Online Open House 2021

We really wished that we were able to welcome you all to a physical open house, however once again, corona is in the way for our plans. Instead, we have planned an enormous ONLINE open house, since we had plenty of exciting things on the programme as well as some great prizes!

Since we recently had our online stallion presentation, we wish to demonstrate the stallions in quite another angle: By showing you some of our upcoming offspring from some of our great stallions. Moreover, you will get on a tour around our different venues, both in Germany and USA. And finally you will also take part in an exciting talk at Helgstrand Youngsters, where Stable Manager Peter Kofoed and Head of Purchasing Esben Møller takes you into the universe of the young horses - they will enlighten you about the process our foals go through, how we ensure a solid and healthy development as well as some selection criteria along the way.

So mark your calendars on Saturday 17th of April 14.00-16.30 - we can't wait!

Picture: Fortunate by Foundation/Quaterback

Danish Warmblood has just announced the results of this year’s stallion licensing, which were held at home as a result of COVID-19. This year Helgstrand could add yet another 12 licensed 3-year-old stallions to the collection, including no less than 4 premium stallions, as well as a champion stallion in Danish Warmblood – that is namely the 4-year-old stallion Iron by Asgard’s Ibiza/Hohenstein. Normally the 3-year-old stallions go to the inspection for the 14-days test at Tørring Ridecenter, however due to the terrible EHV-1 virus, Helgstrand decides to keep the horses at home.

“It hasn’t been an easy decision as we have a new generation of breeding stallions to whom we have a lot of high expectations. We know that the breeders have been looking forward to the announcement of which stallions the Danish Wamblood breeding commission would approve for testing. However, the outbreak of the Herpes virus has already hit Europe and incidents are also found in Denmark, so we do not dare to take the risk to move the horses to Tørring, Andreas tells – he is very worried about the situation.

The EHV-1 virus is airborne and very contagious. We have seen how the virus hit at the showgrounds in Spain where several horses lost their lives. FEI has afterwards cancelled several shows until the 11th of April and that tells a bit about how serious this situation is.

“Even though the situation is under control in Denmark at the moment, we also need to think about our stakeholders. They have trust in us taking the right decisions at all and that we do everything to ensure the well-being and safety of the horse. We cannot take the risk to put the horses in stables where horses from various different locations will be stabled. So, we hope to find a solution together with Danish Warmblood to have our horses tested and receive their 1-year breeding approval another way, Andreas ends.

In total 52 3-year-old stallions were selected for the stallion licensing, and 20 got their approval for the inspection. 12 of these 20 stallions come from Helgstrand. At the end of the Danish Warmblood stallion licensing 6 premium stallions were appointed of which 4 were Helgstrand stallions.

Moreover the 4-year-old stallions received their final breeding approvals and this year’s champion stallion was appointed.

Find the videos of all 3-year-old stallions right here: 

http://www.dwbstallions2021.dk

Find the whole stallion collection of Helgstrand on the homepage:

hhttps://helgstranddressage.com/en/stallions

Picture: Peter Munk on the left and Martin Thorbøll Pedersen on the right.

PRESS RELEASE

In the beginning of March, Martin Thorbøll Pedersen and Peter Munk have joined Global Equestrian Group in their roles as Head of Partnerships and Events and Head of Digital respectively.

Martin comes from a previous role in one of the most exclusive high-end golf companies in Denmark. Here, he worked as the Golf Manager focusing on delivering quality customer experiences in a commercial setting. In Global Equestrian Group he will be responsible for the organization and the execution of events and shows, while also being in charge of establishing a strong network of partnerships and sponsors. Previously this area of the business has been outsourced, however now we will have a strong profile to be in charge of this, in close collaboration with the rest of the team.

Peter, the new Head of Digital, has throughout his career worked with e-commerce and digitalization in the Lego Group, Salling group and most recent in a UK startup company that has now grown to employ more than 100 individuals. The experience and knowledge from his previous work will now be used in the development of Global Equestrian Group’s digital presence across all brands and subsidiaries as well as the overall digital growth strategy for the group.

Global Equestrian Group is an already well-established company with lots of exciting subsidiaries within the equestrian industry, who continuously strives to grow and challenge status quo.

“To strengthen the global position of the group and meet the high ambitions, now was the time to add such two strong profiles to the group”, Commercial Director of Global Equestrian Group Anders Bjørnstrup Bech states and continues: “We are very pleased with welcoming Martin and Peter and look very much forward to having them as a part of the team and this exciting journey.”

“We educate dressage horses of top quality and this makes demand on our supply of feed”

For many years we have had an amazing cooperation with our feed suppliers Krafft and Pavo. While we primarily use Pavo for the foals and the young ones at Helgstrand Youngsters, we have chosen to use Krafft for the riding horses. Both types of feeding fulfill the nutritional needs of the horses in order for them to grow and perform respectively. The well-being of the horses is an important parameter for us – and even though the quality of the feeding often can be seen in the fur of the horse – the most important for us is their well-being. They need to receive the correct level of minerals and vitamins, in order to stay fit for every training.

We continue the good cooperation with Krafft and Pavo, however we will now introduce and welcome a new supplier: DuVil. Through many years of experience with competition horses, we know, that the horses have different needs, and we meet these needs by welcoming a new supplier. We have tested the new feeding for some time and are certainly satisfied. The horses thrive, they look good, and they stay energetic and fit throughout the training, which is important to perform at a high level.

We cherish our suppliers and look forward to a long-term cooperation with yet another qualified supplier.

Picture: Helgstrand's veterinarian, Zenta Vinther. 

The outbreak of the EHV1 herpesvirus in Spain has already had very serious impacts throughout Europe resulting in FEI announcing a cancellation of all competitions until the 28th of March in light of this situation.

Here at Helgstrand Dressage we take this very seriously in order to avoid any cases of the virus, and therefore all our horses have been vaccinated regularly since 2019. Other than this, we do not let any horses on our property unless it can be documented that they have been vaccinated against the herpesvirus.

Since our business is focused on purchasing, training and selling dressage horses, we find it necessary to inform about this. If you have a horse you would like to showcase with a sales perspective or if you want your horse in training at Helgstrand Dressage, you are obliged to provide documentation that the horse is vaccinated against the herpesvirus.

This applies to all our five locations: Helgstrand Dressage, Helgstrand Youngsters, Helgstrand Academy, Helgstrand Germany and Helgstrand USA.

In case of questions, please contact:

Thomas Sigtenbjerggaard

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+45 21 29 13 82

Picture: Foco Loco W and Anne-Mette Strandby Hansen (photo: Lily Furado)

The 16-year-old gelding Foco Loco W by Sierappel/Weingräfin has been sold to the Austrian young rider, Nicola Ahorner. Nicola had gained a lot of experience through her time as a Young Rider and Foco Loco is now ready to give her the best start to her coming U25 years.

Foco Loco has been a superior partner for the Danish Anne-Mette Strandby Hansen. Already after a short relationship, they were already, in August 2020, ready to attend the U25 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Here they performed absolutely outstanding and earned no less than 79,025% in the Kür, after which they could claim the title as European Champion. And this followed their great performance in the team competition, were they achieved a bronze medal together with the rest of the Danish national team.

-It is no secret, Foco meant a lot to me and have made all my biggest dreams come true. The Europeans Gold Medal is definitely my biggest memory, however obtaining the title as Danish Champion as well, just topped an amazing summer. I am absolutely grateful for the memories and I wish Nicola the best of luck with him, Anne-Mette tells.

We congratulate Nicola on her new amazing school master, Foco Loco!

Picture: Sultan des Paluds by Soliman/De Niro and previous rider Kirsten Brouwer.

The 11-year-old Sultan des Paluds by Soliman/De Niro is sold to the British rider, who has been a part of the national team, Annabella Pidgley. Sultan des Paluds has with his previous rider, Kirsten Brouwer, gathered several victories, including a silver medal at the prestigious World Championships for 7-year-old horses in 2017. Sultan has since then had great success in Grand Prix, where he has achieved several wins and placings with impressive scores.

Now the reins has been taken over by the young and talented, Anna Pidgley, whose mother is the 4-star dressage judge, Sarah Pidgley. The family Pidgley has previously acquired horses from Helgstrand Dressage, and once again, they have secured a successful horse. In their stable, you would also find the 7-year-old Espe by Escolar/Dimaggio, who achieved great results at the World Championships for Young Horses in 2019 with Eva Möller in the saddle as well as the German Championships same year. Since then, Cathrine has been in charge of the education and managed to qualify for the Danish Championships for Young Horses with impressive 94,2%. Moreover, the family also owns the 8-year-old Vamos Amigos by Vivaldi/Hotline, who already, with Cathrine, has had many wins in Grand Prix.

Annabella has already achieved great success on the international dressage court throughout her pony-years. Her record already includes three-times participation in the European Championships with the British national team, 10 international victories and 33 top-three placings in international competitions. With lots of experience, despite her young age, she is now ready for the coming challenges as a junior/ young rider, where Sultan, and the other horses, will be a part of her journey:

-I was convinced from the beginning. He caught both Cathrine’s and my attention right away and he could certainly confirm our excitement with his powerful and overwhelming gaits as well as the twinkle in his eye. He is honest and really sweet, so I am absolutely thrilled about having him as a part of the team, Annabella tells about Sultan and continues:

-I hope to compete in the junior competitions and I am also aiming for the Europeans for juniors this year – and with his talent, I am certain that I have a Grand Prix horse for my coming years, both as a Young Rider and U25 rider.

Annabella and her family has for 5 years had a close cooperation with Helgstrand’s partner Cathrine Dufour, and the family is very happy about it:

- Cathrine is an amazing trainer, she has been super supportive and especially under the pandemic she also assisted with virtual training. My family and I are very happy with her and appreciate her work a lot. She has previously helped us find top horses at Helgstrand, which is always a great experience. Helgstrand offers very professional service and has a massive collection of horses, Annabella finishes.

We are excited to follow Annabella on the international dressage court the coming years, and congratulate her on the acquisition of another great horse.

Image: Darling's Dream with Helgstrand rider Michael Grønne.

Last year in November at the auction related to the Westphalia licensing, Helgstrand Dressage acquired the reserve champion Darling’s Dream by Diamond Deluxe/Lissaro.

The auction price was 600.000,00 EUR.

Many breeders might have wondered, why the stallion did not take part in Helgstrand’s online stallion show, which was livestreamed at ClipMyHorse on February 27th, 2021. The reason is very unfortunate, however we have decided to inform directly and right away, in order to avoid any misunderstandings and false rumours:

In January 2021, we received the results from the compulsory drug tests of the stallion from the day of the licensing.

It turned out, that the stallion was affected by a drug, which, at the time of the licensing as well as the auction, was stated on the FEI list over prohibited substances.

We have experienced it before, that a horse acquired at an auction, was positive in a drug test.

We have therefore decided to claim a cancellation of the purchase from both the auctioneer and the breeding federation Westphalia, since our basis for purchasing obviously has been false.

As of now, the federation has, on behalf of themselves and the seller, decided to reject our cancellation request and maintained the licensing.

“As a responsible value-driven organization dealing with breeding, development as well as buying and selling at highest level, Helgstrand Dressage cannot accept the fact that prohibited substances keep appearing at these high sports levels, stallions gradings nor in our turnover, says Andreas Helgstrand, CEO and founder of Helgstrand Dressage.

He continues: The stallion, Darling’s Dream has not shown his true face at the licensing nor the following auction.

The stallion will therefore not be offered for our breeders.

We do simply not understand that the federation in Westphalia, who was also the auctioneer, will not take responsibility and accept the return of the horse."

Link to stallion show, which starts at 2:00 pm on February 27th:

ClipMyHorse (or below)

ZibraSport (you have to register)

You can watch the stallion show for free and the videos will afterwards be available on our homepages on Monday March 1st.

Picture: Straight Horse Don Zuan by Zack/Don Schufro and Cathrine Dufour.

The 7-year-old Straight Horse Don Zuan by Zack/Don Schufro has been with our collaborator, the successful Danish Grand Prix rider, Cathrine Dufour in order to get a very well education. Now the German Sophie Reef will take over the reins of this promising gelding.

Sophie Reef has an impressive resume of top results and with the acquisition of the 7-year-old gelding, she has now secured a very promising horse for her future U25 years.

- He is an amazing horse, and he overwhelmed me from the first moment I sat on him. He is really powerful, and as his results indicate, he has loads of potential for top-sport. Cathrine has made an impressive work with him, and I am super proud to take over the reins after her, Sophie Reef tells.

- Don Zuan is a true gentleman, and he has been loved by everyone in the stable because of his calm mind. He definitely has a special place in my heart, as he was one of the first horses, I got to educate in my collaboration with Helgstrand. It is no secret, that I easily get attached to all my horses, and even though I am aware, that I eventually have to say goodbye, I still find it very sad, Cathrine says.

Straight Horse Don Zuan has definitely drawn attention to himself on the show grounds. At the Danish young horse championships, he finished on a 4th place with 92% as a 5-year-old in 2019 and the year after, he qualified to the finals by winning the qualification with no less than 93%. Moreover, he was also selected to represent Denmark at the prestigious Young Horse World Championships, which unfortunately got cancelled due to COVID-19.

- Cathrine has again done, what she does best: educating a young horse with immense success. With such a talented horse, it means a lot for us, that he continues his impressive path with a new ambitious rider as Sophie Reef, who has a lot of support, Andreas Helgstrand says.

Don Zuan is bred by Straight Horse, who is also the breeder of plenty of successful offspring, including Don Zuan's three full brothers and sisters; the three-times World Champion Sezuan, the silver-medal-mare Straight Horse Ascenzione, who has won international small tour with Helen Langehanenberg and, who was also sold from Helgstrand as well as the gold-medal-mare Straight Horse Sezuanna. 

Watch video of Sophie Reef and Straight Horse Don Zuan: