Picture: Catalogue no. 76 by Zoom/Waterford 

At the auction followed by the 2020 HANN stallion licensing this afternoon in Verden, Helgstrand bought another 4 Premium Stallions to add to the Helgstrand-Schockemöhle stallion collection, which already counts many Champion and Premium Stallions, stallion performance test winners etc.

Among the four Premium Stallions, we have catalogue number 76 by Zoom/Waterford, bred by Klaus Brandes. Already by having a look at the pedigree, we were convinced about the quality of this stallion, which he confirmed at the presentation at the auction. HANN Premium stallion Zoom adds both Zack and Don Schufro to the line of performance stallions of this amazing stallion.




Picture: Catalogue no. 63 by Secret/Belissmo M

Next, we have the picture-perfect and ultra-modern Secret son, catalogue no. 63, with damsire Belissmo M and bred by Karsten Harms. Secret, which is sired by Sezuan, hardly requires any presentation, since despite his young age he has already made a positive impression both in terms of breeding and sport. Among other things, he won silver at the 2019 WCYH under Jessica Lynn Thomas.

Picture: Catalogue no. 37 by Bon Coeur/Fürst Nymphenburg

Catalogue no. 37 by Bon Coeur/Fürst Nymphenburg proved to be a true Bon Coeur offspring; magnificent and impressive. He is bred by Bernhard Dodenhof. Premium stallion Bon Coeur superbly won his stallion performance test in Schliekau and became Vice Bundeschampion as a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old in Warendorf. Today, the stallion is extremely successful under Caroline Darcourt, who has taken several victories at the small tour level.

Picture: Catalogue no. 34 by Benicio/Scuderia

The collection now also includes catalogue no. 34 by Benicio/Scuderia, bred by Ludwig Fuchs. An ultramodern type with outstanding gaits. Of course, it’s no coincidence as he is sired by the Bellisimo M son, Benicio. Under Anna-Sofie Fiebelkorn, Benicio supremely won the German Bundeschampionat for 6-year-olds and received a 10 for walk, trot and canter at the stallion performance test in Schliekau.

Picture: Catalogue no. 73, Zaximo by Zackerey/Tomahawk

Gorgeous offspring by Zackerey licensed in HANN

At the 2020 HANN Stallion Licensing, Helgstrand presented a gorgeous stallion by Zackerey/Tomahawk, which got licensed with amazing comments from the licensing committee. The stallion is bred by Elisabeth C. Ahn and is co-owned by Anna Kasprzak and Helgstrand. An ultra-modern stallion with completely exceptional gaits, which during the entire selection turned out fantastic, but unfortunately did not get awarded Premium Stallion as hoped.  

- There is no doubt that Zaximo is a true Champion. He has everything that the modern breeder asks for. Unfortunately, he didn't get awarded Premium Stallion today, but the future looks very promising, and I am sure he will shine at future licensing shows. All things considered, we are extremely happy with the fact, we can add another 5 licensed stallions to the collection, which we hope will delight the breeders, says Andreas Helgstrand.

Picture: Kardieno and Thomas Sigtenbjerggaard

The news spread like ripples in the water when Helgstrand announced the addition of another stallion with the famous Gelder-blood to the collection. A stallion who, despite his very short time in Denmark, has drawn a lot of attention to himself by winning the qualification for the young horse championship and later on the finale with Helgstrand rider Thomas Sigtenbjerggaard in the saddle. Now the stallion can look forward to a new future in Prague, Czech Republic in the stables of Dressage Mala Skala, where the purpose is to focus on his future career as a dressage horse.

Kardieno (Dante Weltino/Parcival) definitely impressed with his outstanding balance, action and suppleness, resulting in grades far above average for his gaits and perspective. Especially in the final of the young horse championship he showed a lot of potential and could obtain the prize as the best 4-year-old.

- It has been a real pleasure riding Kardieno. Some were probably a bit skeptical when we introduced him as a part of our stallion collection, but he quickly turned out to be a stallion with very appealing qualities, that could add a lot of value to the breeders. We are looking forward to seeing him on his future journey, as we believe that he has the potential to join the top league of dressage, Thomas Sigtenbjerggaard says.

Kardieno is by Dante Weltino, who qualified to the prestigious Bundeschampionate as both a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old with Therese Nilshagen in the saddle. Already as a 7-year-old Dante Weltino had his debut in S level dressage and won his first Grand Prix as an 8-year-old. Since then, the couple has achieved many victories and placements of international Grand Prix level – and among the highlights, it is worth mentioning team bronze at the Europeans in Göteborg, Sweden in 2017 and an Olympics qualification. The dam sire is the Gelder-stallion, Parcival, who also competed at top dressage level.

As Dressage Mala Skala will focus on Kardieno’s future career as a dressage horse, he is unfortunately not available for breeding anymore.

Picture: Rockabye S by Revolution/Belstaff became Vice Bundeschampion this year under Sina Aringer

The year is soon coming to an end, and the same goes for the examination of the Danish Warmblood 35-days performance test at Tørring Riding Centre. From Helgstrand no less than 11 3-year-olds stallions will attend. The inspection with own rider takes place Monday the 19th of October. This test is performed to ensure, that the horse holds three stabile gaits, moving with no problems. In the subsequent period, the stallions will be trained by the master riders on the place and in that process, there will be a midway-assessment, where the owners can attend and have a look at the stallions’ progress.

The 35-days test is concluded on Sunday the 22nd of November – it will be exciting whether the current virus-situation will allow spectators to attend at that point in time. Finally, the stallions will be ridden by a test rider, who will contribute to the final grading, that will make the basis of whether or not the stallions can attend the final licensing at the Danish Warmblood Stallion Licensing in March 2021.

- The 11 stallions are a selection of this year’s fine young stallions, who already have presented positive development at home. The stallions represent some of the strongest bloodlines, and we especially look forward to presenting two offspring of our own stallions: Flottenheimer by Franklin and Rockabye S by Revolution, who has gone through an impressive development in Germany and became Vice Bundeschampion this year, Andreas states.

The 11 stallions for the 35-days test are the following:

Dynamic Dream by Glock’s Dream Boy/Sir Donnerhall I
Freetown by Fürst Wilhelm/Sir Donnerhall I/Latimer
Slangerupgaards Flottenheimer by Franklin/Scolari/Don Frederico
Floss Dance by For Dance/Quaterback/Lordanos
Iron by Ibiza/Hohenstein/Walt Disney I
In My Mind by Ibiza/Fidermark/Davignon I
Rockabye S by Revolution/Belstaff/Londonderry
Total McLaren by Totilas/De Niro/Sandro Hit
Majestic Taonga by Glock’s Toto Junior/Jazz/Hotline
My Toto VDT by Glock’s Toto Junior/Ferro/Calypso I
My Vitality by Vivaldi/D-Day/Argus

As some might have noticed, So Perfect is unfortunately not attending the 35-days performance test, as he sustained a smaller injury, which luckily is getting better. We hope for an opportunity later on, where So Perfect can be tested.

Betina and Springbank II VH by Skovens Rafael/De Niro. Photo: Kim C. Lundin

The riding sports centre Flyinge in Sweden these days the host of the Swedish championship for young horses. A horse that has attended all years is the now 6-year old Swedish-born Springbank II VH by Skovens Rafael/De Niro. Aged 3 and 4 he brilliantly took the victory, even impressing the test rider, Charlotte Dujardin, so much that she felt like giving the stallion grades above the scale. “He is the best 4-year old I’ve ever sat on”. Springbank continued his stream of victories this year and won the preliminary round with 95.2 points as well as the final with impressive 96.6 points, thereby seizing the title as the winner of Breeders Trophy for the third time. This time with Betina Jæger in the saddle.

Springbank had a significant lead as a result of the preliminary round resulting in sky-high expectations to the stunning stallion for the final round. As usual, Springbank didn’t disappoint and showed us once again, with his 96.6 points, that he is among the elite of Swedish bred horses. Springbank achieved the following points:

Walk: 9,5
Trot: 10
Canter: 9,8
Subtleness: 9
Perspective: 10

Watch the test from the finals here

“Springbank was with me the through the whole ride and the result of the day completely illustrates the feeling I sat with. He didn’t make any wrong moves and was very attentive towards all my signals”. We couldn’t bother giving it a little extra, which luckily paid off. He is the absolute best!” Betina Jæger proudly states.

Springbank brilliantly won the Breeders Trophy as a 3-year old as well as when he was 4 with the previous Helgstrand-rider Severo Jurado Lopez and attended as well the Danish championships in 2019 with Severo. Same year, he achieved an impressive 5th place at the prestigious World Championships for Young Horses in Ermelo.

Proud breeder

The breeder of Springbank is the Swede Tobias Hansson, who runs the stud Västra Hoby Stuteri AB. Tobias is one of Sweden’s leading breeders and has throughout the years had a close collaboration with Helgstrand Dressage, where several horses are in joint ownership. Tobias is not only known for his outstanding breeding but is also servicing the Swedish breeders when they seek to buy semen of Helgstrand horses. Springbank is jointly owned by Tobias Hansson, Tina Hennix and Helgstrand Dressage.

View all results from Breeders Trophy here

Picture: Founder of Helgstrand, Andreas Helgstrand to the left and founder of Kingsland Equestrian, Lin E. Kingsrød to the right.

PRESS RELEASE

Helgstrand Dressage, owned by Andreas and Marianne Helgstrand and Waterland Private Equity, has acquired 51% of Kingsland Equestrian.

Kingsland Equestrian was established in 1999 in Norway and has since its origin grown to become one of the world’s biggest producers of equestrian equipment including men’s, ladies’ and kids’ wear as well as blankets, saddle pads and much more.

Andreas Helgstrand, owner and CEO of Helgstrand Dressage is looking forward to an exciting partnership and states: “Kingsland Equestrian has been my sponsor for many years and they have always been associated with positive traits such as exclusive design and absolute top quality. Additionally, the company has a professional management, with whom we look forward to developing the company with. The activities of Helgstrand has a wide span globally, which is why the acquisition of Kingsland Equestrian fits perfectly within the strategy that we have developed.”

Also at Kingsland Equestrian both CEO Marianne Kjænli Fossum and founder Lin E. Kingsrød are thrilled about the new partnership. Lin states: “I am looking very much forward to getting Helgstrand Dressage on board on the future journey of Kingsland Equestrian. This is the start of a new chapter that will generate lots of interesting opportunities for us and the equestrian sport all over the world. With this partnership, we are ready to offer new and exciting possibilities for our customers in the future.”

The two brands, that are very well-established within the equestrian field, find a lot of future potential with the new ownership structure. “With our competences and network within the equestrian world, we can contribute to the further development of Kingsland Equestrian. We can provide Kingsland with resources not only in terms of human resources but also financial resources for further investments that can bring Kingsland Equestrian to an even higher level”, Andreas states and continues: “We are pursuing the strategy, that was formulated with Waterland - this strategy includes being involved in many different activities of the Equestrian industry. This is the first big acquisition, that along with other upcoming acquisitions will redeem our strategy.”

Picture: Springbank II VH by Skovens Rafael/De Niro and Betina Jæger

Prior to the middle round for the Danish dressage championships, Helgstrand had qualified a total of 14 horses, which went directly from the qualifications, and this weekend Helgstrand managed to qualify another 10 horses. One who did extremely well was Springbank II VH (Skovens Rafael/De Niro), who achieved an overall score of 9.48 and supremely won the middle round for 6-year-old horses under Betina Jæger. A horse without weaknesses, which the high marks reflected with amongst others 9.6 for capacity, which testifies to the judges' belief that here we have a horse that belongs to the future top sport.

- I have trained Springbank since May this year, and like every other horse, it takes time to get to know him. But I’m really satisfied with the test today and fortunately, the judges were of the same opinion. It's only the second time I'm competing him, but he's so easy to handle. In general, he is just a horse that will do everything for his rider, tells Betina, who is looking forward to competing in Sweden next weekend at the 2020 Breeders Trophy.

In the middle round for 6-year-olds, also Cathrine Dufour scored high marks presenting Eternity by Escolar/Sir Donnerhall I. Together they achieved a nice overall score of 9.27, with amongst others 9.8 for trot, and 9.5 for both rideability and capacity.

In total the following combinations qualified for the finals in Grindsted, Denmark:

6-years-old
Springbank II VH by Skovens Rafael/De Niro and Betina
Eternity by Escolar/Sir Donnerhall I and Cathrine Dufour
Eleverhøjs Raccolto by Sezuan/Sandro Hit and Betina
Dshamilja by Dancier/Lauries Crusador and Madeleine

5-years-old
Finest Black Lady by Finest/Royal Highness and Jeanna
Atterupgaards Spiderman by Att. Seebach/Stedinger and Maria
Ferdades by Fürstenball/Donnerhall and Anne-Mette
Special Blend by Sezuan/Hotline and Jeanna

4-years-old
Tophøjs Diadora by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy/Don Romantic and Eric
Svalegårds Hot Zalina by Zalabaster/Hotline and Michael

Picture: Isabell Werth and her new horse, the 6-year-old gelding, Joshua by Sezuan/Voice.

In the equestrian world she is best known as ”the queen” – Isabell Werth is the most winning rider of all time and has been number one on the world ranking list in dressage several years with her top horses Weihegold and Bella Rose. Now Isabell Werth has secured herself the very well-moving and talented 6-year-old Joshua by Sezuan at Helgstrand Dressage. If everything goes to plan, Joshua shall participate in the prestigious Young Horse World Championship in Verden this year.

- Joshua is an amazing horse that I fell in love with right away. I never thought I would ride a young horse again, but it's an opportunity that I could not let pass by. He's so talented, and after getting him home, I'm completely convinced I made the right choice. He is sensitive in a positive way and it makes him so easy to ride. Now I'm just looking forward to getting to know him even better and seeing what the future brings us, Isabell Werth tells.

- It is with the greatest humility and pride that we can bring the news, that Isabell has bought this horse at our stable. Our goal is to buy young talented horses, educate them, and sell them – so the fact that Isabell finds one of her new and young stars, here at our stable really makes us proud! It is a significant milestone in the history and development of Helgstrand, when the world’s best and most winning dressage rider throughout time chooses to buy a horse from us, Andreas Helgstrand tells.

It’s in the genes

The three-time World Champion and newly awarded “Stallion of the Year” in Danish Warmblood, Sezuan (Zack/Don Schufro) really has made himself noticed, not only with former rider Dorothee Schneider, but also with the current rider, Patrik Kittel. In the line of very successful offspring by Sezuan, can Helgstrand’s breeding stallion So Unique (Sezuan/Donnerhall) be mentioned. So Unique made quite the entrance and won the class for 4-year-old horses at the 2019 World Championships. Queenpark’s Wendy (Sezuan/Soprano) is another one on the list, that has inherited the successful genes from Sezuan. Wendy is a Gold Medal mare and in 2019 she superiorly won the Danish Warmblood Young Horse Championship scoring a 10 in rideability and capacity from test rider Patrik Kittel. The 6-year-old gelding Joshua (Sezuan/Voice) is the exact same type with excellent gaits as his sire and as the other offspring by Sezuan and therefore belongs among the elite in the equestrian world.

Joshua was found as very young by Andreas Helgstrand and moved already as a 2-year-old to Helgstrand. In 2019, Joshua went all the way to the final in the Danish Equestrian Federation’s Young Horse Championships for 5-year-old horses and secures 7th place in a very strong field, where Andreas won the class with Queenspark’s Wendy. Since then the young gelding has developed sublime and is now on the way to the next step in the career, which will be participating in the World Championships for Young Horses in Verden.

Joshua has already left the stables at Helgstrand and is now daily trained by Isabell.

Picture: Gørklintgård's Blackberry by Franklin/Gørklintgård's Santos, auction highlight with a knockdown price of 56.000 EUR

As we approached 20 o’clock Saturday evening, people started rushing in at Helgstrand Dressage, where the Nordic International Sales streaming auction was held this year. Danish Warmblood, who hosted the auction, had managed to select an outstanding collection of 14 high-quality foals from this year’s foal showings that all had to be presented this evening.

The atmosphere was extraordinary already from the beginning and it only got better as the first foal was shown in the ring; an offspring by Franklin/ Gørklintgårds Santos named Gørklintgårds Blackberry, bred by Jørgen Ravn. The feminine and long-legged mare with a spacious trot moved proudly around in the arena without sensing the audience. Her dam line is very interesting as it has produced several S level dressage horses and licensed stallions. Impressive amounts of bids came in from Denmark and foreign countries and it was no surprise that this unique Franklin mare was the highlight of the evening, as she was sold for no less than 56.000 EUR.



Picture: Gammelenggård's Galiano by GGW/Don Romantic, sold for 54,000 EUR

The most expensive stallion foal of the evening was the noble and extremely well- moving Galaxy offspring, bred by Stald Heiline og Nanna Jønsson. In the damline, we find Heilines Emmelie who had two offspring by Franklin, both sold to Grand Prix riders in the US. Additionally we find several international dressage horses, among others Lobster and Leonardo II, who went all the way to the final of the DWB Young Horse Championships. This picture-perfect Gammelenggårds Galiano by Kastel’s Grand Galaxy Win/ Don Romantic was sold for the impressive amount of 54.000 EUR.



The third most expensive foal of the evening was the stallion Jaspar by Janeiro Platinum/ Dancier, who was sold to a very loyal client of Helgstrand; Vicky Lavorie from Canada. Jaspar is bred by Lena and Ulrik Kristensen and was purchased for 50.000 EUR.




Another Janeiro offspring was a part of the top of the most expensive foals, namely Tjørnegårdens Tennessee, bred by Christina Reslow, who was sold for 44.000 EUR. Overall 13 of the 14 foals got a new owner as a result of this evening’s auction, with an impressive average price of 186.250 DKK.

Find the result of the auction by following this link.

Picture: Cathrine Dufour and Atterupgaard's Cassidy claim gold, Carina Cassøe Krüth and Heiline's Danciera claim silver and Andreas Helgstrand and Fiontini claim bronze at the 2020 Danish Championships for senior. 

It was absolute nostalgia, as Andreas rode his freestyle at the Danish Championships, that was held at the impressive stadium by Helgstrand Academy in Uggerhalne. This freestyle was not just any freestyle – in fact Andreas chose the one that led him and Blue Hors Matiné to the silver medal at the World Championships in Aachen, back in 2006.

- Blue Hors Matiné has always had a very special place in my heart, but I’m being more and more amazed by this wonderful mare – the same way I was by Matiné. Our partnership is still rather new and it takes a lot of training to reach the level of which Matiné end I ended our journey. But we’re slowly getting there, and I’m enjoying being back at this level again, Andreas tells.

Andreas and Finotini (Fassbinder/Romanov, bred by HH Horses) reached a 3rd place in the opening Grand Prix – a top level ride left them with the score 74,62%. It was clear to see, that Fiontini is a master of the difficult exercises, but just needs a little more strength and experience to reach the top level grades. Especially her scopey movements leading to a piaffe and passage of absolute top quality as well as her extended trot resulted in impressive grading.

In the final, the atmosphere was outstanding and despite the fact that COVID-19 had led to a huge decrease in the amount of guests, the 300 spectators managed to create a pleasing atmosphere for the riders to perform under. Thereby the riders could enjoy impressive applause after every ride. Andreas had composed a freestyle of technical difficulty – immediately after the centerline halt came a double pirouette followed by one-tempis and an additional double pirouette – as well came several difficult transitions from passage to extended trot and also two-tempis on bended track and many more demanding exercises. Overall a freestyle with magical moments giving lots of hope for the future and their wish for a spot at the Olympics.

The freestyle was won by Cathrine Dufour and Atterupgaards Cassidy with 87,925 %, Carina Cassøe Krüth and Heilines Danciera received the silver medal with their 82,45 %, while Andreas and Fiontini achieved 78,25 % and the bronze medal.

Picture: Lisa and Thomas Müller standing together with D'avie

Isabell Werth has been visiting Helgstrand Dressage to look for a horse that has the level for competing internationally with her student Lisa Müller. If you think the name sounds familiar, then it is because Lisa is married to the professional football player Thomas Müller, who plays for FC Bayern München.

Grand Prix rider, Lisa Müller has several international victories and her career really took a huge step forward, when Isabell Werth became her trainer in 2016 together with her long-time trainer Götz Brinkmann. This great combination led Lisa to numerous victories together with the horse Stand By Me (Stedinger/De Niro) up till international dressage and a place at the German national B-team. Now Lisa is very happy to add a fantastic Grand Prix horse to her collection, the double World Champion, and acknowledged breeding stallion D’avie.

- I am very pleased that Lisa shall take over the reins and together with Isabell Werth educate him further. He is still a young horse, but with all this potential, there is no limit to what he can achieve. We look very much forward to follow them on their way towards competing on international level, Andreas Helgstrand tells.

D’avie by Don Juan de Hus/Londonderry really has established his name when he together with the Spanish rider Severo Jurado López superior won the prestigious World Championship for Young Horses two years in a row for the 6- and 7-year-old-horses in Ermelo.

D’avie is a horse that has it all for the highest level of competing and also for being a successful breeding stallion. When you see his offspring, it is clear that he passes on his excellent expression, the modern type, and three exceptional gaits.

- D’avie has already shown his worth as a breeding stallion when we see his offspring. We have a corporation with Château de Fontaine in France – a project, that is led by Bolette Wandt. Here eggs from Queenpark’s Wendy have been taken out and we have therefore now seen the first embryo offspring with D’avie as the sire. And I promise you that the foal has exceptional quality! When you combine the best from to worlds, then you get the best result, Andreas tells and adds; the whole concept is to buy talented young horses, educate them, sell them when they are on their way forward in the sport and, very importantly, secure some good offspring from them.

D’avie will still be available for the breeders on terms that are very similar to Helgstrand’s. More information will follow when the new setup for the season 2021 is ready.