DRESSPROD

Hannu Haakon, the Trakehner licensing vice-Champion, has been sold by his owners, Lars and Nicole Derlin, to Andreas Helgstrand. Bred in Germany at Gestüt Gut Staffelde, this son of Scaglietti and Millenium went through his studbook's auction sales in 2023. Licensed last November in Neumünste, where he was named Reserve Champion, Hannu Haakon competed in a few classes for three-year-olds this year with Cecilie Hedegaard, notably earning a score of 10 for both his walk and can

Previously ridden by Dinja van Liere—with whom he competed up to the Small Tour level—Independent Little Me now has a new rider, who is Dutch nonetheless. Bred by Marc Rothengatter and Renata van Steijn, this son of UNO Don Diego and San Remo passed through the Borculo foal auction in 2013. Presented for KWPN licensing in 2016, he subsequently competed under Dinja van Liere; together, they participated in the 2019 World Championships for 6-year-olds, finishing seventh with a

Bad news from the Danish dressage scene: Svalegårds Hot Driver, Carina Cassøe Krüth’s up-and-coming horse, has died prematurely following a tragic accident in the stable. This son of Hesselhøj Donkey Boy and Blue Hors Hotline was considered one of the most promising prospects of his generation. Bred by Else Marie and Jens Chr. Krabbe at Svalegård and licensed by the DWB in 2022, he was named Champion Stallion of his generation at age three and subsequently won the Danish Cham

International dressage has just lost one of its most iconic Lusitanos: Fogoso, who made breed history at the Tokyo Olympics under Portuguese rider Rodrigo Torres, has died. Bred at Coudelaria Torres Vaz Freire—Rodrigo Torres’s family stud—Fogoso was the son of Rico and Amélia (by Raja). Trained to Grand Prix level by his rider, the grey stallion burst onto the elite scene in 2019, the year he became Portuguese Champion and helped Portugal win the Nations Cup at Hickstead. How

The 2026 World Dressage Championships got underway at 8:20 a.m. today. The schedule for today and Wednesday features the Grand Prix, split into two groups; tomorrow's final standings will determine the team rankings. The stakes are high for the 19 nations fielding teams: they are vying to finish among the top six—excluding the United States—thereby securing qualification for the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Data specialist David Stickland recently highlighted the scores needed

While French dressage will be represented this week in Aachen by the four combinations selected by the FFE, French breeding will also be prominently seen through no fewer than three horses, enough to form a theoretical team, all bred by Sylvain Massa. Three horses, three riders, three nations… and a single breeding farm. In Aachen, where the world’s top combinations are gathering this week for the World Championships, the Massa stud farm boasts a truly unique level of represe