Dressage Riders on Track for Gold at the European Pony Championships in Le Mans

The Pony European Championships are the only event where all three disciplines come together. Accordingly, the Pony European Championships in Le Mans feature talented riders in dressage, show jumping, and eventing. The dressage riders kicked things off today—and everything went exactly according to plan from Germany’s perspective.

After the first two of the four team riders, Germany leads the field of eleven teams with 147.857 percent, ahead of its longtime rivals from Denmark (146.257) and Sweden (138.485). This comes as no surprise. The times when Germany has NOT won team gold at the European Pony Dressage Championships are far easier to count than the victories. The European Pony Dressage Championships have been held since 1978. Denmark last managed to break Germany’s winning streak in 2019. Great Britain won in 2015, and the Netherlands in 2010, according to statistics compiled by Eurodressage.

Ordered and delivered

The two pairs who performed well in the arena today are, first, Lilli von Helldorff with Nabucco HW, and second, Victoria Winkmann with Peach.

First up were 15-year-old Lilli and her son Nabucco HW, who is eight years younger and by FS Numero Uno. Lilli’s mother, Inga von Helldorff, became known as the trainer of Helen Langehanenberg’s future championship horse, Damsey FRH. Today, she is supporting her daughter, who is competing in her first European Championships in Le Mans. Things couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.

With a score of 74.314 percent—a new personal best for both of them—they not only laid the groundwork for the team medal, but also took the lead in the individual standings of the FEI Team Test. Three of the five judges placed them in first place, while the side judges ranked the pair second.

German Gold Pony Flying the Danish Flag

That was Denmark’s Steffanie Victoria Horsted Dyrlund riding a pony that has already won five European Championship gold medals for Germany: the 11-year-old stallion Cosmo Callidus. This is the second season the pair has competed together. Although they won bronze with the team last year, they were still quite far from the medal positions in the individual competitions. This season, they’ve made a huge leap forward, finishing second today with 73.857 percent—though, as mentioned, the side judges would have placed both of them at the top: Mats Eriksson (SWE) in Group E with 74.714 percent, and Janine van Twist (NED) in Group B with 74.857 percent.

The second Danish pair to score points today were Anna Dora Munch and Del Classico, who received 72.40 percent and are currently in fourth place.

Tomorrow, Filippa Jæger Jensen and Sir Sansibar, as well as Malina Bøgh Skovsager riding Lyngdal’s Mira Puella, will compete for Denmark in the dressage arena. Both Filippa and Malina are riders who regularly achieve scores well above 70 percent.

German Debutant Couple Number Two

Sixteen-year-old Victoria Winkmann and her 15-year-old pony mare, Peach, have practically grown up together. Peach arrived at the Winkmann family’s stable as a young horse. Victoria’s mother, Gabriele Winkmann, a master equine trainer, was supposed to break her in. Apparently, Peach made quite an impression. The Winkmanns bought her when she was six years old. Gabriele Winkmann continued her training and achieved successes with her up to Class M.

When Victoria was eleven years old, she began competing with the mare. In 2024, the pair competed in their first international tournaments. Now they are competing in their first European Championships in their final year in the pony division. The competition got off to a promising start with a round scoring 73.543 percent. This was also a personal best, which currently places them third in the individual standings. Four judges placed them second, while Mats Eriksson ranked them third.

For Germany, Leni-Sophie Gosmann on Diamantini EA WE and Lilly Kasselmann riding Nasdaq FH are expected to secure the gold tomorrow. They are currently the strongest German pony pairs.

You can find all the results from Le Mans here.