Be My Sunshine, Soxx, Weihe's Happiness, Esquire Win 2025 Bundeschampionate for Riding Horses

The 3-year olds Be My Sunshine and Soxx and the 4-year olds Weihe's Happiness and Esquire became the winners of the "riding horse" titles at the 2025 Bundeschampionate in Warendorf on 3 - 7 September 2025. 

The 3 and 4 year old horses are named "riding horses" instead of "dressage horses" to indicate their versatility, in principle apt for dressage and show jumping. While thirty years ago horse breeding was still more cross discipline, the specialization of sport horses breeding into one direction, either dressage or show jumping, has led to the fact that these riding horse classes are entered with mostly purely dressage bred youngsters. 

Changes in the 3-year old Programme

The requirement 'lengthening strides' has been removed from the programme in order not to overask the 3-year olds. An interesting move for animal welfare, although at the regional young horse championships the horses presented performed nothing else than medium or extended walk/trot/canter in order to qualify for Warendorf. 

Judge Gerd Sickinger commented, "I think I can say that with the three-year-olds we've seen here, we have horses that are certainly capable of being presented and are also worth being presented. It's always a question of intensity and frequency, how you treat a three-year-old horse and how you train a three-year-old horse easily. Veterinary medicine certainly says that a certain amount of work is acceptable for a young horse. It just has to be measured and done by responsible people." 

The Bundeschampionate welcomed approximately 40,000 visitors this year. Next year's edition will take place one week earlier on 25 - 30 August 2026.

3-YO Mares & Geldings: Be My Sunshine

Thirteen combinations competed in the qualification round for 3-year old mares and geldings and Christiane Ulmker and the home bred Westfalian mare Be My Sunshine (by Benicio x For Dance) immediately made an impact. They won with 9.0 and took the lead, one they didn't loose in the actual finals, in which they upped the ante and scored a winning total of 9.3 points. The mare  got 9 for walk, 9.5 for trot and canter, 9 for rideability and 9.5 for conformation. She already on the Westfalian Young Horse Championships earlier in the summer.

The silver medal went to Leslie Rohrbacher aboard Sönke Rothenberger's Hanoverian mare Salvina (by Santos x Finest). Bred by Hartwig Bulle, this mare totalled 8.5 points for second place with 9.5 for walk, 8.5 for trot, canter, and rideability and 7.5 for conformation. Valentina Bronner and Anton Herre's bred and owned DSP mare Fiene-Liene (by Fineline x Quadrofino) snatched bronze with a total of 8.4. This mare got 8.5 for walk and trot, 8 for canter, 9 for rideability and 8 for conformation.

Interestingly this year not a single gelding was able to move to the finals. All six finalists were mares. They were judged by Egbers, Sickinger, and Wingender.

3-YO Stallions: Soxx

The same trio of judges assessed the 3-year old riding horse finals for stallions, which had one big absentee in Warendorf: 2 million euro stallion Daan G who qualified for Warendorf by placing second at the Hanoverian Young Horse Championships in Verden, but was a no-show in Warendorf. 

Simon Kohlenbrenner's home bred Westfalian stallion Soxx (by Secret x Londontime) won the title under Veronika Steinhoff with a 9.0 total. The stallion got 9.5 for walk, 8.5 for trot, 9 for canter, 9.5 for rideability and 8.5 for conformation. Vanessa Crnadak and Helgstrand's Oldenburg licensing champion La Paix (by La Vie x Sir Oldenburg) were second with 8.8 points. Bred by Katharina Paschertz, the chestnut received 8.5 for walk and trot, 9.5 for canter, 9 for rideability and 8.5 for conformation. The winners of the qualifier, Spaniard Africa Algarra Ruiz and Franziska Erley's Hanoverian Beck's in Black (by Beck's x Londonderry), dropped to bronze in the finals with 8.7 points. The black bred by Christian Thelker, scored 8.5 for walk, 9.5 for trot, 9 for canter, 7.5 for rideability and 9 for conformation.

4-YO Mares & Geldings: Weihe's Happiness 

A huge group of 27 four-year old mares and geldings gathered for the preliminary round and eight moved on tot he finals, judged by Mannheims, Munk, Olsson. 

Alina Schneider and Christine Arns-Krogman's Oldenburg mare Weihe's Happiness (by Dynamic Dream x Sir Donnerhall) were a league of their own, winning for a big lead of 8.8 points. The mare got 8 for walk, 9.5 for trot, 8.5 for canter, 9.5 for rideability and 8.5 for conformation.  Tanja Fischer and Katja Thiele's Oldenburg mare New Balance OLD (by Bon Vivaldi x Foundation) followed in the winners' wake with 8.4 points. This mare, bred by Jurgen Osterloh, scored 8.5 for walk, 9 for trot, 8 for canter, 8.5 for rideability and 8 for conformation. Finally a gelding moved to the forefront: Ellen Richter piloted Gestut von Bellin's home bred DSP bred Lord Löwenherz (by Lord Europe x United) to third place with 8.3 points.  This gelding earned 8 for walk, 8.5 for trot, 9 for canter, 8 for rideability and conformation.

4-YO Stallions: Esquire

Thirteen 4-year old stallions participated the preliminary round and six went to the Finals on Saturday. It was a highly contested finals as the crowds packed around the arena did not agree with the judges' verdict. Judges Mannheims, Munk, and Olsson got a concert of booing and whistling when they announced the scores of winner Esquire, favouring runner-up Benjamin Franklin for the title. 

Eva Möller has back-paddled on her decision in 2023 to retire as a competition rider. She put her show jacket back on to ride the 2024 Bundeschampionate (which coincided with the World Young Horse Championships) and this year piloted the Polish owned Oldenburg stallion Esquire (by Escolar x Furst Heinrich) to the win at the Oldenburg Young Horse Championships in Rastede and at the Bundeschampionate in Warendorf. Kamel Iwicki's bay stallion, bred by Maria Burczyk, got a winning 9.3 from the judges with 10 for walk, 9 for trot, 9.5 for canter, and 9 for rideability and conformation.

The winner of the crowds' hearts was runner up Benjamin Franklin, a Hanoverian stallion bred by Wilhelm Kamps and owned by the state stud Celle. Under Janine Tietze he scored 9.2 points with 8 for walk, 9.5 for trot, 10 for canter, 9.5 for rideability and 9 for conformation. The bronze was for Leonie Richter on Gestut von Bellin's Hanoverian Louis Löwenherz (by Lord Europe x Don Index), bred by Kerstin Klieber. They scored 8.6 points in total for third place with 7.5 for walk, 9 for trot, 8.5 for canter and rideability and 9.5 for conformation. 

Photos © Stefan Lafrentz /  Gesina Grömping/Equitaris

Related Links
Scores: 2025 Bundeschampionate
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2025 Bundeschampionate