Matchball OLD Passed Away

Dressage

Germany

Sönke Rothenberger's international Grand Prix horse Matchball OLD has passed away.

Matchball OLD was a 13-year old by Millennium out of Wenira (by De Niro x Westminster x Zeus). He was bred by Helga Lütje.

Stefanie Wolf

First owned by Thomas Voss, the black started to compete as a 4-year old under Christina Voss in 2016. In the late spring Andreas Voss took over the ride and by the autumn of that year it was Stefanie Wolf who piloted the horse in its first dressage horse A-level tests.

In 2017 Johann Hinnemann bought an ownership share in Matchball and his head rider Stefanie Wolf continued to train the tall black to Grand Prix level at Gestut Krüsterhof in Voerde. The pair represented Germany at the World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo, where they finished 11th in the 5-year old finals. A year later they returned to the 2018 World Championships and this time the pair was fourth.

In 2019 Wolf and Matchball did their first S-level and at the World Championships for 7-year olds, they were again fourth. In 2020 Wolf and Matchball competed on the Nurnberger Burgpokal circuit and in the finals in Kronberg they were fifth. In 2021 they competed at medium tour level, including an international start in Troisdorf where they won the Inter A and B with 73.235% and 72.243%

In 2022 Steffi Wolf gradually introduced the talented gelding to Grand Prix level competition under the supervising eye of Christian Wendel and they became a rising hope for Germany after they won the Louisdor Cup qualifiers in Haftenkamp, Balve and Kronberg. At the finals in Frankfurt, they were fourth.

Wolf's big break through at international Grand Prix level never happened as the horse sold.

Sönke Rothenberger

In December 2022 Matchball sold to the Rothenberger family and moved to Gestut Erlenhof in Bad Homburg. He became a second iron in the fire alongside Fendi for Rothenberger's 2024 Olympic campaign.

The new pair made its international show debut at the CDI Herning in March 2023, where they posted 71.891% in their first Grand Prix. From there they went to the CDI's in Hagen, Mannheim, Wiesbaden, Aachen, Crozet, Stuttgart and Stockholm.

In the 2024 Olympic year Matchball showed in Basel, the Aachen Festival 4 Dressage, hagen and Munich with Grand Prix scores between 71.196 and 75.195%. At the 2024 German Championships in Balve in June, Martchball was 15th in the Grand Prix and ruled out for German Olympic team consideration.

Junior Schoolmaster

With Feldmann at the Preis der Besten Qualifier in Kronberg

The CDI Munich in May 2024 was their last CDI together. After that rumours flurried that the black gelding would be sold.

At the Hessian training camp as part of the official Preis Der Besten selection process in January 2025 Matchball suddenly appeared in public with a new rider on board: Semmieke Rothenberger's pony riding student Nora Feldmann.

The pair got selected for the qualifier in Kronberg in April 2025 and scored 66.580% and 69.510% in the two tests. At the 2025 Preis der Besten in Warendorf they posted 68.270% and 64.105%, ruling them out for the German junior team selection trial. At the same time Feldmann was strongly campaigning her two ponies (Beauty and FS Capelli de Niro) for German pony team selection, being invited to the German team selection trial at the CDIO Hagen. Three weeks ago Nora and Capelli finished 15th in the individual test at the 2025 German Pony Championships.

Untimely Passing

Rothenberger confirmed to Horses.nl that Matchball OLD has passed away.

"The gelding had a serious infection and could not be saved by the veterinarians," Sönke told Horses.nl