Grand Prix Stallion Zuidenwind Passed Away

Dressage

Dutch warmblood

Zuidenwind, an internationally competed Grand Prix and KWPN licensed stallion, has passed away. He was 21 years old.

The 2004 born Zuidenwind wa by OO Seven out of Serendy (by Jazz x Ulft). He was bred by the late, renowned KWPN breeder Huub van Helvoirt.

From Holland to Sweden

He was licensed in The Netherlands at the 2007 KWPN Stallion Licensing, the year that Zack became champion, and became the runner-up of the 2007 KWPN performance test. He ended up siring only 41 KWPN registered offspring as he spent most of his breeding career in Sweden. He has no KWPN licensed sons.

Initially owned by Huug de Koning, Zuidenwind began his career in The Netherlands. Under John Tijssen he won the 2008 Pavo Cup Finals.

He sold in the winter of 2008-2009 via Wiebe Yde van de Lageweg to Per Runesson's Gränsbo Stuteri in Sweden. He did his Swedish performance test in 2009 and scored 9 for type and head/neck, 8 for legs, 7 for walk and 9 for trot.

He became Sweden's most popular dressage breeding stallion that year. He remained to be a top breeder as by 2014 he was still the number two. Despite the big amount of offspring produced in Sweden (575), he only sired one licensed in Sweden. Heston For U (by Zuidenwind x Prestige VDL).

His most famous offspring in sport include Heston for U (Rose Mathisen), Zenit (Mia Runesson), Zidney (Stefan Jansson), Certus NL ( Cecilie Houmann), Zwingfly (Johanna Dueboje), Zappa SV (Maj Christin Ehnberg Fogelberg), and Zanzibar (Filippa Gronstrom).

Rose Mathisen

The ride on Zuidenwind was allocated to Rose Mathisen, who competed him at international Grand Prix level.

The pair made its international Grand Prix debut in 2015 in Nieuw en St. Joosland and competed hil for five consecutive years at top level. Their consistent effort was rewarded in 2017 when they were selected to represent Sweden at the 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg, where they finished 15th in the Special with 72.381%. The pair represented Sweden at numerous FEI Nations Cup shows such as Compiegne, Uggerhalne, Aachen, Rotterdam, Odense and Falsterbo.

His last show with Mathisen was in Herning in October 2019.

Akane Kuroki

In the autumn of 2019 Zuidenwind sold to Japanese Olympian Akane Kuroki who wanted a second iron in the fire to aiming for the Tokyo Olympics alongside Elastico.

Kuroki was training with the Werndls in Aubenhausen (GER) at the time. Despite the corona pandemic, Akane was able to compete Zuidenwind in 2020. They showed at the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, where they got a 68.739% Grand Prix high score. They returned to competition in Europe in the summer of 2020 with starts in Donaueschingen and Oldenburg.

As the Olympics were postponed by one year, Akane competed Zuidenwind in Munich (63.196%) and Achleiten (67.652%) in 2021 but in June withdrew from Olympic team contention before the team selection trial in Belgium due to fitness issues.

The duo entered to show in one more CDI, in Aachen in September 2021, but withdrew. Achleiten ended up being Zuidenwind's last international.

Kuroki moved the stallion to Japan, where he continued to serve as a schoolmaster for her students.

Untimely Passing

On 5 October 2025, Kuroki announced the passing of Zuidenwind.

"He passed away suddenly due to an accident during a breeding procedure," said Akane. "Losing such a precious partner, with whom I shared countless dreams and moments, still feels unreal. To me, Zuidenwind was never just a horse—he was my life companion, a true partner who taught me so much. My heart is filled with nothing but gratitude and sorrow. The days we spent together, the time we walked side by side, will live on in my heart forever. May you run freely and rest peacefully in heaven."