KWPN to Send 18 Horses to the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses

Based on the size of its studbook, the KWPN may nominate six pairs per age group for the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses, to be held August 4–9 in Verden. The candidates were selected during the last evaluation on June 22 in Ermelo by Johann Hamminga, Alex van Silfhout, and Janine van Twist. The following pairs were named:

Five-year-olds

• Lord Charmeur (by Lord Europe-Charmeur) with Janina Tietze for the Celle State Stud


• Ready to Rumble (by Le Formidable-Ampère) with Saskia Poel


• Real Dream (by Dynamic Dream-Negro) with Sadie Smith


• Rituals De La Fazenda (by Magnum De La Fazenda-Negro) with Thalia Rockx


• Rose-Bel Taonga (by Kjento-Westpoint) with Franka Loos


• Royal Esther Svn (by Toto Jr-Jazz) with Danielle Heijkoop

Reserves: Renzo (by Kjento-Rousseau) with Sadie Smith

Rockstar (by Le Formidable-Vvialdi) with Saskia Poel

Rendez-Vous (by Kjento-Olivi) with Moisés Jover Azuar

Six-year-olds

• Fiji (by For Romance-Charmeur) with Kim Alting from Station Beckmann (Breeder: Reesink Horses)


• Perfect Ritme (by Lord Europe-Negro) with Kim Noordijk


• Pina Colada (by Governor-Dayano) with Kirsten Brouwer > (13th place last year with Bart Veeze)


• Pythagoras WK (by All at Once-Vitalis) with Franka Loos


• Roman Empire (by Romanov-Sir Sinclair), ridden by Bart Veeze >, placed eighth last year


• Tie Break (by Toto Jr. out of Grey Flanell), ridden by Leonie Richter for the Schockemöhle stable

Reserve: Pjethro (by Kjento-Desperado) with Sadie Smith

Reserve 2: the Friesian Mattie P Fan Dulve (by Pier 448) with Danielle Heijkoop

Seven-year-old

• Red Viper (by Romanov-Sir Sinclair) with Dinja van Liere – the defending champion


• Obsession Taonga (by Vitalis-All at Once) with Lara van Nek (sixth place last year)


• Odi Murona (by Blue Hors Farrell-Johnson) with Tessa Kole


• Ohio (by Kaiman-Grand Galaxy Win) with Kirsten Brouwer >, 15th place in the 2025 final


• O’Toto van de Wimphof (by Toto Jr.-Riccione) – Diederik van Silfhout >, 12th place in the 2025 final


• Ozstralis Cottinglee (by Sir Donnerhall out of Fidertanz) with Kirsten Brouwer

Reserve 1: Hexagon’s Oprahmanda (by Diamond Hit out of Rubiquil), ridden by Tessa Kole

Reserve 2: Oberon (by Kensington out of Painted Black), ridden by Daria Sushchinskaya

Defending champions make it in at the last minute

Dinja van Liere’s Red Viper, who was the five-year-old world champion under Bart Veeze and shone at the Verden Championships as a six-year-old with the championship rider, narrowly missed out on a third victory. As van Liere reported on her Instagram page after the last inspection, the stallion had a serious dental problem that sidelined him for six months. She writes:

“Redje (Red Viper, Ed.) made my heart race today! After going through a really tough time battling a nasty infection in his tooth and nerve, he competed today in the third round of World Championship qualifiers.

It’s hard to put into words what a milestone this is after nearly six months of suffering—an ordeal that was even worse for him than it was for us…

“I’m so, so, so incredibly proud of his performance today! He’s not quite back to full strength yet, but what a superstar he is! And it was such a huge gift that he was able to make me feel this way again today!”

In addition to Red Viper, another KWPN representative won a World Championship title in Verden in 2025: the gray Proud James. Last year, he was still being ridden by Mette Sejbjerg Jensen in Verden. He has since been sold to Annabella Pidgley of the United Kingdom, who presented him at the second selection and was admitted to the third selection. He was also on the starting list but is not among the qualifiers.