Charlotta Rogerson and Nice Touch W Qualify for the Final Qualifying Round of the Nuremberg Burg Cup in Darmstadt

This weekend in Darmstadt marks the seventh of a total of eight qualifying events for the Nuremberg Burg Cup. Today’s schedule began with the qualifying round for the special stage. Eighteen pairs had completed their runs, and through the fourth-to-last run, it looked like Lena Haßmann would take the win with her incredibly expressive and talented Vitafina Amour PS von Bellin OLD.

The two had opened the competition with a fantastic ride full of power, but also with some “green” moments. These moments included occasional uncertainties regarding balance and, for example, the flying changes—but above all, the walk, where there is clearly much more potential in terms of suppleness and, consequently, engagement and reach. But the potential for an exceptional dressage horse is certainly there in this daughter of Vitalis, bred by Gestüt Lewitz and owned by Gestüt von Bellin. With a score of 72.902, the pair led the competition for much of the test.

Swiss-Dutch Duo Moves Up

While Lena Haßmann and Vitafina Amour have only been a team since this season, Swiss dressage rider Charlotta Rogerson and her eight-year-old KWPN mare Nice Touch W by Dettori-Florencio have known each other for several years. In 2024, they caused a sensation when they brought home the bronze medal for Switzerland at the World Championships for six-year-old dressage horses in Ermelo.

There was no medal today, but there was a yellow ribbon. With a very confident ride that clearly showed the two are a well-coordinated team, they secured victory in the qualifier for the Burg-Pokal in Darmstadt. A score of 74.366 percent gave them a clear lead. That must have been a great consolation for Rogerson, who, with a heavy heart, had to withdraw from the World Championships in Aachen with her top horse, Bonheur de la Vie.

Belli Goes Burg Cup

. Team world champion Katharina Hemmer secured third place riding the touchingly dedicated Oldenburg mare BreFood’s Total Belize by Total Hope-Bordeaux. Hemmer presented the mare with an exceptionally beautiful side profile and the most confident contact of the three top pairs, and “Belli” made every effort to do everything exactly as her rider desired—which she succeeded in doing. It was the mare’s first appearance in the Burg Cup; she was bred and is owned by Gestüt Fünfhausen GmbH. The only thing she still needs to improve upon today’s score of 72.146 percent is a touch of pep, which should come with experience and confidence.

“The King” and Bacchabundus in fourth place

Moritz Treffinger and the former performance test winner For Kingdom by For Emotion, bred by Lynn Crowden, have hit it off. Treffinger has only been riding the half-brother of former World Dressage Champion Woodlander Farouche for a few months. Darmstadt is their second competition. With a score of 71.780 percent—despite a noisy moment when “King” used the walk-around to catch up a bit with the other horses in the warm-up arena—they placed fourth. They performed particularly well in the canter sequence, showcasing very polished pirouettes and half-passes, as well as expressive changes.

At least in terms of placings, For Kingdom didn’t have to feel alone. With Lena Haßmann’s Bacchabundus—a son of Baron Dimaggio, also registered in Oldenburg—there was a second horse whose performance earned him 71.780 percent and a blue ribbon from the judges. Haßmann has also only been riding this gelding since this season. The chestnut was brought into the sport by Jerome Schneiders, with whom he placed second at the 2024 National Championships for six-year-old dressage horses, tied with Veuve Clicquot, who had just qualified for the Louisdor Prize with Freddy Wandres. Last year, Bacchabundus competed with Tanja Fischer at the National Championship for seven-year-olds.

Tournament Debut for Opoque and Rose Oatley

One of the most interesting horses at the Darmstadt competition grounds today was the seven-year-old KWPN stallion Opoque by All at Once, from the successful KWPN breeding program of Willeke Bos from Stal 104. In 2023, he won the competition for four-year-olds at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses under Danish rider Mette Seijbjerg Jensen, while still owned by the Helgstrand stable. He was then sold, along with other horses, to the Oatley family as a young horse for their daughter Rose, a new U-25 European Champion. She would have qualified with the five-year-old stallion for the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses and represented the KWPN there. But she was also a member of the German team at the European Championships for Young Riders. At the time, FEI regulations did not allow her to compete in both, so Rose had to make a choice. She became the U21 European Champion, and Opoque never set foot on a World Championship arena again. Instead, she’s competing today in the arena in Darmstadt.

It was the first official tournament for the pair, and there were many moments when Opoque wowed the crowd simply with his range of movement. But the dressage movements as well—such as half-passes, flying changes, and, for example, the right-hand pirouette—give a glimpse of where their journey might lead. On the other hand, the youngster made a few mistakes in his dressage movements during his tournament debut.

During the left pirouette, he reared up. Rose calmly parried the move, patted him briefly on the neck to calm him down, and resumed the correct canter. The flying changes could one day become a highlight. But today, where triple changes were called for, there were sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes only one stride in between. The most problematic part, however, was the walk-work. In collected walk, Opoque occasionally stumbled, and even before that, in extended walk, he lacked suppleness. After the counter-canter, the stallion lifted his front legs in a distinctly mechanical manner and only gradually found a more natural rhythm of movement.

All in all, the two scored 70.683 percent and were able to secure a ribbon in the advanced class right in their very first tournament: the green one for sixth place.

Grand Prix Victory for Piaff Development Award Pair

Fiona Serafina Lukas and her 13-year-old Oldenburg horse Aragorn T by Antango were already one of the most impressive pairs at the qualifying tournament for the 2025 Piaff Development Award. They placed second at that event. Yesterday, they won the Intermédiaire II in Darmstadt with an impressive 73.991 percent, their best result to date. Today in the Grand Prix, they followed that up with a victory, scoring 71.740 percent.

Second place went to Pia Hesse-Wischerath, the silver medalist at the German Professional Riders’ Championship, riding Franco Salentino, with a score of 71.060 percent. Sarah Runge followed in third place on Just Romance with a score of 68.160 percent.

Schneider Declines

Dorothee Schneider’s Burg-Pokal winner, Barcelo OLD, competed in his first full-length Grand Prix. The son of Bon Coeur, bred in Denmark, has already secured his spot in the Louisdor Prize since Hamburg. In preparation for his appearance at the Festhalle, where a “real” Grand Prix must be ridden without a whip, Schneider presented Barcelo today in the Grand Prix de Dressage in Darmstadt. She completed the test, though the horse was clearly tense today. Uneven strides crept into the passages, the tail was constantly moving, and the flying changes weren’t released. The high collection exercises—both the piaffes and the pirouettes—went well. Nevertheless, Schneider decided to skip the second salute position and instead let the bay horse chew on the reins while she transitioned to a light trot and praised him appreciatively.