Stallions through the eye of the needle in Herning

8 March Part of PRESS RELEASE (dressage) from Danish Warmblood

More than 70 stallions (24 three-year-old dressage stallions) are working their way through the licensing system at the Danish Warmblood Stallion Show in Herning. The first stallions have now been licensed and are ready for the breeding season.

In the Danish Warmblood stallion licensing system, the stallions are placed in different groups depending on age. For the 3-year-old stallions, the licensing will culminate with the final announcements Sunday in Jyske Bank Boxen, but some of the older stallions have already been fully approved.

Straight Horse Leonardo by Lord Europe / De Niro. Copyright free photo: Ridehesten.com

Challenge Trophy and Champion
It was not a difficult task to decide which of the stallions in the group should be the recipient of the Aage Ravn Challenge Trophy. The trophy is each year presented to the best Danish Warmblood-bred 4- or 5-year-old stallion and this year the recipient was the stallions Straight Horse Leonardo by Lord Europe / De Niro.
The stallion is from the gold medal mare Straight Horse De Milla and bred by Straight Horse ApS, which has done a great performance test and also has a very correct confirmation.

The title of Champion Stallion was awarded the stallion Viva Vegas by Viva Gold / Rock Forever. The stallion is bred in Germany and owned by Helgstrand Dressage. He was the winner of the Danish Warmblood performance test with an impressive score of 892 points.

Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St. John Freestyle. Copyright free Photo: Ridehesten.com

Danish demonstration of power in ECCO Five Star Dressage

 It was the Danish gold team from the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning 2022, which sat in the top four positions in ECCO Five Star Dressage at the Danish Warmblood Stallion Show in Herning in an ecstatic and absolutely fantastic atmosphere in the Boxen.

Nordentoft Grand Prix, is the first of two classes in ECCO Five Star Dressage at the Danish Warmblood Stallion Show in Herning. Denmark's best dressage riders, and thus the riders who are in the running for a place on the Olympic team in Paris this summer, met in the Grand Prix today. The audience created a fantastic atmosphere throughout the class, and the riders afterwards expressed great gratitude and awe at the support from the Danish audience.
- For me it was just fantastic to ride through that curtain going into Boxen again, said today's winner Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, who secured the victory with 80.413% on Mount st. John Freestyle by Fidermark. - Herning and Boxen are absolutely very special, and it gives me goose bumps just thinking about riding in through that curtain, she continued.
- “Free” was ready to "go for it" today. It's been a while since she's been in such an atmosphere, but it seemed like she thoroughly enjoyed it. My plan was not to push over the limit, but to show soft and beautiful riding, and I felt she gave me everything I needed to do exactly that. I made a little mistake in the last pirouette, but it's also a new partnership. I feel she enjoys performing as much as I enjoy doing it with her. I don't think I could have asked for more today. And then it's really special to stand on the podium together with my colleagues, Cathrine said.

ECCO Five Star Dressage -

Result CDI5* Nordentoft Grand Prix:
1. Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour/Mount St John Freestyle        80,413%
2. Daniel Bachmann Andersen/Vayron                             74,783%
3. Nanna Skodborg Merrald/Blue Hors Don Olymbrio        74,435%
4. Carina Cassøe Krüth/Heiline’s Danciera                        73,978%
5. Lone Bang Zindorff/Thranegaardens Rostov                  72,413%
6. Anna Kasprzak/Rock Star                                            71,522%