Former U25 European Champion Felicitas Hendricks on her horse Drombusch's laminitis

Felicitas Hendricks posted on Instagram yesterday, reporting that her horse Drombusch had become seriously ill with laminitis. She shared photos showing the gelding suspended in a support device. However, Hendricks says he is doing better now:

“We’re still in the middle of the healing process. I want to focus on making sure Drombusch gets a little better every day. The top priority has been and remains to give Drombusch a pain-free life so he can enjoy his well-deserved retirement.”

Success Story

Even as a child, Felicitas Hendricks was so crazy about horses that, at the age of 13, she left her home in Düsseldorf—along with her mother, father, and brothers—to move to Hagen. That’s where her uncle Christoph Koschel lives; he took the teenage girl under his wing and helped her develop as a rider. It was also he who introduced her to Drombusch, who was still young at the time.

With Koschel’s help, the two have made their way into Grand Prix competition together. Drombusch by Destano, now 15 years old and from Oldenburg—bred by Ralf Stienke out of a Dimaggio dam—stood out for his great talent, including in piaffe and passage. In the U25 division, the pair quickly became the team to beat. In 2023, they were nominated for the European Championships, winning gold in both the team and individual competitions, as well as silver in the freestyle. Later, they also secured the Piaff Promotion Award.

In addition, they have already enjoyed success in major competitions; among other achievements, they were part of the German team that won the Nations Cup in Wellington in 2023. They repeated this success in 2024 and 2025, and in 2024 they also racked up a string of other victories, particularly in Florida. Later that year, they were allowed to compete in the I-Tour at the CHIO Aachen, but had to withdraw after the Grand Prix because the gelding had to be treated for an allergic shock.

In 2025, they also won team gold again at the U25 European Championships in Kronberg. In the fall of 2025, they played their last tournament in the U.S., specifically in California. Since then, nothing more has been heard from Hendricks and “Drömmel.”

A Fighter

The energy that later benefited Drombusch in his Grand Prix lessons had, at one point, left Felicitas Hendricks struggling to find a place to live. Today, Drombusch needs that energy to get well. Hendricks says:

“All I can say is: Thank you.

Thank you, Drombusch, for being a fighter and standing by my side. Without you, I’d be so lost. The way you’ve fought this disease—and continue to do so—is your greatest achievement so far—greater than any tournament could ever have been. I can only admire how you’re doing it.”