The 2025 European Championships in Crozet were the first championships for João Pedro Moreira and Fürst Kennedy. They qualified for the freestyle and finished 16th. photo: Sportfotos-lafrentz.de João Pedro Moreira and his wife Marta have been living in Germany, more precisely in Telgte, for 13 years. Their stables are in Lienen. They came here with a clear goal: to become better riders and make it to the top of the sport. Germany was their first choice. As João says: “I’m a big soccer fan. And riding here in Germany is like playing soccer in the Champions League. You ride against the best with the best horses, the champions. This environment motivates you to work harder and believe in yourself.”
Yet both the 40-year-old and his wife have actually learned other professions. Marta Moreira studied English language and literature. João trained in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. Neither of them come from a horse family and it was clear to their parents that they should learn something “proper” first. But horses always came first for Marta and João. They had already earned their living riding horses in Portugal.
The tasks are clearly divided: João takes care of the horse training, while Marta pulls the strings behind the scenes, acting as trainer, organizer and groom all in one. They have given their stable the name “From 3 2 GP” to make it clear that the horses are trained here from remonte to Grand Prix level.
From zero to Grand Prix
João Pedro Moreira rides all his horses himself, whether they are three-year-olds or ready for Grand Prix. And preferably stallions. He says: “Sometimes it’s quite exciting. But we really enjoy it. We compete at Grand Prix level and want to win major championships, but working with the young horses is just as important to us. We believe that the bond and trust you build by growing up together from the beginning is something very special.”
In fact, they only have horses in their stables that they train for the long term, says Marta Moreira: “That’s the only way we want to work. We don’t want to treat horses like machines. Thanks to our partners, we can stay true to this vision. If we couldn’t do it this way, we wouldn’t be doing it at all.”
One of the stable’s hopes is Drosa Venturini, a now six-year-old son of Vivino out of a Top Gear dam. The Oldenburg stallion’s competition appearances are few and far between. So far in his life, he has competed in one elementary class dressage test for young horses. That was in March last year in Ankum, where they came third with a final score of 7.54. Moreira has high hopes for the stallion, perhaps as early as this year: “If he continues to develop so well, we could aim for the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Verden.”
The black pony
João’s successful horse Drosa Fürst Kennedy also came into the stable at a young age and made his way into top sport via junior competitions. The first name is derived from the stallion’s owner, Roberto Pedrosa from Haras do Drosa in Brazil. The Fürsten-Look son, bred in Lewitz, was two and a half years old when João Pedro Moreira discovered and bought him.
Regular visitors to the Bundeschampionat may have noticed the black stallion as a five-year-old, although he didn’t make it past the small final back then. But even then he was so likeable and motivated that you simply had to like him. He also competed in Warendorf as a six-year-old and secured an excellent fifth place in the qualifier. However, he was obviously tired in the final. Shortly afterwards, he qualified for the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses as the winner of the Small Final. Here he finished eleventh. His big moment came a year later.
Starry hour in the fog
The eleventh of September promised to be a beautiful day at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Ermelo. But when João Pedro Moreira and Fürst Kennedy opened the final of the seven-year-olds at 9 o’clock in the morning, the sun’s rays still had to fight their way through the thick fog and you could barely see what was going on in the C class. But it was worth seeing! João Moreira and his little black horse delivered a picture-book ride with freshness, lightness and the finest contact, taking the lead for a long time. In the end, they came fourth. But anyone who saw the performance will remember this pair.
Prince Kennedy took a break from competition in 2023. When he returned in 2024, he was ready for the Grand Prix. And successful. From their first appearances in Le Mans to Jardy in June, they were able to increase their ratings by five to six percent. They were nominated to take part in the Olympic Games in Paris. A dream came true. But it turned into a nightmare.
By a thread
Moreira and Prince Kennedy were in top form and ready for anything. But one day before the Grand Prix, the black horse suddenly showed symptoms of colic. And it wasn’t just a slight stomach ache, it was severe. João: “Fortunately, we noticed the colic in time. He was operated on. And then began a long period of rehabilitation.
Prince Kennedy underwent surgery in July. The stallion had complete rest until the beginning of November. They were only able to start walking him in mid-November. In December, he could be ridden cautiously again. But then he recovered quickly. The pair celebrated their comeback in Herning in March, where they came third in the Grand Prix and sixth in the freestyle.
João attributes the fact that everything happened so quickly not least to the stallion’s character. “Kennedy was always very healthy. The way he recovered was incredible. Everything is easy with him. He is such an uncomplicated horse. Everything feels easy with him and that’s because of his personality. He is very special to us, a family member, a friend.”
This is precisely why Marta Moreira says they were less interested in her husband getting his Olympic horse back than in saving Kennedy as a family member. “After the operation, all that mattered to us was that he survived and that he recovered as a horse. Only then did we think about whether he would return to the sport.”
All horses are also given the time they need for their sporting development. João Moreira knows that you can afford this with owners like Roberto Pedrosa: “Because we don’t get any pressure from the owners, we can take the time we think the horses need,” he says. “We live for our horses. They are not a means to an end for us to achieve our goals.”
Goal World Cup
The next goal is now the World Championships in Aachen. “We are working slowly but steadily towards that,” he says. “Fürst Kennedy now knows all the lessons. He is only ten years old, now we can concentrate on refining him. It is wonderful to see how he is developing, both as a horse and as an athlete.”
This is an edited/added press release from the FEI
