CCI4*-S and more from Strzegom

Victory in the CCI4*-S went to Australia to 26-year-old Olivia Barton on the ten-year-old APH Sodoku. The gelding, who goes back to Ramiro on his father’s side, was eight years old when Olivia (who was already second at the CCI5*-L in Adelaide) presented him at four-star level for the first time. Since then, they have finished several competitions at this level, but never in the top places. Until today.

They started their weekend in midfield with a dressage score of 33.9 penalty points. They remained clear in the show jumping and were one of the fastest pairs in the cross-country with 4.4 time faults. That was enough, 38.3 minus points meant the first four-star victory for the pair.

Polar dancing at its best

Felix Etzel’s partner of many years, TSF Polartanz, is now 15 years old. The Trakehner of the Year 2025 by Konvoi and his rider have plenty of competition experience together. This is their eighth season together in international sport. Last year, they were victorious in Wiesbaden, among others. They started this season with a third place in the CCI3* in Kronenberg (with dressage result) and traveled to Strzegom well prepared.

The dressage result of 35.9 minus points was significantly worse than one would expect from the pair. They have already mastered four-star dressage tests with less than 30 minus points. But the rest was in their usual form – zero in jumping and at the cross-country obstacles, only 5.5 time faults, second place with 41.1 minus points in the final standings.

The runners-up of the CCI5*-L in Luhmühlen 2025, Samantha Lissington and Ricker Ridge Sooty GNZ, were beaten by two tenths. They were fourth after the dressage, but not only picked up 5.2 time faults in the cross-country, but also 4.4 penalty points in the course.

Four more Germans in the top ten

Arne Bergendahl and his 14-year-old grey mare Luthien NRW by La Calido, bred by the family, are the only German pair on the list of participants for Badminton this year. This weekend they showed that they are ready. The gray mare certainly doesn’t lack talent for boring dressage work, but she does lack patience. They started the weekend in 18th place with 37.1 penalty points. However, she showed all her quality in the show jumping and cross-country with a superior zero faults at the jumps and only 4.4 time faults. The pair finished fourth with 41.5 penalty points.

Ben Leuwer has a very promising horse under the saddle with the nine-year-old Holstein gray Zuccini MN by Zuccero. The pair made their four-star debut in Strzegom in October. At that time, they still had a runner-up in the cross-country. This weekend they delivered the best dressage result of all participants with 28.6 minus points. They had one knockdown in the course, but were clear at the obstacles in the cross-country, finishing with just ten time faults. With 42.6 penalty points in the final standings, they finished sixth overall.

European team champion Libussa Lübbeke and her top mare Caramia FRH were, as always, in commanding form in dressage and show jumping. In the cross-country, however, Libussa and the 16-year-old Comte daughter from the family’s own breeding had to accept nine penalty points for a “missed flag” in addition to six time faults. This meant a total of 45 penalty points and seventh place.

Felix Etzel was probably even more pleased with his ninth place with his future hope Benoit Bold than with his second place with veteran Polartanz. It was the second four-star appearance for the nine-year-old Hanoverian by Bonaparte AA. The pair made their debut last September at the Nations Cup in Lignières, France, where their cross-country journey came to an end after a rider fell. Now in Strzegom, things went much better in the cross-country with only 7.6 time faults. These added up to 41 minus points after dressage and jumping. The final result was 48.6 penalty points, a ninth place.

Wahler and his new guy

Since last year, team world champion Christoph Wahler has had reinforcement for his top horse D’Accord in the form of the ten-year-old Selle Français gelding Gainsbourg de Bedon in his stable. He had been trained by Stephane Landois. The CHIO Aachen 2025, which they finished with 12.4 time faults in the cross and two knockdowns, was their last competition together. The gray horse now belongs to the von Paepcke family. The 15-year-old Justus von Paepcke is the lucky one to learn from Wahler’s former championship horse Carjatan S.

And Christoph Wahler is the lucky one who, with Gainsbourg de Bedon, has a new gray horse with star potential under his saddle, as he demonstrated this weekend in the CCI3*-S in Strzegom. They started their competition with 29.2 minus points after the dressage and finished with 29.2 minus points.

Only Dutch rider Merel Blom-Hulsman and her eight-year-old OS gelding Checkpoint, who finished with a dressage score of 27.4 minus points, were better.

With the nine-year-old Stolzenberg son Steppke, Wahler was also pleased with sixth place. There was still room for improvement in the dressage, 34.1 minus points. But as they left it at that in the cross-country and course, they were able to work their way up ten places.

Right behind him was Arne Bergendahl on the eight-year-old Westphalian mare Call Me Pucky. Here, 2.4 time faults in the cross-country were added to 31.9 penalty points from the dressage.

Double victory for Siemer with hopes for the future

Anna Siemer has had a promising new horse in her stable since this season: the Trakehner stallion Sturmpfeil by Under Fire. The Kostolany great-grandson was previously known under Jérôme Robiné, who rode him to silver twice at the Bundeschampionat. Sturmpfeil also celebrated his first international successes with Robiné in the saddle, winning up to CCI2*-S with him. However, the 2025 season ended with falls at two tournaments in a row, first of the rider, then of the horse.

At the CCI2*-S in Luhmühlen at the end of March, Anna Siemer sat in the saddle of the black horse for the first time and rode him to 13th place. This weekend went a whole lot better. With 24.9 penalty points, they had the second-best dressage and only 0.8 time faults in the cross-country. They therefore finished their weekend in second place.

Only Sturmpfeil’s stablemate Kiss Me, a nine-year-old Holstein mare by Diamar, who has been shown by Anna Siemer since 2022, was better. She had received 22.3 penalty points for her dressage and also only had 0.8 time faults in the cross-country.

The German quartet at the top was completed by Ben Leuwer on Hanami in third place with their dressage score of 27.1 minus points ahead of Nicolai Aldinger and Giganta, who started and finished with 30.2 minus points.

Incidentally, this is the first season in which Ben Leuwer is presenting the nine-year-old two-time Bundeschampionat finalist Hanami, bred and owned by Gestüt Fohlenhof. Until now, the mare had always been ridden by his wife Pia. Last fall, they were placed at four-star level for the first time. However, the couple are expecting their first child together this summer, so for now the father-to-be has the pleasure of riding the Westphalian daughter of the Heraldik xx grandson Hambacher.

You can find all the results from Strzegom here.