Not many breeders are fortunate enough to achieve the rare experience of seeing one of the foals in an Olympic final. For Kurt Gosmer in Brønderslev, the Paris Olympics was therefore an extraordinary experience. It’s been 10 years since he welcomed a black, long-legged filly at his stud farm in Dronninglund. The very independent foal was named Queenparks Wendy.
Today, Wendy has fans all over the world, and she captivated both judges and audiences when, with Isabell Werth in the saddle, she won a Olympic gold medal in the team competition and an individual silver medal.
Following Wendy’s Olympic success, Kurt Gosmer has received numerous inquiries from riders and people he doesn’t know, all asking about siblings of the fantastic Wendy. However, due to health reasons, Kurt Gosmer had to sell his stud farm and horses several years ago. Wendy was also sold as a foal to a breeder, Annette Bugge from Randers. A few months later, due to personal reasons, she had to sell Wendy again. She sent a video to Andreas Helgstrand, and he had no doubt about the quality he saw in the young filly, bringing Wendy back to Northern Jutland. Today, she is owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze and Bolette Wandt from Château de Fontaine.
At three years old, Wendy and Kurt Gosmer were honored with the breeder’s gold medal from the Danish Warmblood society, and two years later, she won the Danish Warmblood Young Horse Championship at the stallion show in Herning—with Andreas Helgstrand in the saddle. Together, they also won bronze at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses and have achieved several placements in international Grand Prix events.
Andreas recalls the many early morning training sessions that went into developing the nearly 180 cm tall mare, and they have always been a positive experience. Wendy has an enormous work ethic and a very strong will. This made the journey to the highest level of dressage a very special experience for Andreas, who openly admits that the mare has always stood out to him as something truly exceptional.
When Andreas was excluded from the Danish national team, he decided to see how Wendy would develop under the world’s best dressage rider, Germany’s Isabell Werth. Isabell took over Wendy’s reins in January 2024, and since then, they’ve had a remarkable journey leading up to the Olympics. From the stands in front of the Palace of Versailles, Andreas followed Wendy’s every step on her way to the Olympic medals. And so did Kurt Gosmer in front of the TV screen at home in Brønderslev.
Andreas Helgstrand and Danish warmblood's chairman, Jan Pedersen, visited Kurt Gosmer at his home on Friday to honor him for the special achievement of breeding an Olympic medalist. Kurt was presented with the society’s merit medal. Along with the medal, he also received a beautiful photo of Wendy from the Olympics from Andreas Helgstrand. This now serves as a visible testament to his success as a breeder, displayed in his home in Brønderslev.
A collaboration with Danish Warmblood.
