Newsletter Equi Pages May 18, 2026: Derby, Viva Gold, Dante's Pearl and FN discussion on young horse training

What a special week it was! Even the days leading up to the long sports weekend with the German Show Jumping and Dressage Derby in Hamburg, the Pferd International in Munich and the Nations Cup in Marbach were packed full. Full of dates and information.

Young horses

First of all, there was the panel discussion in Warendorf, in which FN President Martin Richenhagen spoke about young horses with, among others, Dr. Kirsten Tönnies, a whale rescuer who, as we now know, has not been successful in the long term. An illustrious panel – and an important debate. My colleague Dominique Wehrmann was there and describes the exchange.

When someone asks me about top-class sport and animal welfare, I like to cite eventing as an example. Thirty years ago, animal rights activists chained themselves to obstacles and there were frequent protests because there were too many accidents. As a result, the sport was reformed, you could say it reinvented itself. Since then, shining lights of equestrian sport such as Michael Jung, Julia Krajewski and Ingrid Klimke have been the faces of a sport that lives and breathes partnership.

Luhmühlen has big plans

And that brings us to Luhmühlen, where the world’s top riders will be gathering in a few weeks’ time. Construction work is underway on the course. 13 new obstacles, mostly equipped with safety systems, are being built. And Luhmühlen also has a lot planned beyond the sport. We will be publishing more about this on EQUI PAGES later this week.

Dressurmomente, in Hamburg …

There were many special sporting moments last weekend. Isabell Werth won in Hamburg – so good, so expected. But the way the Olympic champion rode her two horses was something special: she rode her European Championship mare Wendy, first choice for the World Championships in Aachen in August, one-handed in the series changes to have the other hand free for praise. I spoke to her about this change of strategy and her enthusiasm for the stallion Viva Gold, with whom she won the German Dressage Derby. This interview will also soon be available on EQUI PAGES. ( A little tip: Under REPORTS you will find features, commentaries and interviews – just surf in, there are opinions and home stories, longer researched articles to read on the sofa. Or wherever ).

… and in Munich

The second special dressage moment was the victory of Dante’s Pearl and Charlott-Maria Schürmann in the Grand Prix Special in Munich. Since this ride, the term “world class” can be used with confidence when talking about these two.

Keyword “full weekend” – that was also positive: there is a lot of talk about how popular equestrian sport still is. The social license debate, videos of warm-up arenas, etc. In Hamburg, which presented itself from its northern German bad weather side, the crowds were packed around the stadium and celebrated every combination that came over the Derby course. Despite the rain, wind and single-digit temperatures. That shows: Equestrian sport has its importance. Even beyond the “bubble”. And that somehow makes us optimistic.

GOT

I have one more TV tip: on Tuesday, May 19, SWR will be broadcasting a documentary about the GOT. Hopefully it will also be seen in political Berlin. After talking to those involved, I have cautious hopes that something will change in terms of veterinary costs after all.

Finally: CHIO becomes TSCHIO: The Grand Prix of Aachen next weekend is already taking place in May due to the World Championships in August. Aachen is calling and the whole world is coming to test the WEG candidates once again on the sacred turf before the WEG. We will keep you up to date on the starting field and everything else on EQUI PAGES.

With this in mind, best regards and see you next Monday!

Jan Tönjes

jan.toenjes@equi-pages.de

This text was first published on May 18, 2026. Every Monday, Jan Tönjes comments on the events of the previous week in our newsletter on EQUI PAGES.

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