The victory in the Small Final for five-year-old dressage horses at the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championships for Young Horses, in the TO Horses Prize, was a family affair through and through. Linnéa Holmgren rode Buskhagas Sanjay to victory. Sanjay was homebred by her mother, Malin Holmgren, who is also in Verden serving as “trainer, groom, hair dresser, mental coach, and basically everything.” Last year, Linnéa also competed in the seven-year-old final in Verden, riding Buskhaga Sitara, a half-sister to Sanjay. Both share the same dam, Sigma, a daughter of Sandro Hit. On her sire’s side, Sigma traces back to Springbank II, while Sanjay’s sire is Suarez.
As the last pair to compete, the professional trainer who just a few weeks ago competed at the U25 European Championships in Hungary and the Swedish stallion Sanjay entered the Small Final in the HORSE24 Arena and secured the victory with a score of 82.20 percent. They received three 8.0s in the individual scores for trot, walk, and suppleness while the winner was rated 8.6 for canter and 8.5 for prospect. “I knew from day one that Sanjay was something special. He moved forward right away in such a springy way. You see that very rarely,” beamed Linnea, wiping the last tears of joy from her face. “He gave me an incredible feeling in the test today,” summed up the 24-year-old, who is celebrating her 25th birthday on Sunday, the very day of the final. “He was completely calm and focused with me. That wasn’t the case on the first day. Today I was able to present him in a very good light; his movements are so harmonious, he’s a joy to ride, and he has an incredible amount of energy.”
With a score of 81.40 percent, Rahmoz Langholt, ridden by Michael Grønne Christensen, secured second place. The Danish son of Straight Horse Ramses out of a Blue Hors Don Schufro dam and owned by Bente Graasbøll and Ole Magnus Jensen scored particularly well in prospect (8.4) and trot (8.2).
The KWPN mare Rituals de la Fazenda took third place in this Small Final with a solid 80 percent. The daughter of Magnum de la Fazenda, with Negro as her maternal sire (breeder: J.M.M. Rockx; owners: Johan Rockx and Penny Zavitz-Rockx), was presented by Thalia Rockx. Her trot received the highest score of all five component marks, an 8.5. Tied for fourth place with 79.20 percent were Van Love WS by Valverde NRW, ridden by Eric Guardia Martinez, and Esquire OLD by Escolar, presented by Eva Möller.
The top three finishers in the Small Final have secured their spots in the Final at the HORSE24 Arena; the Final featuring the world’s best five-year-old dressage horses begins on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
The World Championship Final is scheduled for Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the HORSE24 Arena in Verden.
Secret Takes the Lead
The sire Secret is the dominant sire at this World Championship, according to an analysis by the website equestrian-hub.com. Among the 134 World Championship participants in the five-, six-, and seven-year-old age groups, the son of three-time world champion Sezuan appears a whopping 18 times on the sire’s side. With nine offspring, Vitalis is the second-most-represented sire at the World Championships, while Escolar follows in third place with eight offspring.
“We’re striving to emulate that”
On the sidelines of the World Championships in Verden: A look at German horse breeding by Swedish equestrian journalist Kim Lundin.
“In the Nordic countries Sweden, Norway, and Finland we’ve been watching what’s being done in Germany in horse breeding for an incredibly long time, and we’re following suit. We pay close attention to the bloodlines in Germany, the type of horse being bred, and what’s considered modern, and then Swedish breedersm especially those focusing on dressage horses, try to emulate that. In show jumping breeding, the influence of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands has grown in recent years. Germany is no longer number one in show jumping, but it absolutely is in dressage.”