Danish Olympian Nanna Skodborg Merrald and her life partner Daniel Kristensen have welcomed their first child, a baby girl, on 27 March 2026. She has been named Caroline. Dad Daniel was in the Danish military and is now a professional helicopter pilot. Nanna and Daniel have been a couple since 2023. Congratulations!
Austrian Olympian Victoria Max-Theurer (40) and her life partner, Olympian Stefan Lehfellner (43), are expecting their first child together. "The best reason for a little break from riding this season is… …that there will be three of us starting in September," Vici took to Facebook. "Until then, please keep your fingers crossed. We're looking forward to everything that's to come." With the baby due in September, it will rule team routinier Vici out for Austrian team selection for the 2026 World Championships in Aachen. Max-Theurer last competed internationally in September 2025 with L'Espoir de Massa. Lehfellner, who rode on the Austrian team at the 2025 Europeans in Crozet, recently debuted Vici's horse Topas (by Totilas) at a national show in Stadl Paura.
A change in plans has taken place in the sale of Haus Rott, the equestrian venue that hosted the CDI Troisdorf in Germany. The property has not been sold to a new owner that wanted to turn the place into a livery yard, but owner Lukas Blatzheim has handed over the baton to his friend, Isabell Weissenfels, who with Marco Wieland will continue to run the equestrian center as a performance stable. They plan on hosting a CDI in the autumn. Blatzheim has bought a house in Stellbosch, South Africa, and will be emigrating there, although he'll continue to spend summers in Europe.
While the world moves forward with the FEI's structured planning for the professionalisation, safety and integrity of the sport, in Russia they are turning the clock backwards. At the start of the year the Russian Equestrian Federation has changed its rules on mandatory helmets at dressage competitions. Grand Prix riders over the age of 26 years old can wear top hats again.