2026 National Championships – Qualifying Round for Six-Year-Old Dressage Horses

43 horses competed in the qualifying round for six-year-old dressage horses at the 2026 National Championship and were ranked in two divisions. The best of them all was the Hanoverian stallion Viva Las Vegas RS, one of three Viva Gold offspring out of a dam by Foundation-Stedinger (breeder: Reinhard Baumgartner, owner: Anne Haggenmüller). He was presented by Charlott-Maria Schürmann, who took him over in the middle of last year.

Last year, the pair qualified for the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses, though they did not advance beyond the small final. Now, however, they are on their way to winning the title at the Bundeschampionat. The stallion received a strong 9.22, a 9.6 for his trot, which displayed exceptional freedom in the shoulders (though at times one might have wished for a slightly more actively engaged hind leg), a 9.2 for the well-sprung uphill canter, and an 8.8 for the diligent and rhythmically steady walk with sufficient reach, though it was somewhat unsettled in contact.

The score of 9.0 for suppleness was also generous. Although the stallion performed a truly beautiful test with a confident, relatively upright posture, his contact wasn’t always entirely consistent, and he showed resistance during the backing-up exercise. However, the flying changes were executed very straight and confidently, though the second one was followed by a brief hesitation after the change. The talented stallion received a 9.5 for his potential.

Fiete NRW Under the World Champion

The second horse to receive a gold ribbon was Fiete NRW, a Westphalian son of Fashion in Black-Rock Forever, bred by Robert Drenker and owned by Dr. Peter Brenske, for whom Kira-Laura Soddemann had already won the World Champion of Five-Year-Old Dressage Horses He presented himself simply impressively. Fiete is a highly supple horse with generous reach in all three basic gaits, who already displayed very confident, self-carrying posture and excellent balance. He received a 9.0 in trot, an 8.7 in walk, a 9.0 in canter, plus a well-deserved 9.5 for responsiveness and a 9.1 for perspective. Final score: 9.06.

Fürst FRH narrowly defeated

The current Hanoverian champion, the light-footed, handsome Hanoverian black horse Fürst FRH by Fürst Romancier-Sandro Hit—bred by Gerold Gögele and owned by Gert Saborowski—received a score of 9.04. He received a 9.2 for trot, walk, and prospect, and an 8.8 for canter and suppleness. In the saddle was Kira Goerens-Ripphoff, who presented the black horse in very beautiful lateral movements (especially to the right). The rider had to use a little finesse before the changes today, but he jumped through both of them, albeit with a bit of tension.

The other horse, which placed second in the other division, was the Oldenburg stallion Globall by Global Player out of Fürstenball, bred by Arnold Wegbünder and presented by Eva Möller for Stall Helgstrand, with a score of 8.98. He received a 9.3 for trot, canter, and prospect, and an 8.5 for walk and suppleness.

The two third-place finishers

With six offspring, Secret was the top sire in this qualifier. The best of them was the Hanoverian gelding Sinato, out of a For Romance dam. He is a full brother to World Championship finalist Senza Parole F. Both were bred by Dr. Christine Feichtinger and are ridden by Thomas Schulze, who was pleased with an overall score of 8.7. The individual scores: trot 8.7, walk and canter 8.5, suppleness 9.0, potential 8.8.

The Oldenburg mare Weihforca OLD by Finch Hatton-De Niro is competing in her third National Championship. When a horse’s name includes “Weih” and Christine Arns-Krogmann is both the breeder and owner, you know that a championship title can’t be far off. In this case, she is the great-grandmother. So far, Weihforca’s appearances with Alina Schneider in Warendorf have not yet been crowned with a medal. But maybe this year will be the one. In any case, she already earned a white ribbon today with a score of 8.64, thanks to an 8.6 in trot, 8.2 in walk, 8.6 in canter, 9.0 in responsiveness, and 8.8 for future potential.

You can find all the results here.