Photo Report: A Dressage Bouillabaisse at 2025 CDI Hagen

Text © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's opinion and eye-witness account of the competition). 
Photos © Eurodressage NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED / NO SCREEN SHOTS for social media

It was midnight when I switched off the lights and tried to get five hours of sleep before waking up to do the three-hour drive to Hagen. Although I felt tired, I was tossing in turning in my bed and had the feeling I never went to sleep. Only when the annoying ringtone alarm on my iPhone went off I knew I had some sort of shut-eye although my creaking body and heavy head insinuated that i didn't sleep more than 10 minutes.

Join the Caravan

I packed everything the night before so it was a quick wash, a jump into my clothes, and walk to the stable in pitch black to feed my two cats. Only one cat appeared promptly like a soldier to my beck and call, the other couldn't be bothered with this break from routine. I was punctually on time in my car at 5h30 AM to buzz towards Germany. At 6 AM I was in Holland, at 6h15 I crossed the German border and my mind was blown away from the 200 meter caravan of lorries that had already blocked the right lane on the motorway. Thousands and thousands of goods and products waiting to be brought from point A to B across Europe, while normal cars drove more slowly than usual as it poured with rain from Duisburg to Munster. 

I was perfectly on time in Hagen at 8h20 AM but felt my heart tremble when I drove up the wet pasture and realised that chances are great that my rear-end driven sedan will never make it off the field if it continues to rain cats and dogs and turn the pathway into a Woodstock mud fest. 

Made of Sugar

It didn't drizzle when I got to the show, but it literally rained, so I put on my long rain proof jacket, set up my camera and got its rain gear on and walked to the press tent to pick up my accreditation. Only two people in the big tent, the rest of the world still seemed asleep. It was a short walk to the dressage stadium, where I saw several riders warming up, already soaked to the bone. The image of a Bouillabaisse came to mind: a soup with big chunks of fish in it.. In this case an arena that was turned into a pool of water, with big horses in it.

I decided I'm too old to sit in the rain like a bird spotter in a tropical storm in the jungle. It was the tent for me, at least for a while. Yes I'm made of sugar when it rains. Petra Kerschbaum already sat there on post and I stood behind her as there was a small window (open plastic curtain) to photograph the horses while staying dry from the rain. I admit, it's not my best work, but the pictures looked grey, the arena boards covered in mud and the horses and riders equally miserable while performing the task at hand. From a photography perspective it was a lost cause. I had a quick chat with Thomas Baur, who is briefly back in Europe after directing the 2025 Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, before I put more attention to the actual class. 

Recalibration

Lovely horse and rider combination braved the weather for their Grand Prix Special test, which was judged by the experienced panel consisting of Isobel Wessels, Raphaël Saleh, Malgorzata Pawlowska, Katrina Wüst, and Elke Ebert. I immediately noticed that also in Hagen - the first really high profile, premier league dressage competition of the 2025 show year - that scores were lower than usual. The entire animal welfare debate and public outcry for more consideration of harmony, light contact and gymnastics have FINALLY not fallen upon deaf ears with the judges and a big "recalibration" seems to be taking place with the scoring.  The inflated scores of the big names seem to be much lower and scoring 70% has now become the new 73% it seems.  I have mentioned it before that changing the judging system is like changing course of an oil tanker, it goes very slow, but something is happen and it is super exciting !

Some judges, particularly Hans-Christian Matthiesen (president of the International Judges Club IDOC) is putting his money where his mouth is and has been the biggest mover and shaker over the past few months, just looking at his scores.  "You have to practice what you preach," I heard him say during a break. He still seems the odd one out, brave enough to go down with his points when a fancy horse and famous rider are not riding up to par, while the others seems to bite their nails in confusion,  unsure what to do: should they score according to the rule book, or what has been drilled into them over the years?

I Smell It in the Air

"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it." These were the words Galadriel expressed at the beginning of Lord of the Rings and this is the feeling that comes to mind when I sense this new wave in judging. Still fragile, still inconsistent, but certainly inspiring. 

It's funny to be watching the test and still knowing exactly which rider will get the highest points from which judge, but at the same time also being surprised some are not getting higher points, or their usual scores. "The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air."

I'm not sure where this will go and if this move of change will perserve or if the judging system will fall back into its old habits as soon as the major tournaments are around corner (Aachen, National Championships, Europeans). We are living in changing times, in the dressage world, and unfortunately also in the world...

Back to Dressage

But enough pondering for now.. what happened in the show ring? A quick recap of the moments by brain was actually functioning and observing in between spells of rain and visual distractions at the beautiful, buzzing Hof Kasselmann.

The Grand Prix Special 3* was won by reigning Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on a brand new ride, the 10-year old Hanoverian gelding Diallo (by Dancier x Floriscount). The bay gelding, whose coat is so similar to Dalera's but who has a more streamlined conformation, is owned by Annette Göbelsmann-Schweitzer. When Benjamin Werndl bought Grand Prix horse Quick Decision from the same owner in December 2024, they had already tried out Diallo a year ago, but decided not to take him. However, a change of heart took place and eight weeks ago Göbelsmann sold Diallo to the Werndls and the horse moved to Aubenhausen. Both horses have been impeccably trained to Grand Prix level by Uta Gräf, a beacon of classical dressage. Jessica certainly reaped the fruits of Gräf's outstanding training as she gelled with Diallo in record time. On Wednesday they were fourth in the Grand Prix with 69.891% but today they bested the field of 15 riders with 72.447%. The cute dark bay gelding has a lovely, active passage, could sit more in piaffe, but has wonderful, soft and steady contact in the bridle. A pair to watch for the future. 

The winner of the Grand Prix, Semmieke Rothenberger and the 15-year old KWPN gelding Farrington (by Jazz x Samba Hit) landed second place today with 71.341%. The chestnut could have shown more lengthening in the safely ridden trot extensions, but the left pirouette was nice, the two tempi lines were faultfree, but there was a bobble in the downward transition to trot.The passage has a lovely outline, but was not entirely regular throughout.

Isabell Werth made her international show debut on Andreas Helgstrand's 10-year old Oldenburg Special Blend (by Sezuan x Hotline). The gorgeous black is a very athletic mover and takes more after Hotline than Sezuan (fortunately!?).  He has a lovely silhouette, a sport type with long legs, engaged and focused face. He did retract his tongue quite a bit and everything was still unpolished with irregularities in the passage, the piaffe hesitant or leaning on the shoulders, but there was a ton of promise in there. Interesting horse! They got 71.149%

Patrik Kittel also made his international show debut on his wife Lyndal Oatley's 11-year old Hanoverian mare Dante's Herzchen (by Dante Weltino x Hochadel). You can't paint a horse more beautiful and feminine than Dante's Herzchen. She embodies "black beauty". She is a top mover, super half passes, plenty of ground cover in trot and canter, but she's still green in piaffe and passage.. The piaffes are small at this point and in passage one likes to see more engaged from behind.. Another exciting horse for the future.. So much talent in Hagen. What a joy! Kittel scored 70.681%

Danish based British rider Annabella Pidgley rode her 13-year old Westfalian gelding Vamos Amigos (by Vitalis x Hotline) to a fifth place with 69.638%. Pidgley had the sensitive bay better in the contact today and some of the passage work was fabulous, although the regularity was not always consistent. The horse lost quality in the walk though and not all piaffes were as balanced. The trot extensions had plenty of overtrack. There was a hiccup in the two tempi changes that affected the score.

Hemmer on the Rise

In the afternoon there was a respite from rain as the 4* Grand Prix for freestyle took place with 14 combinations. Hagen normally draws massive fields of competitors but this year they seem smaller than ever before. It seems like a lot of top pairs have gone into hiding. This is not just a problem in Hagen, also the Nations Cups in Compiegne has no Swedish nor Danish team entered, while this show is usually one of the spring highlights on the way to the summer championships. The packed FEI calendar is also a reason why the competitors fields are thinning out. Many riders have shown in the first CDI's of the year (Lier, Aachen Festival, Tolbert) but in April and May they are spoilt for choice and most choose a competition closest to their home. This weekend there are five CDI's across Europe, next weekend there will be seven in Europe alone!

Today's 4* Grand Prix featured seven Germans out of 14 riders. Katharina Hemmer and Nancy Gooding's 13-year old Oldenburg gelding Denoix PCH (by Destano x Pik Noir) were the stand-out pair in the class winning with 74.261%, almost a full three percent ahead of the runner-up. Hubertus Schmidt's assistant rider has been tipped as one of Germany's up and coming team candidates since showing major improvement last year and winning exactly the same class in the September show in Hagen in 2024. Denoix does not always deliver the same consistency and this has been a factor for their near-miss-selection, so far. It's up to them to prove reliability this year. The pair showed elastic half passes, a good halt and rein back, a clean zig zag, and a full diagonal of two tempi changes. The first piaffe was too much on the forehand, the last too swinging in the hindquarters. A loss of balance in the right pirouette had an impact on the score. At all times was the contact light and supple.

Andreas Helgstrand and Cathrine Rasmussen's 11-year old KWPN stallion Jovian (by Apache x Tango) landed second place with 71.391%. The huge mover ground his teeth but really excelled in the first two trot extensions, which weren't overridden this time. The third was too much. Jovian had the hindlegs out in passage at times and in piaffe he leans on the shoulders (the second piaffe was the better one). The two tempi changes were ground covering, and the collected walk was good. In canter the horse got too strong in the contact.

Patrik Kittel rode his 2024 World Cup winner Touchdown to third place with 70.783%. It was a very interesting test to watch as you notice that Kittel seems to be trying out new things. For instance in the one tempi changes, the rider sat much more quiet in the saddle and the line looked so beautiful at the start. It was a pity that a mistake still crept in. The 13-year old Swedish warmblood (by Quaterback x Sack) covers much ground in the trot half passes and the halt and rein back were well executed. The walk part was good. In passage the gelding has the hindlegs too far out and in piaffe he got wide today.

Ingrid Klimke has a fiesty little pocket rocket in the 13-year old Hanoverian mare First Class (by Furstenball x Begamon). They were fourth with 70.370%. The bay easily lost some ground cover in her movements but the piaffes were on the spot and really showed the right intention (climbing in front). The extended walk was good. There were issues in the tempi changes. 

By the way, pet peeve of the day (well, in general) is how often riders execute the flying change after the extended canter too early to the marker. Many riders lose valuablle points by making the change four strides too early. Accuracy is everything. 

More Rain to Finish

The day ended with more rain during the Prix St Georges and after photographing that class half way through, I ran out of steam and had a couple cups of tea in the warm tent, while watching the class from the inside. Sorry guys. This energizer bunny had enough for the day.

I slithered my way out of pasture - it went more easily than expected - and drove to my usual hotel in town, where I worked a little bit on the computer before having a gazillion calorie pizza with a salad before returning to my room to pump out this story before midnight. I know from experience that with preparing and uploading the photos, I won't get to bed before 1 AM.. but at least I pleased a crowd. 

At your service!

(P.S.: it's 1h45 AM when I post this story, sorry didn't proofread it. Want to sleep!)

Photos © Eurodressage - NO SCREENSHOTS!

Eurodressage took photos of almost all CDI competitors in Hagen.  If you are interested in photos for social media use or print, send us an email and you can BUY our photos. No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!

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