factor. “He enters the arena, grows five centimetres and thinks to himself: ‘Hey, look at me!’ He has incredible self-confidence and I love that.” Her conclusion after the first World Championship test in Verden with Proud James: “It was incredible! The weather, the arena and the horse!”
The winner received very consistent high marks in all five individual categories: 9.0 for trot, 8.8 for walk, 9.0 for canter, 8.8 for obedience and 9.2 for prospects. For his behaviour outside the arena, which the judges cannot evaluate, he would probably get a 12 from Mette. “He's like a puppy. He's the kind of horse that's never in a hurry, always relaxed.”
“Simply overwhelmed”
This is not quite how second-placed Linda Weiß describes the Vitalis daughter Viva Diamond OLD: “Everyone always thinks that Viva Diamond is very relaxed, but she's not as relaxed as she looks,” admits the 30-year-old professional rider with a smile. "I always have to make sure that she stays in her ‘own world’, so to speak, and that she feels comfortable there. But that worked very well today and she felt incredible in the arena.” Linda also took over training her successful partner a good year ago and has won every competition with her since then. When asked if she was a little disappointed about coming second in the World Championship qualifier, she replied, not entirely seriously, “Oh no, not at all, she laughs. “I never expected this success. It's my first start at a World Championships, it's so much more important than any normal tournament – I'm just overwhelmed.” Not least with the day's best score of 9.2 for the walk, Viva Diamond secured second place in the qualifiers. Her other individual scores were: 8.5 for trot, 8.4 for canter, 8.8 for obedience and 8.6 for perspective. The owner, Judith Köppel from 360° Sportpferde, was there, as was the breeder, Anne Alberding, who had ridden Zauberhaft, a daughter of Birkhof's Don Diamond, to second place in the qualifiers.
Wendy's son – through and through
Ferdinand de Fontaine, ridden by Finland's Merita Hagren, is a son of Olympic team champion Wendy de Fontaine (Isabell Werth). Ferdinand's sire is Franklin, his dam's sire is Sezuan, and he was bred by the French stud farm Chateau de Fontaine. The black horse is owned by River Oak Equine Sports GmbH. He is not only the son, emphasised the rider, he is also very similar to his dam Wendy. ‘Isabell (Werth) visited us once, sat on Ferdinand and said: “He's just like Wendy.”’ As Wendy's son, Ferdinand has a special place in her heart, explains the Finnish rider from the Helgstrand stable, which co-owns the bronze medallist through River Oak Equine Sports GmbH. “What's more, his sire Franklin is also with us. It's very special to see them grow up and follow their progress so closely.” Merita took over Ferdinand's training at the age of four, knows him inside out and explains: “It's so nice to ride a horse you trust completely in the World Championships. He would love to be stroked all day, then ridden briefly, do a great job and be stroked some more.” Ferdinand's individual scores ranged from 8.2 for his walk to 9.0 for his canter and prospects.
All three of the top-placed ladies agreed: if things went the same way on Sunday and they could award the medals among themselves in exactly the same way, they would be over the moon. Among the five-year-old candidates was the Hanoverian Secret son So Special, who secured the silver ribbon in the four-year-old class in the supporting programme of the 2024 World Championships under Jessica Lynn Thomas. A year earlier, the stallion had excelled as Vice-Champion at the Bundeschampionat in Warendorf. The five-year-olds also included the third-placed horse in the Bundeschampionat for four-year-old riding horses, Because of You OLD, ridden by Beatrice Hoffrogge. Both narrowly missed out on a place in the final, finishing 13th and 14th. Only the best twelve horses from the qualifiers qualified directly for Sunday's final. All the others still have the chance to earn a ticket for Sunday via the small final, with the best three receiving one of the coveted final tickets.
The small final for the five-year-old dressage horses is scheduled for Friday at 2.30 pm in Verden's Horse24 Arena.
World Championship highlights
“I'm becoming more and more relaxed”
“Our main focus is on ensuring that the riders and horses feel comfortable here, that the conditions and, above all, the ground are so good that the riders can present their horses in the best possible light,” emphasises Wilken Treu from the Verden tournament management. “I admit that I am becoming more and more relaxed because the feedback I am receiving confirms that we are succeeding. That is the most important thing.” He is very much looking forward to the coming days – including the foal auction on Saturday evening and the charity event on Sunday. "There are only eleven foals that we are putting up for auction on Saturday, but I think they are of promising quality. Five of the sires, for example, competed in World Championships themselves, and one dam is the full sister of double World Champion Gut Wettlkam's D'avie FRH. So the World Championships are very clearly reflected in our foal lot. And on Sunday, we will be looking for a new owner for a special foal through a bidding process for a good cause, in aid of German Cancer Aid, and hope that we can raise a nice sum for cancer research."
Seven at one stroke
45 horses competed in the five-year-old qualifiers in Verden, seven of which are trained by the same trainer: Sebastian Heinze. Dutchman Bart Veeze was represented with two horses, Roman Empire and Pina Colada, Linda Weiß with Viva Diamond OLD, Charlott-Maria Schürmann with Viva las Vegas RS, Beatrice Hoffrogge with Because of You OLD, Lena Haßmann with Estelle PS NRW and the Australian Tayla Desmet with Dark Diamond. The former U25 national coach of the German dressage riders has become one of the most sought-after trainers around. His philosophy for the World Championships for five-year-olds: "At a World Championships, only horses of good quality compete, that's clear. It's about really good basic training, correct riding, very good contact and, of course, the form on the day. And then you also need riders who can support the good quality of the horses."
Photo credit: Sportfoto Lafarentz
