Baden-Württemberg State Championships in Weilheim: Two of Seven Champions for Nikolaus Kühn

Just as required at the National Championships in two months, the four-year-olds in Weilheim had to compete in a Class A dressage test at the State Championships of the Baden-Württemberg Horse Breeders’ Association. No one performed better than Davis Cup by Don Romance (breeders: Edgar and Mechthild Wörner), ridden by Nikolaus Kühn. The gelding earned two nines—one for his trot and one for his responsiveness. He received an 8.5 for his walk, an 8.3 for his canter, and his overall impression was just shy of “very good”: 8.7—with that score, the chestnut gelding was crowned champion of the four-year-old mares and geldings. For Nikolaus Kühn, this was not to be his only title.

Second place went to San Marino, ridden by Secret and Elke Wächter (Trot: 8.0, Walk: 8.2, Canter: 8.3, Responsiveness: 7.5, Overall Impression: 8.0).

Four-Year-Old Stallions: “Be My Guest” Clearly in the Lead

In the four-year-old stallion class, the victory went to Dionne Korringa from the Netherlands, who had already won the preliminary test with Be my Guest, a son of Bonds. In the Class A dressage test, the scores were as follows: trot: 8.8, walk: 8.0, canter: 9.2, responsiveness: 7.8, and overall impression: 8.6—for a final score of 8.48.

Rebound, a Marbach stud stallion by Springbank II (breeder: Friedbert Rütz) took second place under Lukas Maier with scores of 8s for trot and walk, an 8.5 for canter, responsiveness: 7.8, and overall impression: 8.3 (total: 8.12). Third place went to Anna Casper and Vino Veritas by Vangelis (7.68).

Three-Year-Olds: Secret’s Daughter in the Lead

In the three-year-old fillies and geldings class, nine pairs competed for the championship title. In the end, two riders from Gestüt Birkhof came out on top: Anna-Lisa Schepper rode Selina Rose by Secret-Florsicount (breeder: Hubter Vogler) to first place in the standings. The mare received two 8.0s (trot, walk) and otherwise consistently scored 8.5s.

Second place went to her stablemate Ti Amo by Tauris (breeder: Michael Kahl), whose conformation was rated 8.5 and all other criteria “good” at 8.0. He was presented by Nicola Haug. Third place went to Van Philippo by Va Pensiero (8.0) with Lisa Volpp.

Plenty of Energy Among the Five-Year-Olds

Among the five-year-old dressage horses, 18 horses competed, but only one—with a score of 8.38—also met the 8.0 threshold for qualification for the National Championships. And because this horse—the mare Vajana by Vitalis out of a Sandro Bedo dam (breeder: Erwin Treuer)—was a Baden-Württemberg mare, she can now also celebrate the title of State Champion.

Vajana was presented by Margit Hagel. The pair received consistently good scores: trot: 8.2, walk: 8.4, canter: 8.3, and an 8.5 each for responsiveness and overall impression. This resulted in a total score of 8.38 and the black-and-gold sash.

Horsepower in the Ländle

Second place also went to a mare from Baden-Württemberg—another daughter of Vitalis—named Vrieda, bred by Frieder Heilmann. Rider Ines Fleischmann was pleased with the scores: trot: 7.8, walk: 7.7, canter: 8.0, responsiveness: 7.7, overall impression: 7.8. Thus, the final score was also 7.8. This placed the mare one-tenth of a point ahead of the third-place finisher, FBW Florine, a Baden-Württemberg mare by For Dance-Disco Tänzer (breeder: Werner Häfner). Julia Kühn presented FBW Florine. The scores: 8.4 for the trot, 7.2 for the walk, 7.7 for the canter, responsiveness: 7.5, and overall impression: 7.7.

Rider + Breeder = State Champion

Nine six-year-old dressage horses competed, including four from Baden-Württemberg. The victory went to FBW For Magic K, presented by Nikolaus Kühn—a stallion by Füst Magic-De Niro that the rider bred himself. In the trot, the pair received the day’s highest score—a solid “very good,” 9.0. In the walk, the judges awarded an 8.2, and in the canter, an 8.0. Their responsiveness and overall impression earned an 8.5. This resulted in a final score of 8.34. With this result, Baden-Württemberg not only has a new champion among six-year-old dressage horses but also another qualifier for the National Championships.

The next three horses to place were bred in Westphalia. Valea by Vaterland (7.84), ridden by Leonie Laier, took second place. Third place went to Viviano by Valdiviani, ridden by Lisa Volp (7.78).

If the mother keeps the horse in decent shape…

For seven-year-old horses, the traditional prize is the black-and-gold ribbon for the Baden-Württemberg dressage horse. A total of 15 horses competed for this award. The victory went to Sir Copperfield by Secret-Belantis, bred by Heike Gehrung-Kauderer. The gelding scored 71.627 percent and was ridden by Nicole Casper from Gestüt Birkhof. Nicole Casper is actually only in the saddle as a vacation replacement. Her daughter Lisa, who had already pre-selected the gelding for the National Championships, had been abroad for an extended period, so her mother Nicole stepped in to ride him.

Lisa Maria Klessinger took second place in this competition, riding Valerian S, a son of Valverde, and scoring 70.873 percent. The breeder from Baden-Württemberg is Jutta Steidl. Two percent behind, with a score of 68.810 percent, was the mare FBW Belsol, a daughter of Benicio, bred by Frieder Heilemann out of a Sandro Hit dam. Leonie Laier rode this third-place finisher.

Results of the Baden-Württemberg Horse Breeders’ Association State Championship, Weilheim 2026