Uta Gräf's top Grand Prix hope, "Herzenswunsch," scores first victory at the S*** level

For her S*** debut with her eight-year-old Herzenswunsch, aka “Herzi,” Uta Gräf had chosen the Intermédiaire A competition in Burchköbel-Roßdorf. Twelve pairs competed. The Westphalian son of Helium was by far the youngest horse and also the only one to which the judges awarded a score above 70 percent. With 71.140 percent, the tall bay horse won his first competition—featuring piaffe and passage—by a clear margin. Four weeks earlier, the gelding had also won an S-class dressage horse competition.

Uta Gräf says, “We’re particularly impressed that he’s already making a strong impression with his effortless style right at the start of his Grand Prix journey.”

Herzenwunsch demonstrated as early as March—during the Xenophon Annual General Meeting at the Marbach State Stud—that piaffe and passage come naturally to her, where Gräf showcased her riding and training style with various horses.