Sports break for Most Wanted Nero by Bellin

It was a race to catch up that the KWPN stallion Most Wanted Nero by Bellin and his trainer Leonie Richter put in last year at the World Championships for seven-year-old dressage horses in Verden. In the first qualifier, the still inexperienced stallion was still too nervous. They finished in 15th place, but he showed what he is capable of in the small final. With a victory, he secured his ticket for the final, where the pair had a great time and won silver with 79.307 percent (quality 87.4, technical score 71.214 percent).

Leonie Richter said at the time: “A year ago, we started from nothing. At the first inspection, you could tell that he wasn’t really ready yet.” That is why they were not nominated by the Dutch association for Verden straight away. However, when Rose Oatley had to withdraw because the FEI regulations prohibited her from taking part in both the European Young Rider Championships and a senior championship in the same season, Richter and Most Wanted Nero von Bellin were able to move up. The fact that they also took the “second educational route” here was an advantage from Richter’s point of view: “I noticed here that he got more self-confidence from day to day and became more relaxed in the test.”

She reported at the time that the goal for the 2026 season could be the Nuremberg Burg Pokal. In principle, nothing stands in the way of this, even if the black stallion now returns home to be there for the mares.

2026 breeding season

As Eurodressage reports, the stallion’s owners, Marc and Monic Schmidheiny from Bellin Stud, have decided to give the stallion a break from training over the breeding season and bring him home. Here they want to spoil their beloved stallion and give him an extensive wellness program so that he can return to Leonie Richter fresh and rested in July, said Monic Schmidheiny.

In theory, there would still be time to qualify for the Nuremberg Burg Cup. The beautiful black stallion, who comes from the same dam line as Sönke Rothenberger’s Cosmo, has already covered for two seasons. In 2024 and 2025, 60 foals were born, of which more than 20 received a premium from their respective associations, according to Eurodressage. Five competed at the German Foal Championships in Lienen, where two were crowned champions.

Leonie Richter has another stallion from the Schmidheinys under her saddle, the now five-year-old Lord Europe son Louis Löwenherz by Bellin. The Hanoverian black stallion was vice-champion of the four-year-old stallions in Verden last year and took bronze at the Bundeschampionat in Warendorf.