Dorothee Schneider and Valerie B qualify for the Burg Cup final in Görlitz

They are THE surprise of this weekend: riding champion Dorothee Schneider and Valerie B, who has placed fourth twice at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses. The Danish daughter of Revolution, bred by Karin and Peer Guldbrandsen, is related to Isabell Werth’s Wendy de Fontaine. Both trace their lineage back to the elite mare Vanessa Stensvang by Lobster—Wendy in the third generation and Valerie B in the second. What these two “second cousins” definitely have in common: resilience, drive, and stature! They also seem to resemble each other in terms of willingness to perform. After all, Dorothee Schneider didn’t start riding the mare until November 2025 and competed in her first advanced-level tournament this weekend.

Valerie B now belongs to Maik Kanitzky, for whom Dorothee Schneider is now responsible for training the horses at the Famos Stud. Valerie B’s move from the Helgstrand stable to Syke had not yet been made public when Dorothee Schneider presented her yesterday in the qualifying round for the Görlitz final. It was therefore an unexpected delight to see this highly talented mare now under the guidance of one of the world’s best trainers. A partnership that already made an impression yesterday during their debut at the S-level.

The future? Anything is possible!

Today, Valerie B—perhaps partly due to the wind and rain over the Görlitz arena—seemed tense as she rode in. But after the salute, she was fully in the zone and focused on her tasks. Under her previous rider, Anne-Mette Strandby Hansen, the mare sometimes seemed almost frantic. Under Dorothee Schneider, she was able to breathe deeply and move with a free, flowing stride, without losing any of her drive or energy.

The horse’s mouth was still quite restless during the first trot reprise, but not resistant, and it improved steadily as the exercise progressed. The walk pirouettes were a highlight. In the canter pirouette to the right, it would have been nice to see a bit more maintenance of the canter stride; in the one to the left, it went much better.

Olympic champion Heike Kemmer took on the role of commentator for today’s rides and raved: “She came in with a slightly short canter stride at first, but then began to loosen up nicely during the trot sequence and really showed her trot potential on the diagonals.”

Kemmer also highlighted the “outstanding” double half-trot half-passes as well as the “really, really good” walk pirouettes.

Commenting on the canter pirouettes, she said, “She might be coming back a little too much there. Then she has to balance herself and might end up jumping a bit short. But you can see that she has the talent to carry the weight, and that will definitely pay off later,” she said, already looking ahead to the Grand Prix.

Dorothee Schneider: “Goosebumps”

That’s the goal, of course. What makes Dorothee Schneider’s mare “something truly special”? “It’s the combination of the quality of her movement, her ambition, and her willingness to collect.” And the feeling she gives her: “I have to say, I have goosebumps today—not because I’m cold, but simply because this horse is a joy to ride.”

Compared to yesterday, she was even able to step it up a notch. “That was our first competition together yesterday. I was still a little more cautious then because I couldn’t quite gauge her reactions yet. But I noticed that the mare is super cool during the test. So I thought, I’ll take it up a notch today, because she can trot, she can gallop! I thought, let’s show that today.”

It worked out. The judges liked it, too: a victory with 74.293 percent, nearly three percent more than the rest of the field.

Another new pair in second place

Dorothee Schneider and Valerie B weren’t the only standout performers this weekend in Görlitz. The others were Carina Scholz and the licensed Oldenburg stallion Matisse GG OLD by Morricone-Don Olymbrio, bred and owned by Muriel Leontine Blackstone Rosie. This highly elegant black horse had previously been ridden by Claudia Rüscher, with whom he placed eighth in the Bundeschampionat final as a five-year-old and went on to win the small final as a six-year-old. In 2024, he competed in only one tournament, an M**-level class. That was over a year ago, and now Matisse has reappeared in Görlitz under Carina Scholz.

Yesterday in the qualifying round, the former national team rider played it safe and finished sixth with just under 70 percent (69.951). Today, in the actual final qualifying round, she, too, braved the weather and stepped it up a notch: 71.463 percent for second place.

Carina Scholz couldn’t stop praising the black horse as she rode toward the exit, and Heike Kemmer was also thrilled:

“It started off so well—entering the arena, coming to a halt—it was perfect. Then it really took off in one smooth, flowing motion. The first strong trot was already very good, then it transitioned very harmoniously into the double half-traverses with good posture and bend. Smooth transition into the walk sequence, and there was nothing to fault in the pirouettes. And today’s canter sequence was already much better than yesterday’s—though perhaps a few of the changes could have been a bit shorter here and there. But the horse was clearly (!) more responsive to the aids today. The final backing-up exercise is also worth mentioning. The horse stood perfectly, took four steps backward, and trotted off in a dead straight line. So I thought it was really great!”

Bouten rounds out the top three

Matthias Bouten opened the competition on Ibiza’s daughter Diniza with a score of 69.049 percent and also closed it out. His second horse was the nine-year-old Fürstenball son Firmino VS, bred by Volker Schmale-Steinkamp, whom he began riding last year after leaving Bavaria to return to the Rhineland. Görlitz was the third Burg Cup stop the gelding had competed in this season, following Hagen and Balve, and each time he was able to step it up a notch. The first line-up was frustrating, as Bouten seemed to have briefly thrown Firmino off balance right in front of the entire parade, forcing him to jump around the obstacle. But the rest went “pretty well” for them, and the final score was 71.244 percent—their best result of the season so far.

This put them in third place ahead of Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on Feliciana BB (70.829) and Bernadette Brune on San to Alati FRH (70.268)—the horse that was unable to compete for the title of Bundeschampion—who also completed his third Burg-Pokal qualifier in Görlitz and made it into the top 12 for the first time, joining the group competing for a spot in the final.

The Perfect Finale: A Special Victory with Karlijn for Schneider

Dorothee Schneider probably won’t forget this weekend in Görlitz anytime soon—three horses, six classes, all won. While the two young horses, Barcelo OLD and Valerie B, shone in the junior classes, it was the 11-year-old Governor daughter Karlijn V. who dominated the CDI3* series. After winning the Grand Prix, she also secured victory in today’s Special, this time with a score of 70.94 percent.

Once again, last year’s Louisdor Prize finalists, Juliane Brunkhorst and Diamante Negro, came up short with 69.11 percent. Third place went to Diana Porsche riding Charlotte Dujardin’s 2023 European Championship silver medalist, Imhotep (68.60). Another Louisdor finalist also finished in fourth place by the narrowest of margins: the nine-year-old Chere Celine OLD with her trainer Lena Haßmann (68.40).

You can find all the results from Görlitz here.