It has been a great day at Vilhelmsborg, Denmark, where the second and final selection for the prestigious World Championships in Ermelo took place.

Today was the final selection for the Danish Warmblood horses representing Denmark and alle horses delievered great performances despite the warm weather. One by one the horses came through FEI's program. The excitement was overwhelming as it came to the final results of the day.

From Helgstrand Dressage the following horses were selected for WCYH:

5yo:

Zhaplin Langholt and Andreas Helgstrand
Straight Horse Ascenzione and Victoria Vallentin

Reserve:
Straight Horse Sezuanna and Kenneth Damgaard

6yo

Atterupgaard’s Botticelli and Severo Jurado López
Stenager’s Wyatt Earp and Kenneth Damgaard

Also this year, it looks very promising for Helgstrands participation at the WCYH. Last year a total of 10 Danish horses went on to the finals, of which Helgstrand got 3 medals:

Severo and Fiontini won gold
Andreas and Ferrari OLD won silver
Severo and Quel Filou won bronze

On July 3rd the final selection in Germany will take place.

3 horses representing Australia

The horses from Helgstrand will not only represent Denmark and Germany during WCYH. Simone has been selected to represent her home country, Australia with three horses from Helgstrand; Feodoro by Fürstenball/Rosario, Lindballe's Just Perfect by Johnson/De Niro and Foundator by Foundation/Samarant, with whom she has just won the DRF's qualifier in Billund with.

At Helgstrand Dressage, the focus is not only at the qualification for WCYH in Ermelo this summer, but also qualifying for the finals for the 2018 Danish Equestrian Federation’s Championships for young horses in week 41.

The aim of the Danish Equestrian Federation’s Championships for young horses is to find the best 4, 5 and 6yo horses in both dressage and jumping. This weekend the qualifier took place in Billund and Helgstrand participated with several horses.

4yo qualifier dominated by Sezuan offsprings

All horses delivered top performances in the 4yo qualifier on Saturday, 8 out of the 10 best places went to Helgstrand. Eric and Helgstrand’s breeding stallion Tørveslettens Sylvester by Sezuan/Stedinger took the lead. The dam of Sylvester is the Danish Warmblood Gold medal mare and former International Grand Prix mare, Tørveslettens Stamina. The class was in general dominated by Sezuan’s, because also Elverhøj’s Raccolto and Queenpark’s Wendy are by the impressive stallion.

The results in the 4yo qualifier:

1. Eric and Tørveslettens Sylvester
2. Thomas and Flashdance TN
3. Meike and Elverhøjs Raccolto
4. Søren and Queenparks Wendy
5. Mette and Skovens Tzarina
6. Cristian and Shakespeare Fly
7. Mette and Atterupgaards Miley
9. Søren and Fleur Royal

Find the results here

Victory for Simone and Foundator

On Sunday Simone and Foundator won the 5yo qualifier with among others, 9.4 in canter, 9.2 in capacity and 9 in trot. Thomas and Silverstone Melody got a 3rd place and the 4th place went to Eric and I'Actrice VDL.

Find the results here

Springbank successful in Hjallerup

Also at the show in Hjallerup they had a great start. Anne-Marie and Diva Unik won the Intermediate II scoring 69.43%, followed by Carina and Springbank VH, who won the PSG test with impressive 72.41%. Springbank VH, who has also been very successful with Andreas and is the full-brother to the very successful breeding stallion, Springbank II VH.

In the PSG on Sunday, the test was also won by Carina and Springbank VH with impressive 71.228%. Also Severo and the three times world champion, Fiontini participated at the show, as they had to qualify for starting at bigger shows achieving impressive marks more than 80% in both MB0’s.

Find the results here

Severo and Fiontini together with Carina and Springbank VH



Modern technology makes it possible to test for more diseases, and recently the focus has been on the very rare genetic disorder, Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome - also known as WFFS. 


Because we find that our breeders want knowledge about whether our stallions are carrying the WFFS, we have already got our stallions in Denmark tested and now also our stallions at Helgstrand Germany in Hagen have been tested with the following results.



The following stallions are not carrier of WFFS:  


Don Deluxe
Kremlin MD

So Unique

Valverde

The following are carrier of WFFS:


For Sure

Jovian



There are already breeds like Friesian and Quarter horses, where genetic disorders have been registered and therefore it is not unusual that a genetic disorder now has been found in Warmbloods. Therefore, horses with the WFFS gene should not be considered ill, but as owner you just have to focus on not to combine two horses in the breed, both carrying the gene.

It is all about keeping the best horses in the breed and that is why we just recommend mare-owners to test their mares for the WFFS gene, and if the mare is a carrier, we recommend not to use a stallion which is also a carrier. 



Please do not hesitate to contact us, if you have any questions.



Denmark



Lene Birkemose 

Tel.: +45 22 57 44 11

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Christian Springborg

Tel.: +45 41 47 50 00

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Jesper Bisgaard Nielsen

Tel.: +45 26 29 43 05
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Germany



Michael Schmidt

Tel.: +49 540 589 588 00

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Hanke Ostermann

Tel.: +49 170 43 11 761

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Alexander has managed to make a very positive impression at competitions, recently at the international show, Future Champions in Hagen, Germany with both Røgild's Claire and Adriano B. and now he can also add a selection for this year's Nordic Baltic Championship and the European Championship to the results of this weekend.



It has been an eventful weekend at the Future Champions in Hagen with many young talents as the name indicates, including Alexander, who was represented with both Røgild's Claire by Notre Bac/Julio Mariner XX and Adriano B. by De Angelo B/Flying Dream. 



Alexander brought both Marianne and Andreas, but it was a confident rider who made very good performances all weekend. Among others, Alexander placed 9 with Claire in the CDIP test, won silver in the team competition and got a 3rd place in the freestyle achieving impressive 75.1% with Adriano B. 



Video from Alexander and Adriano B.'s freestyle in Hagen.




You can find all the results here



For sure it was a great weekend, also as Alexander was selected for both the Nordic Baltic Championship in Norway and the European Championship by national coach, Jette Nevermann Torup.



Selected for the Nordic Baltic Championship

Alexander Yde Helgstrand / Adriano B (res: Claire)
Dagmar Sofie Oxlund / Campari W
Silke Andersen / Nyholts Dundee
Sophia Winther Andersen / Der Harlekin B 


Selected for the European Championship

Currently, three out of four riders have been selected - the fourth rider and the reserve will be selected after the Nordic Baltic Championships:



Alexander Yde Helgstrand / Adriano B (res: Claire)
Frederikke Gram Jacobsen / Gee Gee
Maja Emilie Leth / Goldfevers Hella Bella.

Alexander and Adriano B.



This weekend has been terrific with lots of great results for Helgstrand Dressage. A combination of warm weather, great atmosphere and many top riders resulted in many spectators during the weekend, especially in the Bundgaard Byg Cup, DRF Championship for U25 and in the Danish Championships for seniors. 



6 Helgstrand horses selected for the 2018 WBFSH



This year's WBFSH World Championships for Young Horses takes place from 2-5 August in Ermelo and this weekend the first selection for Denmark took place. The final selection will be at Vilhelmsborg on May 26th. 


Among the young horses participating were many talented high quality horses and after the judge Dennis Fisker had commented on the horses, the following horses from Helgstrand Dressage went on to the final selection:


5yo


• Simone Pearce and Lindballe’s Just Perfect by Johnson/De Niro
• Victoria E. Vallentin and Straight Horse Ascenzione by BH Zack/BH Don Schufro
• Andreas Helgstrand and Zhaplin Langholt by Zonik/Stedinger
• Kenneth Damgaard and Straight Horse Sezuanna by BH Zack/BH Don Schufro 


6yo


• Severo Jurado Lopez and Atterupgaards Botticelli by Bennetton Dream/Caprimond
• Kenneth Damgaard and Stenagers Wyatt Earp by Wilkens/Sandro Hit 


Severo and Atterupgaards Botticelli.

Carina won Bundgaard Byg Cup



Clearly it was a very proud Carina who returned home after another victory in the Bundgaard Byg Cup on Grevens Sa Va at Broholm Horseshow. For the second time Carina won the competition, but this year not many points were separating the 1st and 2nd place. In the first test, Carina won on Grevens Sa Va with 74.8% followed by Marianne and Super Mario scoring 74.3%. In the second test Carina won achieving 77.167% and Marianne once again placed second with 76.583%. 


Søren placed second in the U25 Championships


The DRF's championship was characterised by many talented young riders and great performances and thus not many percentages where separating the riders. Søren has recently started to compete on Diego and despite the fact that they are not yet familiar with each other, they won the U25 Grand Prix by 69.1% and finished 2nd in the championship after achieving 71.225% in the Grand Prix freestyle.


5 of the 6 best placed horses in the Danish Championships from Helgstrand


The excitement was high as the only 20-year-old Victoria placed fourth in the Danish Championships for seniors together with Ludwig der Sonnenkönig, followed by Betina and Belstaff on a 6th place. 



But not only two of the placed horses come from Helgstrand – 5 of the 6 best placed horses for seniors are in some way related to Helgstrand Dressage. They have either been trained at or sold from Helgstrand.



- It is a great pleasure to see when horses trained or sold by Helgstrand achieve so much success at shows, especially when ridden by Danish riders. It makes us proud, Andreas says, referring to Cathrine and Cassidy's freestyle, where they once again broke the magic 80% limit and achieved a total of 86.925%. 



Both Atterupgaard's Cassidy, Arlando, Rock Star, Ludwig der Sonnenkönig and Belstaff show us, that at Helgstrand they manage to select quality horses that also show great performances with their riders.



- We are doing our very best to find the perfect match between rider and horse, and seeing the great results of this weekend makes us very proud, Andreas adds.


Betina and Victoria named for the long list for WEG



On Saturday the Danish national team coach Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein has named the long list for WEG in Tryon including two Helgstrand riders, Betina and Victoria.


Not surprisingly, we find Cathrine Dufour and Atterupgaard's Cassidy on the team, Daniel Bachmann Andersen with Blue Hors Zack and Blue Hors Zepter, Anna Zibrandtsen and Arlando, Rikke Svane and Finckenstein, and Anders Dahl and Selten. In addition, two Helgstrand riders, Betina (Belstaff) and Victoria (Ludwig der Sonnenkönig) as well as Anna Kasprzak (Rock Star) have also been named for the long list for WEG.



Six riders will be on the starting lists at CHIO in Aachen in July and then the final national team will be selected. We cross our fingers for Betina and Victoria, both of which must have their international qualification in place in the near feature in order to join the team.

Victoria and Ludwig der Sonnenkönig

Now we have received the results of the WFFS for our stallions

Following stallions are free for WFFS:

Franklin

Grand Galaxy Win

Revolution

D’avie

Janeiro Platinum

Quaterhit

For Emotion

Tørveslettens Sylvester

Knock Out

Ferrari

Kadans

Straight Horse Sir Romance

Got It

Following are carrier of WFFS:

Atterupgaards Botticelli

Springbank II VH

We recommend mare-owners to test their mares for the WFFS gene, if the mare is a carrier we recommend not to use a stallion which is also a carrier

Once again Equitour Aalborg has been more than just a show offering lots of evets including a special car auction, a kid's day, the Nordic International Sales Foal Auction, a stallion show and not to forget the clinic with Severo and the three times world champion, Fiontini. The weather has been terrific and so the atmosphere at this year's Equitour hosted by Helgstrand Academy.



Helgstrand Dressage achieves great results

The Helgstrand Dressage team participated at the show too. Victoria and Ludwig der Sonnenkönig placed second in the CDI U25 on Wednesday and Søren got placed fourth on Diego. In CDI3* Prix St. Georg, Marianne achieved a second place on Super Mario and Carina got a 3rd place on Grevens Sa VA. Alexander did a great job too winning both the CDIP on Claire and the CDIOP on Adriano B.



On Thursday Victoria and Ludwig der Sonnenkönig won the CDI U25 achieving 72.137%. Marianne got placed second on Super Mario in the Intermediate I, achieving impressive 71,735%, while Severo and Deep Impact won the Grand Prix with 73,022%. Alexander once again took the lead on Adriano B and this time in the CDIOP with 73,559%.



On Friday, Severo and Deep Impact won the test superbly with 78.6%. Perhaps it was the impressive flying changes with only one hand on the center line that made the change. Alexander also impressed the judges on Friday placing second in the CDIP freestyle with a total of 73.125%. On Friday Betina also won the Grand Prix Special on Mene Stream Belstaff with impressive 71.532%.



Setting the records at this years Nordic International Sales

This year the second Nordic International Sales foal auction has set new records with two foals sold for over 100,000 euros and a higher average price and higher turnover than last year. Buyers from Canada, USA, Poland, Germany, Norway and Denmark invested in the 19 foals which where sold for 763,000 euros at an average price of 40,158 euros.



6 foals by Franklin achieved the highest bids and the unique filly foal Fellini achieved a knock-down price of impressive 115,000 euros. The filly by Franklin is out of the young mare Souvenir that is a daughter of the only two triple world champions for young horses in history, Sezuan og Fiontini.



The second price highlight was the filly foal Faretti II by Franklin/Don Frederico, a fullsister of the price highlight from 2017, sold for 102,000 euros. 

The most expensive colt foal, Brix Falcon by Franklin/Fürstenball was sold for 80,000 euros.



See all results from the Nordic International Sales here

Fellini by Franklin, sold for 115,000 euro.

Extraordinary stallion show and clinic with Severo


On Sunday Helgstrand Dressage hosted an exclusive stallion show showcasing 10 of the stallions from the 2018 stallion collection, among others Atterupsgaards Botticelli, D'Avie, Quaterhit and of cause the highlight from the foal auction, Franklin. Flemming Schultz commented on the pedigree and Andreas told about the training of the many stallions.



As warm up to the Grand Prix Special Severo showcased the very difficult exercises from the test on the three times world champion, Fionitini. Andreas commented the exercises and told about the training and future plans for Fiontini - and while the spectators were so impressed by the clinic and the applause almost never ended during the show.

Severo showcasing D'Avie.

At Helgstrand Dressage we also consider the sporting career of our stallions very important and thus, we have chosen only to offer frozen semen from Ferrari OLD during the 2018 breeding season.

Our goal is to qualify Ferrari OLD for the World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Horses in Ermelo this summer. In order to qualify, he needs to participate at competitions in Germany and during this periods it will not be possible to offer fresh semen. For this reason we have chosen only to offer frozen semen from Ferrari OLD this season.

At the 2017 WCYH, Ferrari had great success with Andreas and won silver for the 5yo dressage horses. Andreas has great expectations for Ferrari OLD this year and wants to focus 100% on the preparations for the qualifications in Germany.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at +45 22 57 44 11 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Andreas and Ferrari OLD at the 2017 WCYH in Ermelo.

The Herpes virus has spread across national borders and is no longer only found abroad, but also in Denmark and some horses have been put down because of the virus. For this reason, Helgstrand Dressage has chosen to take its precautions to prevent the virus from affecting Helgstrands horses as well.

- It is important to understand that at Helgstrand Dressage and Helgstrand Academy we have not seen any signs of the Herpes virus. But we will not take a risk and that is why we have chosen to take these precautions to protect our horses, says Andreas Helgstrand.

Helgstrand Dressage has chosen to restrict access to both Helgstrand Dressage and Helgstrand Academy and access can only be done if the horse is vaccinated against the Herpes virus or if it is possible to document that the horse does not carry the Herpes virus.

- We have many visitors at Helgstrand Dressage, and because we want to continue to run our business we have chosen - in collaboration with our veterinarians - to restrict access to Helgstrand Dressage and as far as possible, maintain the control of the virus, says Andreas.

Press release.

This weekend the Excellent Dressage Sales auction was held in Hooge Mierde, Holland for the fifth time. More than 500 guests participated in the auction with 41 horses and 9 foals, which resulted in a small 2 million euros.

For the first time the auction also contained foals, which was very much appreciated by the numerous of guests, of which many were coming all the way from America, England, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. The filly by Revolution was sold for 28,000 euro and thus the most expensive foal of the auction. A telephone bidder from America bought the foal.

Nobelwood Tarpania is by Revolution/Fürst Romancier/Johnson.