Sky Wins the Class S Dressage Competition at the Agravis Cup in Oldenburg, Ahead of Two Other Burg-Pokal Horses

The arena was still pretty empty when the seven- to nine-year-old young dressage horses kicked off the 2026 Agravis Cup in Oldenburg this morning at 7:45 a.m. It’s a shame, really, because there was quite a bit to see. For example, the fourth pair to enter the arena shortly after 8:00 a.m.: Bianca Nowag-Aulenbrock and the Hanoverian stallion Sky by Sezuan. The former premium stallion and top prize winner of the Hanoverian Stallion Markets, owned by the Schönweide estate, has found the right rider in Nowag-Aulenbrock to succeed Ann-Kathrin Lachemann, with whom he had won the 2025 National Championship for seven-year-old dressage horses. When Sky, with his new rider, in Balve When they qualified for the Burg Cup, they had only been a pair for a few weeks. Now they’re a team. Today, they wowed the audience with a beautifully flowing trot sequence featuring superb contact and an equally impressive canter sequence. Only in the walk would one have wished for a bit more effort in the extended walk and a more accentuated rhythm in the collected walk. But all in all, it was a wonderful performance, which was scored at 75.427 percent.

Second place for Valerie

Sezuan had two direct descendants and one grandson competing in this class. Dorothee Schneider, the rider who once trained Sezuan herself and turned him into a three-time world champion, presented a different horse of Danish breeding today: the eight-year-old Revolution daughter Valerie, who is now called “Famos Valerie” so that the Famos stud farm can be recognized as the owner. Schneider and Valerie have been a team for several months, and right at their first competition in Görlitz, they convincingly qualified for the Nuremberg Burg Cup. They’ve already made a strong impression today.

Here, too: a magnificent trot with a beautiful side profile. In the two World Championship appearances Valerie made as a five- and six-year-old with Anne-Mette Strandby Hansen—then a rider for the Helgstrand stable— and in which she won the qualifiers both times only to finish fourth in the finals, the mare displayed so much drive and forward momentum that you couldn’t help but think “Brrr” and “Hoooh” to yourself. In the meantime, her tremendous thrust has also transformed into carrying power. In the pirouettes—especially the one to the left—she could have been a bit more balanced, and one would have liked to see the flying changes executed with a bit more ease and fluidity through the body. But all in all, it was a great round, which was rewarded with a score of 74.786 percent.

Burg Cup Finalist and Third in Line to the Sezuan Inheritance

As is well known, Sezuan is now a gelding. It’s a shame, really, because today’s competition in Oldenburg served as a great showcase for him as a sire. Third place went to a grandson, the Hanoverian stallion San to Alati FRH, whose sire, Secret, is the most important line holder of the Sezuan line. After the nine-year-old dark chestnut received his basic training from Stefanie Viehoff-Wolf and competed with her twice at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses, owner Bernadette Brune has been riding him herself since 2025. Last year, they were still taking tentative steps in Class S. This year, they qualified in Elmlohe for the Nuremberg Burg-Pokal Final, meaning that Brune will now compete with two horses on the last weekend of Advent at the Festhalle in Frankfurt: with San to Alati in the Burg-Pokal and with the 10-year-old Vaderland OLD—who will also be competing in Oldenburg in the “Stars of Tomorrow” competition – in the Louisdor Prize.

San to Alatis Frankfurt’s dress rehearsal today went well. Over the past few years, the stallion has gained strength and, as a result, better collection and drive. He is also very well-balanced, which makes him reliable in the dressage movements—except for a minor slip-up during the last of the three four-beat changes. The walk sequence was also successful, for example, both in extended and collected walk. With a score of 72.520 percent, the duo from Westerstede took third place.

Former “Burg-Pokal” Contender in Fourth Place

Behind the three top contenders for the

Burg-Pokal

, a finalist from last year’s competition took

fourth place

: the nine-year-old Westphalian Voller Emotionen by Vitalis, ridden by Stella Charlott Roth. At last year’s final in Frankfurt, Stella’s former trainer, Dorothee Schneider, was still in the saddle because Stella was expecting her first child. Now that the baby has arrived, she is back in the saddle herself—today securing a strong fourth-place finish in the high-caliber field with a score of 71.5 percent.

Ponies in Class S and above are on the rise. After Steendiek’s Derrick won the Southern Final of the “Derby Stars of Tomorrow” at Gut Ising, the stunningly beautiful palomino stallion Dream Date will compete in the Agravis Cup Youngster Tour. Danica Duen has successfully presented the nine-year-old stallion by Dating AT NRW from his first riding horse class all the way up to Class M**. Carina Scholz has been in the saddle since this year, and what the pair showed today in Oldenburg was very impressive. However, with a score of 71.330 percent, they just missed the podium.

You can find all the results from Oldenburg here.