The results of the short VA in Vechta

Three days on site, one day under the eyes of the evaluation committee with their own rider, then the next day the external rider test – this is what the dressage stallions’ short VA looks like.

The jumping stallions are also on site for three days, but are only tested in free jumping on the first day and can take another look at the indoor arena with obstacles later on. On the second day of the test, individual jumps and then jumping sequences are tested.

The judging committee for the dressage stallions consisted of Peter Olsson and Klaus Storbeck as judges and Marco Bührig and Sina Aringer as external riders. The discipline expert for dressage and jumping was Richard Hannöver. He sat at the judging table for the show jumping stallions together with Hubert Uhus and Reinhard Lütke-Harmann. Bernd Osterkamp was assigned as an external rider.

The dressage stallions

At the stallion market following the Hanoverian licensing in 2024, the Va’ Pensiero-De Niro-Lauries Crusador xx son bred by Thomas Heuer in Bienenbüttel was relatively cheap at 43,000 euros. The bay is now called Valerian and competed in Vechta for Damil Dressage GbR. Here he swept the competition – including stallions that were awarded prizes at the same licensing – off the table in terms of scores: 9.0 in trot, 8.5 in canter, 8.1 in walk, 9.5 in rideability and 9.0 in willingness to perform. This resulted in a weighted final score of 8.87 and thus the best of all test results.

Framington by Franklin-Romanov-Fidermark, another candidate for the 2024 Verden licensing, received the second-highest score, costing 38,000 euros. The bay stallion from the P & S horse breeding farm in Farven was registered in Vechta by Michael Schenk and presented by his son Jakob. He impressed with a trot score of 8.6 and a canter score of 8.8, plus a walk of 8.0, rideability of 9.0 and willingness to perform of 8.6, resulting in an overall score of 8.64.

Premium and champion stallions

Among the “celebrities” in the lot was the Secret son Segantini Due. It is no coincidence that the colourful black stallion bred by Dr. Christine Feichtinger and owned by the Celle State Stud bears this name. He is the brother of Dorothee Schneider’s former Bundeschampion and World Championship finalist Segantini. At the Verden stallion market, Celle’s state stable master Dr. Axel Brockmann won the bid at 275,000 euros. He has now completed a “good” test in Vechta in the truest sense of the word with a score of 8.0. The individual scores: trot 8.3, canter 7.9, walk 7.2, rideability and willingness to perform 8.3 each.

The Trakehner champion stallion from 2024, Havertz by Blanc Pain-Millennium-K2, was also tested. The bay stallion bred by Michaela Boehn was officially sold to Gestüt Sprehe for 420,000 euros at the auction. Stable rider Beatrice Arturi presented him in Vechta. With individual scores of 8.2 (trot), 8.0 (canter), 7.1 (walk), 7.5 (rideability) and 8.0 (willingness to perform), he completed his test with a weighted final score of 7.71.

Jumping stallions

A Hanoverian stallion also came out on top in the show jumping class, this time one from the Celle State Stud: Visconti by Valensky-Classe-Catrick, bred by Rainer Schulz in Burgdorf and presented to the judging committee by Christopher Dittmann. They were delighted with the gray horse. They gave him a 9.0 for jumping, 9.2 for rideability and 8.8 for willingness to perform, plus 7.4 for trot, 8.5 for canter and 7.0 for walk. This meant a weighted final score of 8.76.

The Stakkato Gold-Julio-For Pleasure son Starline scored three times 9.0 for jumping ability, rideability and willingness to perform. He is also a Hanoverian and was bred by Gestüt Sprehe. He goes by the name of Starline, was a premium stallion at the 2024 licensing in Verden and was then officially sold for 100,000 euros. However, Gestüt Sprehe was still the applicant in Vechta, where he is also listed as a stallion. Today he was the second best test candidate with a score of 8.68. His basic gaits were rated 7.0, 8.2 and 7.7.

Casotoki by Casolo-Catoki-Balou du Rouet, a Holsteiner bred and owned by Tjark Witt and ridden by Marten Witt, received the highest score of 9.2 for his jumping ability. The rideability was rated 8.5, the willingness to perform 8.8 and the basic gaits 7.2, 8.6 and 7.4. Final result: 8.64, third place.