The private stallion Destacado FRH has been awarded the Grande Prix 2025. The likeable chestnut stallion, bred and reared by Heinrich Gießelmann from Barver, has had a picture-perfect career so far, which has taken him all the way to the German Olympic squad. The Hanoverian Society has been awarding the Grand Prize since 2009 to a young sire between the ages of ten and twelve. It is associated with the hope that the award winner will have a lasting positive influence on Hanoverian breeding.
The career of Destacado FRH, son of Desperados/Londonderry, began in 2015 under the hand of Jan-Dirk Gießelmann on the triangle track at the Verden licensing. As a young stallion with flawless conformation and limbs, Destacado FRH impressed the licensing commission, spectators, and buyers with his movement potential. As a premium stallion, he found a new owner at the stallion sales and his breeding home at Schafhof Stud in Kronberg. Less than twelve months later, Destacado FRH was back in the spotlight in Verden. Under the saddle of Pascal Kandziora, he became vice champion of the three-year-old stallions in the Hanoverian Riding Horse Championships. The pair also remained undefeated in Warendorf, securing the title of Bundeschampion.
In the summer of 2017, when Destacado FRH was four years old, Matthias Alexander Rath took over the reins – and has not let go of them since. The transition from one rider to the next went smoothly. At the age of five, Matthias Alexander Rath and Destacado FRH represented the Hanoverian colors at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Ermelo, easily reaching the final and becoming vice world champions. Judge Maria Colliander described the final round as “poetry in motion.” A year later, they made it to the finals again at the same venue, finishing in a “thankless” but still excellent fourth place. At the age of five, Destacado FRH also completed his stallion performance test. The reward for outstanding results in both parts of the sport test was the 2019 Weltmeyer Prize. At the age of seven, the chestnut stallion was one of the youngest horses to reach the final of the Nürnberger Burgpokal, which he won in front of a home crowd at the Schafhof. “Destacado FRH is truly a model student who reaches the next level every year. It’s a lot of fun to ride this horse, and I’m very grateful that I get to ride him,” said Matthias Alexander Rath happily. Just one year later, the well-coordinated team celebrated its first international Grand Prix placings. Destacado FRH was only eight years old at the time. Last year’s outstanding results, including fourth place in the World Cup Final in Riyadh, earned the pair a place in the Olympic squad.
Destacado FRH’s successes are indicative of his stable build, good health, and consistent performance. He reached the highest level in sport at a young age. These qualities make him particularly valuable as a sire. His bloodline is classic Hanoverian. His sire, Desperados FRH, was an Olympic champion, a Grande Prize winner himself, and Hanoverian Stallion of the Year. His dam’s sire, Londonderry, also Hanoverian Stallion of the Year, brings noble bloodlines through his sire, Lauries Crusador xx. The pedigree, conformation, health, and performance of this chestnut stallion speak for themselves. Nevertheless, he has not been the focus of much breeding attention so far. In competition, his offspring are successful in young horse tests in accordance with their age and have earned their sire German Equestrian Federation breeding values for young horse tests of 153 (85 percent). Destacado FRH will be honored on a grand scale at the dressage stallion licensing in Verden in November.