Richard Vogel's United Touch S, the all-around performer

In 2014, the regional magazine “Reiter & Pferde in Westfalen” published an article about Julius-Peter Sinnack, a baked goods entrepreneur and hobby show-jumping horse breeder. In the article, Sinnack recounts the beginnings of his breeding program with Cantate, the only in-utero daughter of Ludger Beerbaum’s Olympic champion Classic Touch. In 2005, he was able to acquire the Classic Touch daughter by Capitol. She produced foals that grew up to become internationally celebrated show jumpers, such as Deauville S, ridden by Laura Kraut, and Zypria S, ridden by Willem Greve. Cantate’s last foal was born in 2012. At the time of the interview with *Reiter & Pferde*, Sinnack said he had high hopes for this two-year-old. He noted that the horse possessed “clear riding horse qualities and three well-developed basic gaits, as well as powerful and skillful jumping.” The two-year-old’s name: United Touch S.

This stallion is now not only one of the most successful but also one of—if not the—most famous show jumpers in the world. This is not only because he is, among other things, a European Champion and three-time Rolex Grand Prix winner (Geneva 2023, ’s-Hertogenbosch, Aachen 2026), but also because of his appearance. When 146 horses trot past during the vet check, only the judges pay close attention to each one. But when United Touch and Richard Vogel line up for the parade, suddenly everyone is wide awake. It’s hard to resist the beauty and aura of this stallion.

Yet, according to Sinnack himself, conformation is the last thing he looks for in his breeding program. “Beauty is beauty, but it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with performance,” he told his colleagues at the time. United Touch has both. What’s more, he is living proof that Sinnack’s breeding philosophy works perfectly, because his sire, the stallion Untouched by Untouchable, also comes from the Sinnack stud and is a half-brother to United Touch’s dam. He was sold to the Netherlands after his licensing and premium award. But because Sinnack only uses stallions with a proven maternal line, he bred Untouched to his half-sister, Touch of Class by Lux Z. The result: see above. A very close bloodline—in this case, a bull’s-eye.

United Touch S – not quite a superstar yet, but a rising star

That became apparent early on. After United Touch was licensed and awarded prizes in Westphalia in 2014, he was initially stabled with Tobias Schult in Hünxe. He was the show jumping champion of his 30-day test in Neustadt/Dosse. His final score at the time: 9.35. The score for his jumping ability: 10.0.

Hendrik Dowe was entrusted with the basic training of this exceptional talent. With him, United Touch S competed in the National Championship at the age of five. At the time, he was the talk of the entire showground—partly because some suspected the stallion’s massive strides were the result of manipulation. But because he jumped just as well on the last day as he did on the first, he was ultimately awarded the silver medal. Score: 9.6.

After that, things quieted down for a while around the stallion, who was ridden intermittently by the Dutch rider Bart Bles. In 2022, Julius-Peter Sinnack decided to entrust some of his horses to Sophie Hinner. He approached her at one of the training tournaments in Opglabbeek (BEL). “Why not?” she said, and shortly thereafter she had several of his horses in her stable, including United Touch S.

United Touch S and Richard Vogel – the setter duo

But even on her very first ride, the petite Sophie realized that she wasn’t really able to handle the stallion’s huge gallop strides very well. Richard Vogel tried to see if it would work better for him. It did. Julius-Peter Sinnack gave the green light—though not without noting that, while he thought both Hinners and Vogel were good riders, he liked Sophie’s style even better. That comment still stings Vogel deeply. As recently as 2025, he said in an interview with the CHIO Aachen team: “I haven’t forgotten that. I’m trying to work on my style to show that we can do this pretty well, too”—the 29-year-old added with a wink.

Breeder and owner Sinnack saw just how right the decision to entrust United Touch to Richard Vogel had been right from the pair’s very first competition: the 2022 Bundeschampionat. At ten years old at the time, United Touch was actually already too old for it, but that year marked the first time the Grand Prix for Alumni was held—an S**-level show jumping competition with a jump-off for successful Bundeschampionat graduates aged eight and older. Twelve pairs advanced to the jump-off. Vogel and United had only been a team for a few weeks. Nevertheless, the competition stood no chance against the dynamic duo. First Grand Prix, first victory.

Warendorf was just one of many “firsts” the two experienced together — their first victory in a World Cup show jumping competition (a few weeks after Warendorf, in Stuttgart, ahead of Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme), their first appearance in the Aachen Grand Prix, their first Nations Cup Final in Barcelona (which they won), the first victory in a Rolex Major, the first Olympic Games, and the first gold medal at the 2025 European Championships.

One of a kind

Richard Vogel owes much of his rise—climbing several hundred spots in the world rankings over the past five years to his current No. 2 ranking—to United Touch S. Of course, like all his colleagues in this league, he has several five-star horses. But when you ask him what United Touch means to him, he doesn’t hesitate for a second: “A once-in-a-lifetime horse.”

And time and again, Vogel emphasizes just how much of United’s success is due to his groomer, Felicia Wallin. “Felicia is certainly partly responsible for the kind of horse United has grown into.” The young Swede began working for Team VW Equestrian at the same time as Vogel himself. Vogel’s and United’s first experiences were also the Swede’s. She is the one who rides the stallion most often in everyday life—especially on cross-country rides. The two head out into the woods four to five times a week. And United spends every day out in the pasture. Making him happy is her job. She can now focus exclusively on that. When Vogel is away at competitions with other horses, he has a new competition groom who takes care of the horses. Felicia stays home with United and takes care of him and the stable management. Only at the very big tournaments—and specifically when United Touch, aka “UT,” “UTS,” or “Toto” (a beloved child has many names), is competing—does she travel with him. “We’ve realized that because United is so sensitive, having a real point of reference makes a huge difference to him. And of course, it was also Felicia’s wish.” Richard Vogel acknowledges this: Felicia and United—who, by the way, is said to be very picky about the flavors of his treats—are a perfect match. “They go together like A … and a bucket.” And Felicia says, “He’s a thoroughly sweet horse. He has a really good heart!”

But also one that can compete. “United is truly a horse that’s unique in every way,” says Richard Vogel. “Whether it’s his gallop, his jumping ability, or—for those of us who know him well—his character. We’re certain we’ll never have a horse like this in our stable again.”