Oldenburg breeder Paul Wendeln celebrates his 95th birthday
Paul Wendeln – 95 Years of Success as an Oldenburg Breeder
from Dominique Wehrmann 
Paul Wendeln with his National Champion Casey OLD, ridden by Hermann Gerdes, along with his son Peter and his wife Hilde Wendeln (from left)
Photo: www.Photo.Equitaris.de Paul Wendeln from Garrel earned his “daily bread” in a different way. But horses had been his great passion since early childhood. Much to his chagrin, however, the young Paul Wendeln was first given a white billy goat instead of a pony. This was no accident, as he had to use that billy goat to deliver goods from his parents’ grocery store to their intended destinations. Paul Wendeln was eventually allowed to learn to ride, though. His true passion, however, was breeding.
Breeding Successes from Garrel
Paul Wendeln pursued his breeding program with the same meticulousness and wisdom that had also made him such a successful entrepreneur. Two mare lines have been maintained in the Wendeln breeding program for nearly 60 years: the Cinderella line for dressage horses and the Juliane III line for show jumpers.
These two dam lines have produced more than 30 licensed stallions, including Warendorf’s leading sire and former National Champion Sir Heinrich OLD. In addition, the Wendeln Stud can boast more than 90 champion and premium mares. The best known of these are likely the champion mares C’Dur, Candy OLD, Jella, and Jurwina.
Horses from the Wendeln stud have also proven themselves in competition. More than 250 competition horses are listed with the FN, including Aquarell PW, a successful competitor in Nations Cups; Aquilino, an international Grand Prix stallion; and Doriano, a Grand Prix winner.
The Cinderella Story
The progenitor of the Wendeln dressage dynasty, the mare Cinderella by Armand, is a representative of the Oldenburg Gouvernante line—or the Dutch Fokfamilie 776, as this line is maintained by both the Oldenburg and the KWPN. Cinderella, a chestnut mare by Armand, was also born in the Netherlands. In 1975, she came to the Wendeln stud as part of a trade—a major deal, as we now know. Cinderella is the progenitor of both the National Champion families Chinchilla, Chrystal, and C’Est la Vie, as well as the National Champion mare C’Dur and the quintet Sir Heinrich OLD, Cindy OLD, Candy OLD, Caty OLD, and Casey OLD. The latter are all full siblings who have achieved something unprecedented to this day: all five became National Champions. At age five, Candy OLD also won bronze at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses and later enjoyed success up to the advanced class.
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The Courage to Be a Half-Blood
The Wendeln Stud wasn’t just known for dressage, however. The second mare line, developed by Paul Wendeln, is based on the half-blood mare Juliane III by Bucephalos xx and has proven to be a reliable source of show jumping talent. For example, the two OS champion mares Jella and Jurwina came from this line, as did the reserve champion mare Jurwina’s Girl. The stable’s star performer is the S-level champion Doriano by Diarado, ridden by Kai Thomann.
Wendeln didn’t just breed good horses; he also discovered them—such as the stallion DSP Cashmoaker, to whom show jumper Denis Nielsen owes his greatest successes, including victory in Germany’s U25 Jumping Cup, the German Championship, and more.
’s Honors
Paul Wendeln has received numerous awards from the Oldenburg Association for his achievements in horse breeding. In 1999, he was awarded the Golden Pin of Honor. In 2025, he received the Golden Pin of Honor with a Diamond—the highest honor the Oldenburg Association can bestow. In his laudatory speech, the then-president of the Oldenburg Horse Breeders’ Association, Dr. Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff, emphasized that Paul Wendeln was being honored not only for his magnificent achievements in horse breeding. He was also highly regarded as a straightforward, generous person who always acted fairly and with poise.
Schulze-Schleppinghoff explicitly included in this praise Paul Wendeln’s wife, Hilde—who not only always supported her husband but whose hospitality is legendary—as well as his son, Peter Wendeln. In 2015, Peter took over management of the family-owned stud farm and seamlessly continued the great successes of his father, Paul Wendeln. The most recent examples are the reigning Oldenburg Vice Show Jumping Champion, O’Hero, ridden by Kai Thomann, and the newly crowned German Amateur Show Jumping Champion, Jurwinas fille, ridden by Gerd Gerdes.
