Germany Frontrunner in "That Seventies Show - Leads Team Competition at 2025 European Under 25 Championships

- Text © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition)  
-- Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!

Germany turned out to be the frontrunner after the first part of the team competition wrapped at the 2025 European 25 Championships in Kronberg on Wednesday afternoon 9 July 2025. 

That Seventies Show

Set at Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff's gorgeous, historic yard Gestut Schafhof, the Young Riders' Europeans are combined with the Under 25 Championships and are blessed with wonderful, moderate summer weather, so far. The sun shone and morning jackets were taken off for perfect T-shirt weather in the afternoon. 

A field of 23 of Europe's best scoring Under 25 riders contested the first part of the team test, the Intermediaire II. Tomorrow part 2 riders the test after which the team medals will be known.

Home nation Germany took an early lead as two of its riders placed provisionally first and third. Six out of 23 riders scored 70+ marks, while a total of 8 pairs scored above 69%. The riders were so close together in their performance that it felt like That Seventies Show was happening. Some horses stood out with outstanding paces, others with fault-free rides, some with more expression and energy than others, but the leader made correctness and routine count

Germany Leads

Team veteran Felicitas Hendricks, who already won individual gold at the 2023 European Under 25 Championships, has been competing in the senior ranks for the past two years. However with the Euros happening on home turf in Germany and in her last year eligible to ride U25, Felicitas dropped back down to U25 and strengthen the team. The decision raised some eyebrows, but Hendricks made her experience count and topped the leaderboard today. 

Aboard the 14-year old Oldenburg gelding Drombusch (by Destano x Dimaggio), Felicitas rode a very polished test in which the willingness of her horse and the quiet contact with the bridle were the highlights. They started with a square halt, a smooth trot extension and good half passes. The passage was always regular and soft-footed. The piaffes were not so convincing: Drombusch leaned on the forehand and in the second travelled forward, as if he was lacking strength today. The extended walk needed a full diagonal to generate overstep as there was barely one hoof overtrack. The medium canter with flying change at X - a great exercise as a test of skill and control - was good. The horse lost the canter stride in the left pirouette, the left extended canter and change were well done. In the two's he almost dropped out of canter but recovered in a flash, in the ones two changes to the right seemed shorter. Drombusch did not seem on best form but his character, mind, and solid training carried him through. 

Judges Isobel Wessels, William Warren, Dr. Vincenzo Truppa, Henning Lehrmann, and Christine Prip rewarded her ride with 71.470%. Two judges had her first, three second. The marks were quite on the same level as the high score was 72.500% and the low score 70.882%.

Germany's second rider of the day, Elisabeth von Wulffen, made her return on the German team after last riding on it in 2021 at the Europeans in Oliva Nova. Aboard the 13-year old Westfalian gelding Triple A (by Totilas x De Niro), she scored a personal best of 70.735% with the judges in line with one another (70.000 - 71.618%) although the placings ranged from first to sixth. The chestnut rushed in the trot extension but the half passes covered much ground. The trot in general is not the most supple but in passage Triple A generates much airtime. The transition into the first piaffe was abrupt and the horse got very narrow behind, the second piaffe on the track was better. The tempi changes were straight, the pirouettes were small with the left one being the best one, and the medium canter with flying change was well done.

Dutch On Their Heels

The Dutch delegation is on Germany's heels as they delivered two 70% scoring rides today.

Milou Dees, who recently gave up riding for German stallion station Gestut Sprehe and is now an assistant to Belgian Grand Prix rider and horse dealer Nico Nyssen, piloted her long-time partner Francesco, a 15-year old KWPN gelding by Florencio x Krack C. Since 2018 the pair has ridden at four European Championships: once as a junior, once as a young rider, and now twice as an Under 25 combination.The duo impressed in the very powerful canter work, but the collected walk was lateral. The extended walk was good. The passage was very nice, but Francesco stays small in his piaffe with little lift in the frontleg. The contact could be more quiet and soft. They scored 70.294% with all judges on the same line.

Team mate Kris de Vries, who is an assistant rider for triple Olympian Anky van Grunsven, presented Rik Teunissen's 11-year old KWPN gelding Jillz La Grande (by Charmeyr x Come On), a tall and muscled bright bay. The horse is very steady in the head-neck position, covered much ground in the trot extensions and had a very regular passage. He's quite incorrect in piaffe thought, crossing both the front and hindlegs. The extended walk was poor with limited overtrack and almost lateral in the rhythm. On the hand, the canter work was very solid and the tempi changes secure. The left pirouette was really nice. They posted 70.147% for fifth place. The judges differed a bit with 68.824% as low score and 71.618% as high score (between 3rd and 8th place).

Denmark in the Mix

The Danes are on strong form in Kronberg with four experienced team rider. Today Sara Aagaard Hyrm and her 11-year old Danish gelding Atterupgaards Cooper (by Charmeur x Gribaldi) placed second provisionally with 70.794%. The gorgeous, tall liver chestnut is naturally uphill and up in the frame which works to his advantage in creating an eye catching silhouette. Unfortunately the contact with the bridle was far from ideal with too much pressure on the curb which led to a gaping mouth at times. There was a break in the first trot extensions, but the half passes were sweeping and the passage is really beautiful. In the first piaffe the gelding hesitated in the rhythm, the second was better. The extended walk had two hooves overtrack but there could be more of a V-moment in the rhythm. The tempi changes were straight, the pirouettes small (with the right one slightly counter bent) and the medium canter and flying change well done.

Thea Bech and her 17-year old KWPN gelding Dionisos (by Spielberg x Sir Sinclair) are riding their fourth (!) consecutive European Under 25 Championships since 2022. They were individual medalists in 2022 but since then have mainly fulfilled a team role and this year they are back. Bech landed a 7th place provisionally with 69.412%. To this date the pair probably boasts some of the best piaffe-passage work of all combinations with exceptional rhythm and airtime. The piaffe might be more of a passage on the spot, but the transitions in and out are outstanding. In the tempi changes the bay swings to the right a bit. They certainly lost some points in the walk part, which was underwhelming today.

Four Flags

Four further flags settled into the top ten.

international newcomer and British team rookie Harrison Ashton slotting in 6th. The 24-year old Ashton is probably better known as a social media "influencer" and only just begun to prove his worth in the international show ring. He made his CDI debut in May 2024 aboard Lauren Asher's Goldwyn Sollenburg (by Bretton Woods x OO Seven) after which he decided to expand his horizon and move to the European mainland. He relocated to Germany to become an assistant rider to Finnish Olympian Henri Ruoste. Harrison qualified on the British team aboard Ruoste's 10-year old Oldenburg Million Dreams (by Millennium x Sandro Hit) by showing at the CDI's in Lier, Aachen, Mannheim and Hagen in four month time frame. Here in Kronberg he underwent his first real test by fire and had the favour of the judges. Million Dreams is a beautiful black mare, solidly trained at Grand Prix level, but today there were some essential issues. The first trot extension showed an impressive forearm but not enough lengthening of stride nor frame. The half passes had good crossing but required more bending, especially to the left. The passage was very elegant, but today the left hindleg trailed. The first piaffe showed really a minimum of steps, the second was much better. The extended walk had plenty of overtrack but could be even clearer in the rhythm. In the collected she ambled. The medium canter was not shown (!) before the flying change at X. However the left extended canter with flying change was very good. Overall Ashton presented a very quiet, polished picture, but the contact with the bit needs to be lighter. They scored a personal best of 70.000%.

Sweden's Siri Ehrnrooth and her tall and long-backed 15-year old Danish warmblood Moegelbjergs Romeo (by Rush Hout x Don Romantic) also got a personal best score today of  69.029%. The passage was floaty, the extended walk expansive, the tempi changes smooth and straight. In the extended trot the horse seemed asymmetrical in the frontleg and the left extended canter appeared downhill. The right pirouette was small.

Portugal's Marta Fernandes took over the ride on Feel Good VO from her boyfriend, Brazilian Olympian Joao Victor Marcari Oliva, who ride the 13-year old Westfalian by Franziskus x Dimension at the 2023 Pan American Games and 2024 Olympics in Paris. The long-legged bay is a bit straight in his hind leg, which shows in the rather stiff one tempi changes, but the extended trot is big and the passage nice. The horse appears frozen in the mouth and should show more on the bit. The duo got 68.029% for 9th place provisionally. 

The top 10 was concluded by Switzerland's Robynne Graf on her father Markus Graf's 17-year old Hanoverian Domino (by Don Frederico x Weltmeyer). They were the last pair to go today and presented a lovely picture; nothing spectacular but very softly managed. The tempi changes were straight, easy and safe. The extended walk needed more overtrack with the nose a bit more out. The first piaffe was the better one of the two. They scored 67.794%.

-- Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS

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Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the  2025 European Young Riders and Under 25 Championships