Since 2017 Jens Trabjerg, one of Denmark's most recognized Event Managers, has been organising the successful international equestrian show Equitour Denmark, which is held on Helgstrand's facilities, the Helgstrand Academy close to Aalborg. Unfortunately, it is not possible for Jens to find the time to fulfil Helgstrand’s wish to expand and optimize the use of the facilities at Helgstrand Academy and also use the other facilities at Helgstrand to widen the knowledge of the company and its partners, due to the impending World Championship in Herning in 2022.

Helgstrand took over all activities within Equitour at the beginning of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic unfortunately stopped all the new ideas in 2020, that Helgstrand had hoped to present. Helgstrand now hopes to be able to realize these ideas in 2021 with an Event Manager in the lead.

- Right now, the facilities at Helgstrand is used yearly to host Equitour and the Danish Dressage Championship and a few competitions which Uggerhalne Ridingclub hosts. We see a lot of opportunities for these facilities and also for the facilities in Germany and Wellington, US. It can, all put together, give us the unique opportunity to promote both Helgstrand and also Helgstrand Jewellery, Kingsland Equestrian, Riding Arena Robots and other partners to the rest of the world, tells the new commercial director at Helgstrand, Anders Bjørnstrup Bech.

- It has been an absolute pleasure to establish Equitour and not only welcome national and international riders to Uggerhalne, but also to establish new opportunities such as the Danish Riding Federation’s Ridingschool Cup competition and also the recognized Almased Dressage Amateurs tournament, that very fast became a great success. I look forward to still taking part on the sideline and then I look forward to devoting my time to World Cup Herning and also the World Championship in Herning 2022, where the planning has really started, Jens Trabjerg tells.

- We are very sad to have to say goodbye to Jens Trabjerg, since he has made a terrific job and really has promoted the Helgstrand brand out to the world, with the organization of a highly accomplished and internationally recognized set-up. But we also know and understand that Jens has to devote all his time to the World Championship and we are very happy that we will still be able to have his help and experience to lean on when needed, Andreas Helgstrand tells.

Due to Jens stepping down as organiser, Helgstrand has now decided to apply for an Event Manager that can help fulfil the ambitions which Helgstrand has and in general push the development of the leading equestrian company and the events.

Picture: Rheinglanz by Helium/Couracius/Partout. Picture by Pferdefotografie Stefan Lafrentz.

The Trakehner Champion Stallion 2020 was celebrated as a star in Neumünster and triggered a hot bidding duel at the auction in the Holstenhallen. The dark bay "Rheinglanz", a son of young star sire Helium, has everything that characterises a modern stallion. The noble champion impresses with his dynamics and his generous, feathery basic gaits. At the same time, he presents himself with the best manners and has a solid pedigree with which breeding can be planned. His owners, the Rheinglanz Consortium, are pleased to announce that the eye-catching young stallion will be available with fresh semen at renowned breeding stations in Germany in the 2021 breeding season. In addition, he will receive his basic training under saddle in competent hands.

Thanks to Udo Wagner's good connections to Andreas Helgstrand, the sympathetic horse of special quality will be available via the Schockemöhle/Helgstrand breeding station in Mühlen and via Beate Langels' traditional Trakehner stud Hämelschenburg in Emmerthal. Andreas Helgstrand is delighted about this opportunity and emphasises how important he considers the Trakehner influence in international sport horse breeding. The grey mare Matiné, the unforgettable successful horse of the Danish champion rider at the World Championships in Aachen 2006, was a daughter of the Trakehner stallion Silvermoon. And the exceptional stallion Totilas, for example, who died a few days ago, was not only a son of Gribaldi, but also had Trakehner blood on his mother's side.

Rheinglanz is managed at Helgstrand Dressage Germany by Michael Schmidt, who boasts more than three decades of professional experience in horse breeding and sport and who, among other things, made a considerable contribution to the training of the multiple winning stallion Sezuan as stud manager at Peterhof. Eva Möller, who has been working for Helgstrand Dressage for several years and has won many times at the Bundeschampionat in Warendorf and also at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses, is responsible for the training under saddle. The Rheinglanz Consortium, as well as the Schockemöhle/Helgstrand breeding station are pleased to have gained an experienced and recognised partner in the renowned Trakehner Stud Hämelschenburg under the management of Beate Langels.

Picture: Rheinglanz by Helium/Couracius/Partout. Picture by Pferdefotografie Stefan Lafrentz.

The ending of this year is approaching and even though we would prefer not to mention COVID19, then we can’t deny that this pandemic has had an influence on this year’s events and the cancellation of several of them. We really looked forward to the yearly Open House-event where we normally show our collection of stallions and open our doors for everyone that wishes to see the company from the inside.

Before the world closed down in March we luckily participated at the stallion shows in Germany and the biggest event of the year The Danish Warmblood Stallion Show in Herning. This was the beginning of a fantastic breeding season with results that have never been greater.

Picture: Fortunate by Foundation/Quaterback

Amazing breeding season ahead

2020 was also the year where Helgstrand had to say goodbye to several of the top breeding stallions among them D’avie by Don Juan de Hus/Londonderry, who was sold to Lisa Müller through Isabell Werth. Isabell Werth also secured herself a future top horse, the Sezuan offspring Joshua. Janiero Platinum left the stable and we look very much forward to follow this exceptional stallion at his new owner, Christinelund Dressage in Sweden.

Also, our darling Quarterhit moved to France to Dominique Degueldre and is now trained by Stephanie Brieussel. Luckily several new young top stallions were added to the collection at the stallion licensing shows, such as the Champion Stallion from Westfalen, Forever Love by Fair Game/Destano or the Champion Stallion from Oldenburg, Fortunate by Foundation/Quaterback. The breeders can therefore look forward to the new breeding season 2021, to a collection of stallions that has never looked more fantastic.

Picture: Anne-Mette Strandby Hansen and Foco Loco-w winning the Danish Dressage Championship.

Achieving amazing results despite the situation

Even though many of the competitions were cancelled this year, we managed to qualify 24 horses for the finals at the Danish National Championships for Young Dressage Horses and 15 horses were qualified for the prestigious World Championship for Young Horses.

The riders at Helgstrand have done an amazing job and among the impressive results, we can mention Anne-Mette Strandby Hansen’s Gold Medal at the European Championship for U25 riders and also winning the Danish Championship for U25 riders together with Foco Loco-w.

In addition, Alexander Helgstrand won the Team-Silver Medal at the European Championship with Grevens Sa’Va’.

Andreas also had some impressive results with the three-time World Champion Fiontini, which he won the Bronze Medal at the Danish Championship with - a horse that Andreas hope to qualify to the Olympics.

Nothing is that bad, that something good can’t come out of it – our riders use this competition break to train the horses and they all show top form and great development. This is shown at the sales list at Helgstrand, where new horses are added every week – so if you are looking for your future star or a skilled and experienced Grand Prix horse, then now is the time to get in contact with us.

Picture: Helgstrand Germany, Syke.

New location in Germany

2020 was the year where Helgstrand invested in new facilities in Germany, Helgstrand Germany, which is located between the three largest German Breeding Associations near Syke, a little south of Bremen. Eva and Ulf Möller moved here at the end of November and have settled very well in the new surroundings and an intriguing selection of horses from Helgstrand have already moved in.

Now that we have come to the news from abroad, we can add that the renovation of Helgstrand Dressage USA is soon finished. The horses have already moved in and the competition season has started. In addition to the abroad news, we can add a new partnership; the four-times Olympics participant and British Equestrian legend Richard Davidson who shall be in charge of the British side of Helgstrand.

Many new projects to come

Finally, 2020 was also the year where Helgstrand invested in new and exciting projects. With the ambition to be the leading equestrian company, Helgstrand brought the majority of shares in the equestrian brand Kingsland Equestrian and in addition established cooperation with X-Drive Robots about Riding Arena Robots, which is robots for preparation and maintenance of indoor arenas.

Even though COVID19 affected and challenged us, we are pleased to still have some very good results to look back on throughout the year. Now we look forward and hope for a better 2021. New and exciting projects are on their way and we can’t wait to reveal them to you in the new year.

Finally, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy and New Year. May the holidays and the New Year bring joy to you and your family.

Picture: Veterinarian Zenta Vinther standing with Helgstrand's breeding stallion Iron by Asgaard's Ibiza/Hohenstein, which she expects a foal from next year.  

Helgstrand is in a rapid development and with no less than 500 horses dispersed on Helgstrand Dressage, Helgstrand Youngsters and Helgstrand Academy, we have now experienced the need for a permanent vet. Therefore, we are now thrilled to present and welcome a well-known face at Helgstrand – namely the veterinarian Zenta Vinther, who has been a permanent associate at the Højgård Hesteklinik at Helgstrand Academy for 2,5 years.

- Eventually, we have so many horses at Helgstrand Dressage, Helgstrand Academy and Helgstrand Youngsters so now it would make really good sense to have our own vet. And when the application from Zenta entered the mailbox, we weren’t actually in doubt about who to choose from all the potential applicants, Andreas says with a smile.

Zenta Vinther is a veterinarian who has specialized in reproduction and has the last 2,5 years permanently been a part of Højgård Hesteklinik in Uggerhalne. That way she is already thoroughly versed in the Helgstrand spirit and will thereby be completely familiar with her work tasks from day one.

- It has been a very interesting and educational time being at Højgård and luckily it will not be a goodbye to my nice colleagues since Helgstrand will uphold a close cooperation with Højgård for the purposes that we cannot handle by ourselves here at Helgstrand, Zenta who starts the 4th of January 2021, tells.

Her daily responsibilities will include routine tasks such as vaccinations, dentistry, x-rays and follow-up on injuries. Additionally, embryo transfer will be a big part of her work and will in fact increase the next coming years.

- We experience an extensive rise in the demand for dressage horses on the level that we are specialized in, and therefore it will be very interesting to see if we can produce more offspring from the mares who are doing well in the sport in combination with our own stallions. Therefore, it was also a requirement that our coming vet would have a thorough knowledge about the work with reproduction, and I don’t think we can find a better match than Zenta, Andreas adds.

- Through Højgård I have previously handled the work with reproduction at Helgstrand, which primarily includes embryo transfer. I think the reproduction work is very interesting and I am really looking forward to continuing with this very specialized part of the reproduction, Zenta, who is thrilled about getting started, states.

- I am in absolutely no doubt, that Zenta will fit very well within the organization, and the fact that she already knows our core values and the horses, makes the transition very smooth. I am moreover certain, that she can ease our daily work and internal processes, which can save us a lot of resources, Andreas concludes.

Picture: Fineline by Floriscount/San Amour and Wolfgang Stagge.

The “Gestüt Pramwaldhof”, Astrid Neumayer, is the proud owner of the new Westphalian premium stallion, the exceptionally well-moving and interesting stallion by Floriscount/San Amour: “Fineline”. The stallion will be available starting the next season and he will be stationed at the “Dressurleistungszentrum Lodbergen” located in Löningen, Germany.

“Gestüt Pramwaldhof” is one of Austria's most recognised dressage stables and stallion stations. It already counts an exciting selection of stallions. Fineline will not be stationed in Austria, however, but at the stallion station Dressurleistungszentrum Lodbergen, managed by Therese Nielshagen and Wolfgang Stagge.

Fineline is bred by Gestüt Elstertal, Germany and he was then purchased by Helgstrand as a foal. He is one of the first horses growing up at “Helgstrand Youngsters”, which consists of modern facilities and beautiful surroundings, that give foals and young horses the very best start to a future career as a sport horse or breeding stallion.

Helgstrand would like to congratulate not only the new owners “Gestüt Pramwaldhof”, but also the “Dressurleistungszentrum Lodbergen”, where the stallion will be stationed! “We are delighted that “Fineline” will be part of the already attractive stallion collection in Löningen, where he will stand side by side with some of Germany's highly desired stallions, such as Dante Weltino OLD and For Romance OLD as well as an exciting selection of new stallions”, as Andreas Helgstrand says.

PRESS RELEASE

Four-time Olympian and British equestrian legend Richard Davison has joined the Helgstrand Group. His principal role will be to lead the group’s UK development across all its commercial platforms.

Richard, together with his sons Tom and Joe, runs a combined dressage and show jumping stable, and he is also involved in many aspects of the British and international equestrian community. He is a former British Olympic Dressage Team manager and former World Class Show Jumping Programme coach.

Andreas Helgstrand said: “Richard, together with his team and family, are involved in so many aspects of the UK equestrian world. They bring with them an unequalled breadth of experience and allows us to enhance the service we can offer to our UK clients. We are delighted to welcome them on board”.

The Helgstrand Group currently has sport horse sales stables in Denmark, Germany and the US. Its investment portfolio includes brands such as Kingsland, Riding Arena Robots and has further expansion plans to announce imminently.

Commencing his role with immediate effect Richard enthused “Andreas has created a mind-blowingly successful equestrian business. He has grown the Helgstrand Group into the global market leader for the sales of outstanding quality sport horses and after-sales service. With more than 100 employees the Group is an important employer of young equestrians and has a commendable policy for their health and wellbeing. With other exciting plans on the horizon, I am really looking forward to playing my part in this next phase of the Group’s journey.”

Picture: The Champion Stallion of the 2020 Westfalen Stallion Licensing by Fair Game/Destano - acquired by Helgstrand for 800,000 euros.

At the 2020 Westfalen Stallion Auction, Helgstrand was able to acquire the new Westfalen Champion Stallion by Fair Game/Destano and the Vice-Champion, which is by Diamond Deluxe/Lissaro. In addition the licensed stallion by Farrell/Lord Loxley. In other words, the two best stallions of the auction will next year be part of the impressive Helgstrand-Schockemöhle stallion collection.

- The Champion Stallion is very impressive - he is modern and beautiful and shows amazing gaits. He has no weaknesses, which the breeding commission also placed a lot of emphasis on. He is from an interesting pedigree, which will bring new bloodlines to the breeding world we know today - and at the same time we can tell that he will fit well with a large number of mares, Andreas says.

- The Vice-Champion possesses almost the same qualities as the Champion Stallion. He shows three superb gaits with absolutely extraordinary hind-leg action. Again, we are dealing with a state-of-the-art sports horse with an extremely exciting pedigree. I am sure that the breeders will welcome the two new dressage stars as part of the 2021 Helgstrand-Schockemöhle stallion collection, Andreas adds.

The Champion Stallion by Fair Game/Destano/Harvard is bred by Konrad Mensch, Germany and was acquired for 800,000 euros, while the Vice-Champion by Diamond Deluxe/Lissaro/Labrador and bred by Wilhelm Rüscher-Konermann , Germany, was bought for 600,000 euros. The stallion by Farrell/Lord Loxley/Damon Hill is bred by Karl-August Schulte-Varendorff, Germany, and was acquired for 250,000 euros.

For the 2020 Westfalen Stallion Licensing, Helgstrand also brought the young talented Floriscount/San Amour I, who even took the title as Premium Stallion. This amazing stallion is bred by Gestüt Elstertal, Germany.

Video of the Champion Stallion by Fair Game/Destano

Video of the Vice-Champion by Diamond Deluxe/Lissaro

Video of the licensed stallion by Farrell/Lord Loxley

Picture: Catalogue no. 53 by Foundation - Quaterback - Weltmeyer - awarded Champion Stallion at the 2020 Oldenburg Stallion Licensing.

At the 2020 Oldenburg Stallion Licensing, Helgstrand was able to add another Champion Stallion to the collection; the picture-perfect and impressive Foundation son, who has Quarterback as damsire. Bred by Zuchthof Vogel in Germany.

Foundation is the father of many successful sports horses and breeding stallions, like Helgstrand's Ferrari OLD, which has just been sold to Gestüt Ammerland in Germany.

Foundation himself is successful under Matthias Alexander Rath at international Grand Prix level.

The Foundation/Quaterback impressed the judges with his extraordinary gaits, type and wonderful temper - and showed great balance both on hard surface, in lunging and in the free presentation. And he was not only awarded Premium Stallion, he also took the title as a Champion and was thus best stallion at this year's Oldenburg Stallion Licensing.

Today, our young stallions finished their 35-day performance test in Danish Warmblood, and Helgstrand's My Vitality (Vivaldi/D-Day) finished first with impressive 902.5 and 9/9 from the test rider Allan Grøn.

The top 3 from today dominated by Helgstrand's stallions:

1. My Vitality by Vivaldi/D-Day - 902.5 - video

2. Iron by Asgaard's Ibiza/Hohenstein - 894.5 - video

3. Rockabye S by Revolution/Belstaff - 890.5 - video


All the videos from today's final test - follow this link

The final result of all stallions - follow this link (only available in Danish)

Picture: Ulf, Alexander and Andreas Helgstrand from the 2019 Gala Show in Herning

As some might have heard, a very special horse has left Helgstrand Dressage – a horse that not only has drawn attention to himself on the national and international showgrounds but also a horse who has been a goofy movie star on the social media accounts of Helgstrand. Obviously it is the 8-year-old stallion Ferrari OLD by Foundation/Hotline, who can look forward to an exciting future in the home of one of Germany’s leading dressage stables: Gestüt Ammerland.

- Not only will my groom Mikkala, who has been responsible for Ferrari during his time at Helgstrand, miss him, I certainly will as well. Every horse has its own personality, but Ferrari’s is just unique. He was the Labrador of the stable and with his funny acts he could bring out a smile of everybody, Andreas tells.

Many might remember when Andreas achieved a silver medal for the 5-year-olds at the World Championships for Young Horses in Ermelo in 2017 – or when he received the bronze medal at the Danish Championships for young horses the same year. The powerful horse makes a huge impression when being in the arena. Not only is he burly and big but he also has some exceptional gaits and is well known for his rideability. The apple does not fall far from the tree, as his father Foundation also has had impressive success on international Grand Prix level with Matthias Alexander Rath in the saddle. And as an 8-year-old Ferrari did his first Grand Prix at a national show where he invincibly took the victory.

- It was a day of sorrow when we had to say goodbye to Ferrari, cause he has been a real pleasure riding. He has been a part of Helgstrand for several years and I have had so many great experiences with this horse. When they stay around for so long, it is impossible not to become very attached to each other, Andreas says and adds: It is not many 8-year-olds, who you can enter a Grand Prix on with such great success. He has got the talent and the drive, and therefore I am also thrilled that Rudi Widmann from Gestüt Ammerland is taking over the reins.

Ferrari attended the gala show at the Stallion Selection in Herning, where he was a part of the remarkable show where three generations of Helgstrand were represented. This show was afterwards reputed as one of the highlights.

- The most memorable experience, might be the gala show in Herning last year, where my father Ulf rode him. It was an incredible experience entering Boxen with full stands, with my father and my son by my side. It was really overwhelming… Three generations in line – I guess it is only a handful, who have tried this. And here Ferrari also showed off his qualities – he didn’t strike one wrong move and did everything he could to keep my father safe in the saddle. Certainly, a memory that is imprinted in my memory, Andreas concludes.

Ferrari OLD has already moved to his new home, Gestüt Ammerland by Dietrich von Boetticher, placed a little south of Munich. Here the experienced Grand Prix rider, Rudi Widmann, will take over the training of Ferrari.