Pictured: Vogue - Bundeschampion of the 3-year-old stallions and Leonie Richter.

The 2022 Bundeschampionate is over, and team Helgstrand Germany managed to bring home three medals - a bronze, a silver and one gold!

We brought 5 horses to Warendorf this week and they all performed so well. Especially our 3-year-old stallions stole the show both in the qualifier and in the final today. The extremely well-moving Vogue (Vitalis/De Niro, bred by ZG Werth) was the supreme winner and was crowned Bundeschampion of the 3-year-old stallions, perfectly shown by Leonie Richter and awarded a total score of 9.1 in the final.



Pictured: Elastic - winning a silver medal at the 2022 Bundeschampionate with Maxi Kira von Platen.

Runner-up in the 3-year-old class and awarded a silver medal was Elastic (Escolar/Dimaggio, bred by Daniela Werheit-Wagemeyer) with Maxi Kira von Platen in the saddle, scoring 9.0 in the final.



Pictured: Total McLaren - claiming a bronze medal at the 2022 Bundeschampionate with Leonie Richter. 

In addition, Total McLaren by Totilas/De Niro and Leonie Richter secured a bronze medal in the 5-year-old class with a total score of 8.8. Total McLaren is bred by Ralf Knauf.

Pictured: Former Helgstrand horse Maxi Kraft's Barcelo OLD - Bundeschampion of the 6-year-olds.

Former Helgstrand horse Atterupgaard's Barcelo crowned Bundeschampion of the 6-year-olds

Also, we had the pleasure of watching Tessa Frank and Maxi Kraft’s Barcelo OLD today dancing into the first position of the 6-year-olds and being crowned 2022 Bundeschampion. It was so lovely to watch this duo and to see how far they have come. Congratulations on the massive success to both rider, owner, and breeder of this amazing horse. Barcelo is sired by Bon Coeur and dam is Atterupgaard’s Dicte. Bred by Danish Stud Atterupgaard.

The first time we saw Alexander was when he rode the pony Adriano B. achieving many victories including several championship titles. Together they finished at the top of the FEI World Ranking for pony, before Alexander switched horses with Grevens Sa'Va' followed by Belantis, on whom he has had a terrific start. Alongside his riding career, he finished high school and has now decided to take a sabbatical year, which he will dedicate to the horses:

- I have really been looking forward to focusing solely on the horses, because it can sometimes be hard giving yourself 100% when you have two very time-consuming things - not to mention competition activities around the world. It's been a great time, but now I'm looking forward to concentrating on the horses, says Alexander, who will now start full-time at Helgstrand in Denmark from September 1st.

But the sabbatical will also offer experiences and different cultures when the journey goes across the Atlantic to live in the beautiful area of Helgstrand Dressage USA in Wellington, Florida in January.

- I've always dreamed of going to the US to ride. And now that Lars Petersen has taken over, there's a lot of activity all year round. And to be honest, the good weather is also a bit tempting compared to the cold winter months here at home. It's going to give me a unique insight into the business, as well as allow me to travel around and experience the US, Alexander adds.

But what will happen after the sabbatical, Alexander has now not fully clarified, but looks positively at the possibility of becoming a permanent part of Helgstrand in one way or another.

- I'll take it one day at a time. Right now, I want to enjoy the fact that I can dedicate 100% of my time to the horses. And then I will spend the next year figuring out what to do next and decide which educational direction to choose. There are so many opportunities at Helgstrand, whether you want to work as a professional rider or want an administrative position in the office. I'm leaving the options open and just looking forward to a year with lots of experiences, where I can also compete Belantis even more, Alexander states.

Video: We can’t get enough of this amazing stallion; About Me by AC-DC/Estobar NRW/Popcorn. Acquired by Helgstrand for 1.35 million euros at the 2022 Borgmann Online Auction. Enjoy the video made by the Borgmann Auction team.

- This youngster convinced me from the moment I saw him on the auction video. Although he only turned 4 this year, he shows so much talent for the future top sport. He possesses three extraordinary gaits always showing himself in a beautiful frame. Expressive and top modern type - a complete stallion, that will fit many mares. He for sure will bring interesting new bloodlines into the breeding and we can’t wait to get him home to have a closer look, states Andreas.

The extremely talented About Me by AC-DC out of Estobar was yesterday secured by Helgstrand at the 2022 Borgmann Online Auction hosted by Stefan Borgmann. An interesting collection made the way to the auction, including this extraordinary mover, full brother of the 2020 Borgmann Online Auction, About You, who was acquired for 1.65 million euros.

- When having a look at the video, I think you would also expect much when seeing this kind of quality already in a 4-year-old. And we can’t wait to offer him as part of our 2023 Stallion Collection. He is an exceptionally good horse, and his bloodlines make him very interesting for breeding, Andreas adds.

A stallion for the future!

Pictured: Danish Warmblood Mare of the Year and Gold Medal Mare Dina Holmklit by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy/De Noir, bred by Trine Udklit Sørensen and owned by Kristin Andresen.

Today, the Danish Warmblood Elite Mare Show was held during the 2022 ECCO FEI World Championships Herning with all the best mares from the regional shows. And an impressive number of mares sired by stallions from our collection had made it to the show. From Helgstrand, we would like to congratulate breeders and owners on the amazing results! We are sure, they represent a great number of future top horses or high-quality breeding mares, which will be interesting to follow.

Gold medal mare and DWB Mare of the Year 2022 went to:

• Dina Holmklit by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy/De Noir, bred by Trine Udklit Sørensen and owned by Kristin Andresen.

Additional two gold medal mares were appointed:

• Brandtbjerg’s Divya by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy/Don Olymbrio, bred by Brandtbjerggard/family Buhl and owned by Agnet Holmsted
• Sparkletiní by Springbank II VH/Franklin, bred and owned by Henrik Hansen

9 Silver Medal Mares:

• Lumiere Unik by Franklin/Don Romantic, bred and owned by Stutteri Unik
• Beatrix-DN by Franklin/Zack, bred by Jørn Damm and Jens Aage Nielsen, co-owned by Søren Grønborg and Helgstrand
• Tré’s Magnifique Horsebo by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy/Romanov, bred and owned by Helle Kristiansen
• Florida Pilekær by Jovian/Florestan, bred and owned by Stutteri Pilekær
• Kastaniegården’s Mónclair by Quaterhit/Fürstenball, bred and owned by Maria Hindkjær
• Springborg’s Essie by Quaterhit/Jazz, bred by Stutteri Springborg and owned by Jurado Dressage
• Nordstrands Quinoa by Quaterhit/Hertug, bred and owned by Gitte Nordstrand Larsen
• Greven’s Saga by Springbank II VH/Charmeur, bred and owned by Stutteri Greven
• Franklini DWB by Franklin/Don Schufro, bred by Mette Madsen and owned by Bregnerødgård

12 Bronze Medal Mares:

• Hera A Fenris DWB by Grand Galaxy Win/Gribaldi, bred by Søren Bjerre and owned by Anne Lyngbye Melsen
• Festina by Franklin/Charmeur, bred by Henrik Hansen and co-owned by Henrik Hansen and Helgstrand
• Brix Gazall by Grand Galaxy Win/Fürstenball, bred and owned by Stutteri Brix
• Baunehøjen’s New Jersey by Jovian/Sezuan, bred and owned by Stald Baunehøj
• Lindballe’s Miss Perfect by Quaterhit/De Noir, bred and owned by Stutteri Lindballe
• Spring by Springbank II VH/JJ Rayban, bred and owned by Kristin G. Andresen
• O.L.’s Savannah by Springbank II VH/Era Dancing Hit, bred and owned by OL Hestecenter
• Spring-Rose-Ø DWB by Springbank II VH/Farrell, bred by Bente and Jens Møller Hansen, owned by Helgstrand
• Holt’s Zauberin by Revolution/Zack, bred by Marianne Væver, owned by Kirsten and Børge Holt Rasmussen
• Aagaarden’s Litha by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy/Jazz, bred and owned by Stutteri Aagaarden
• Gloria by Revolution/Apache, bred and owned by Jurado Dressage and Anne Marchant
• Siena by Springbank II VH/Hotline, bred and owned by Malene Helleberg

And then we also brought silver medal mare For Time by For Dance/Solos Carex, bred by HH Horses and co-owned by HH Horses and Helgstrand as well as bronze medal mare Zamfira Tek by Zackerey/Farrell, bred by Hanseberg, co-owned by Chateau de Fontaine and Helgstrand.

Our stallions were also represented in the field of 2-year-old mares. And out of 7 finalists, 4 were sired by Helgstrand’s stallions:

• Daviné by D’Avie/Sezuan, bred by Henrik Hansen
• Åtoften’s Farina by Franklin/Zalando, bred by Stutteri Åtoften
• Garrus by Global Player/Come Back II, bred by Anette and Christian Gjørup
• Treldegård’s Sinéad by Revolution/Hotline, bred by Kirsten and Niels Madsen.

See all the lovely pictures on our Facebook page here

Dynamic Dream offspring Best Colt in DWB 2022

During the World Championships, the Danish Warmblood Elite Foal Show also took place. And among the fillies, three foals sired by our stallions went to the premium ring:

• Triple A’s Daphne by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy/Stedinger, bred by Amira Aasted Jespersen
• Springborg’s Guatemala by Dynamic Dream/Diamond Hit, bred by Stutteri Springborg)
• Francetta by Franklin/Sezuan, bred by Henrik Hansen

Among the colts, another top offspring by Dynamic Dream went to the premium ring and was appointed best colt in Danish Warmblood; Dream Catcher A. by Dynamic Dream/Sunny-Boy, bred by Dorte Andersen.

Moreover, the following colts went to the premium ring: 

• Maskedal’s Remee by Revolution/Sezuan, bred by Helle Møller Andersen and Per Christensen
• Strauss by So Perfect/Tailormade Temptation, bred by Hanne Hertzberg, Lena and Ulrik Kristensen
• Marquis Lightfoot by So Unique/Franklin, bred by Annette Lyngs and Torben Damsbo
• Björklund Valentino by Valverde/Sir Donnerhall I, bred by Stutteri Björklund

Congratulations on the amazing results!



Pictured: Dream Catcher A. by Dynamic Dream/Sunny-Boy was appointed best colt in Danish Warmblood 2022.

Pictured: the Infrapower Poll Cap from Broholm.biz.

With a history of great collaboration, it was very easy for Helgstrand to welcome Broholm.biz as an official partner at the beginning of this year. Focusing on high-quality and innovative products for the equestrian industry. Broholm.biz has a great offering of products to support the health and welfare of horses.

Helgstrand Dressage CEO Andreas Helgstrand is excited about the partnership.: “At Helgstrand Dressage we train our horses for optimal performance, optimizing their performance, and securing the welfare of the horses with the products from Broholm.Biz is a fantastic addition in keeping them happy and healthy.”

The Infrapower products from Broholm.biz are of great use in the daily work with the horses at Helgstrand, securing and maintaining their wellbeing to maximise performance; especially the Infrapower Poll Cap is of great use in our daily work. Furthermore, the ActivoMed treatment blankets are a fantastic addition to the work around the horses, especially around competitions and shows around the world.

CEO of Broholm.biz Trine Schonning states: “The well-being and performance improvement of horses is our passion. We’re proud and happy that a successful stable like Helgstrand trusts in us. Infrapower and ActivoMed products are very effective, easy to use, and of the best quality.”

“We are very excited to bring Broholm.biz onboard as a partner for Helgstrand, securing their presence in the equestrian industry and supporting their growth of infrared products all over the world. The quality of their products speaks for itself, and we look enjoy using it at our daily work around the horses” states Thomas Sightenbjergaard.

You can meet both Helgstrand and Broholm.biz at the upcoming World Championships in Herning from the 6th – the 14th of August. Find us at the exhibition area; Broholm.biz stand 1036 and Helgstrand at stand 1205.

Pictured: Jeanna Högberg and Downtown from winning the World Championship for 5-year-olds in 2021.

Swedish Jeanna Högberg has just secured another World Championship qualifier onboard the now 6-year-old Downtown, on which she became World Champion last year. But unfortunately, it will be her last championship as part of the Helgstrand team. After 2 fantastic years, she has made the difficult decision to go back to Sweden for family reasons.

- It has not been an easy decision as I love working here. It has been two amazing years and I’m beyond thankful that I got the opportunity to work together with passionate horse people like myself and to train some of the best dressage horses in the world. My husband and I agreed to move here so I could live my dream while the kids were young - and I am very grateful to him. The plan was always to move back to Sweden when the children started school, but unfortunately, my father became seriously ill recently, so that has pushed the process forward as I want to be close to him. But looking back, I have got a lot of great memories and my time here has given me so much. Not just professionally - I've also got to know a lot of wonderful new people whom I'm going to miss. It will be sad when I enter the arena for the last time as part of the team at the World Championships in Ermelo, but last year's win with Downtown is one of the greatest moments for me, and it means a lot to me that I will have that experience too, says Jeanna.

- With great pride, we welcomed Jeanna to the team in 2020. She had made a name for herself, both on the national and international scene, training several horses up to Grand Prix level. It has been a pleasure to work with Jeanna, because not only has she represented Helgstrand in the best possible way with her many impressive results, but she also has an amazing personality, a great sense of humour and has given so much to the team. We of course understand and respect her decision, but we are extremely sad that she is leaving. However, we will continue our collaboration which makes us very happy, says Andreas.

During her time at Helgstrand, Jeanna has trained many successful horses. Among others, our World Champion for young dressage horses, Downtown as well as Freetown, Devonport, and her own horse Astoria, which she has qualified for the World Championship in Herning representing her home country this August. In addition, she has earned lots of success with Lorenzo. Many great memories, which all remind us of what amazing results she has achieved in the past two years.

Jeanna and her family are moving back to their farm outside Enköping in Sweden and she is looking forward to continuing to train quality horses together with Gabriella Grewin Bramberg at Herfsta Dressage. We wish Jeanna and her family all the best and thank you for everything you have done for Helgstrand.

Pictured: Downtown and Jeanna Högberg - selected for the 2022 WCYH.

As the prestigious World Young Horse Championships are fast approaching, the selection trials take place to find the horses that will represent the different countries. In 30 degrees sunshine, the second and final selection was concluded in Danish Warmblood at Vilhelmsborg near Aarhus today. All of the horses from Helgstrand showed themselves very well despite the hot weather. Only four horses for each age group are allowed, and we are proud to announce, that both Slangerupgaard's Flottenheimer by Franklin/Scolari (5 years old) and last year's World Champion of the 5-year-olds, Downtown by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy/Zack got a ticket to the championship, where the world's best young horses are going to compete for the prestigious titles in the age group 5- to 7-years-olds.

Both Franklin and Hesselhøj Donkey Boy are part of Helgstrand's much-coveted stallion collection, and both have been appointed elite stallions due to their own and their offspring's achievements. And Downtown and Flottenheimer are both examples of the high quality, that the offspring represent. Moreover, Figaro-D was named reserve among the 6-year-olds. He is also by Franklin with Laurino as damsire. Figaro-D was presented by Maria Vasconcelos, while Downtown was ridden by Jeanna Högberg and Flottenheimer was presented by Eric Guardia Martinez.



Pictured: Slangerupgaard's Flottenheimer and Eric Martinez - selected for the 2022 WCYH.



Pictured: Figaro-D and Maria Vasconcelos - reserve of the 6-year-olds. 

Pictured: HP Vin Santo by Vivaldon/Fürstenball, bred by HP Horses and price highlight at Helgstrand-Schockemöhle's first online foal auction, sold for 32,000 euros.

Tonight, 21 hand-picked dressage and show jumping foals were up for auction at Helgstrand-Schockemöhle's first online foal auction. The foals had been selected in Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands and presented an exciting collection of top foals deriving from strong performance lines. The highlight of the evening was the expressive and very well-moving colt out of Vivaldon's first crop of foals. The sire is the much-coveted Fürstenball. HP Vin Santo is bred by Lone Bøgh Henriksen from HP Horses and was sold for 32,000 euros.



Pictured: Hope by Sir Donnerhall I/Franklin, bred by Maj Hygum and sold for 20.000 euros at Helgstrand-Schockemöhle's first online foal auction.

The second most expensive dressage foal was another Danish-bred foal; the feminine Sir Donnerhall I filly named Hope (bred by Maj Hygum), who offers an exciting pedigree with Franklin as dam sire. Sir Donnerhall I - a true legend - combined with one of Helgstrand's most popular breeding stallions, Franklin, who is on his way to entering the big arenas after being appointed Danish Warmblood elite stallion. Hope was sold for 20,000 euros.

Find the results of the auction here

Pictured: Laila Wittendorff and Ole Hummelshøj

Although the start date was set for July 15th, Laila and Ole already had their first day at Helgstrand Academy last week eager to getting started.

- A new chapter has started, and although it's a bit special feeling packing everything up and moving to a new place, we already feel that it's the right decision. We had a very warm welcome and we're looking forward to starting a new chapter here, says Ole.

Of course, the first time will be spent getting to know the place and the new colleagues, but even though they have only been working at HA for a few days, they have already started new initiatives. Maria Anita Andersen did a fantastic job, but because she wanted to dedicate more of her time riding and teaching, Ole will fill in the manager position. His primary task is to make sure that everything works and that everyone thrives. One of the things Ole values most is teaching, which is why he already started giving lessons to the riders:

- No matter how good a rider you are, training is necessary. The riders are eager to learn, and I know that this is a big motivation. Maria and I already have a good plan, and for me, it's obviously a great opportunity to get to know both the riders and the horses. My job is also to match horses with riders, and here I get a good insight, states Ole.

While Ole has the overall responsibility at HA, Laila has been put in charge of our grooms. Not just recruiting new ones for all our locations, but also making sure they are all doing well. For many it is their first time away from home, so she will obviously be a great help if needed. Laila has already suggested many new initiatives and we look forward to implementing them.

Moreover, both Laila and Ole will be part of the new Master Rider Education and we are looking very much forward to welcoming the first students already on September 1st.

Maria Anita Andersen will continue to be responsible for our master student riders, as well as teaching and dedicating more of her time to training horses and attending competitions.

Helgstrand Dressage has been involved in several hundred successful deals with high-quality horses and remains part of several long-term and professional partnerships with satisfied co-owners.

It is both regrettable and untenable when mistakes have been made in specific cases, or when misunderstandings or disagreements have occurred concerning the contractual basis, prices, costs and guarantee to buyers in connection with resale.

We have therefore decided to tighten several processes and our business practices to professionalize operations and ensure that Helgstrand Dressage lives up to its position as market leader. We will set new standards for transparency in Helgstrand Dressage and hope that the industry will follow our example and introduce the same new and improved standards.

Background

Based on both unsubstantiated and specific allegations and accusations made as part of the critical and one-sided press coverage in Danish regional media outlet NORDJYSKE in May-June 2022, the Board of Directors of Global Equestrian Group Holding on 31 May engaged one of Denmark's largest law firms to conduct a thorough legal investigation of the company's business practices.

The investigation has taken been carried out over the course of 3 weeks and is based on extensive material, which includes:

• Audit reports of the financial years 2018/2019 – 2020/2021
• Detailed inventory lists of fully and co-owned horses stabled with Helgstrand Dressage
• All co-ownership agreements
• Invoices from co-owners to Helgstrand Dressage
• Contracts for the sale of horses from Helgstrand Dressage
• Information concerning payment of commission
• Information concerning guarantees offered to buyers

The investigation concludes that incomplete documentation and lack of written information on co-ownership of and trading with horses in several cases pose a risk of conflicts of interest and disagreement between partners and Helgstrand Dressage.


Actions

Based on the legal investigation and a closer examination of several individual cases – which are treated confidentially a matter of principle – Helgstrand Dressage's day-to-day management immediately initiates a tightening of the company's procedures.

The measures include, among other things:

• Preparation of a detailed and transparent co-ownership agreement by an external lawyer with deep insight into the industry
• Presentation of the new and improved co-ownership agreement to all current partners
• Full transparency for co-owners regarding all costs and calculation of guarantee amount before settlement of horse sales
• Introduction of improved written purchase agreements that fully regulate and describe the terms of all purchases of horses
• Reviewing and updating sales contracts as needed and emphasizing the requirement of documenting agreements in writing and ensuring that all contracts are signed before executing deals
• Strengthening the ongoing efforts to clarify the overview of costs per horse through the roll-out of a new ERP system that was implemented in January 2022 and is being commissioned
• Implementing an internal procedure ensuring that Global Equestrian Group Holding’s Board of Directors is informed upon receipt of any allegations of dishonest business practices in Helgstrand Dressage
  
  

Timeline and other conditions

The measures are expected to be implemented as soon as possible and communicated directly to all partners and employees of Helgstrand Dressage, and they will be reviewed by day-to-day management in personal conversations with all employees directly involved in the trade of horses.

The above initiatives complement the ongoing efforts to professionalize operations in Helgstrand Dressage, which also includes the employment of a HR Manager in 2022 and a sharpened focus on continuously improving working conditions.

Andreas Helgstrand
CEO