2026 Louisdor Prize: Isabell Werth's qualifying victory at Anakenenhof with Back for Good Disqualified

It looked like yet another one of those Isabell Werth stories: Suddenly and unexpectedly, the most successful dressage rider of all time comes out of nowhere with a horse that very few people know and no one had on their radar, and “just like that” qualifies for the final of the Louisdor Prize. That’s exactly what happened three weeks ago with the Brandenburg gelding Back for Good at the Anakenenhof in Pinneberg near Hamburg. The pair had won both the preliminary test and the actual qualifier with high scores from the judges.

Violation of the competition rules

It has now come to light, however, that the chestnut horse should never have been allowed to compete. The reason is that horses competing in the Louisdor Prize final qualifiers must have placed in S-level dressage competitions. This Brandenburg-bred horse did not meet that criterion. Although he had competed twice in S-level dressage classes—once in 2024 and once in 2025—the son of Ben Benicio did not place in either event. As a result, he should not have been allowed to travel to Pinneberg at all.

This detail had apparently been overlooked, so Werth rode the talented chestnut—owned by multiple Austrian national champion Victoria Max-Theurer —to what was thought to be a qualifying victory there. As Pferdesport Deutschland confirmed to EQUI PAGES, the pair has since been disqualified from both classes. However, on the morning of September 21, the two were still listed as winners of both classes on the FN-Erfolgsdaten website. This is expected to be corrected shortly.

Bernadette Brune and Vaderland OLD will be competing in Frankfurt

For the field of competitors in Frankfurt, this means that Frederic Wandres and Veuve Cliquot —as the winners of the qualifying round at the Anakenenhof—can look forward to competing at the Frankfurt Festhalle on the fourth weekend of Advent. They would have qualified anyway, since they were already in the running as the current second-place finishers.

But Bernadette Brune is likely even happier, having posted the third-best round at the Anakenenhof and now having secured her spot in the Louisdor Prize final with her Oldenburg stallion, Vaderland OLD.

One More Round

The final

round

of the Louisdor Prize will take place from October 8 to 11 in Guxhagen-Dörnhagen. The final will be held on the fourth weekend of Advent, from December 16 to 20, at the Festhalle in Frankfurt. Isabell Werth will likely not be there, unless St. Nicholas or other forces have a surprise in store.