Felicitas Hendricks' Drombusch Sidelined with Laminitis

Dressage

Germany

Felicitas Hendricks' U25 gold medal winning Grand Prix horse Drombusch has been sidelined due to laminitis.

Drombusch is a 15-year old Oldenburg gelding by Destano out of Wicomaggia (by Dimaggio x Likoto xx). He is bred by Ralf Stienke.

European Under 25 Champion

Drombusch made his international show debut in June 2021 at medium tour level in Herzlake under Christoph Koschel, Felicitas' uncle. Hendricks debuted as an Under 25 rider at the 2022 CDI Waregem.

She joined Koschel in Wellington, Florida, for the 2023 Global Dressage Festival where she showed him in the U25 classes as well as in the senior division. She returned to Europe to compete in Hagen (senior) and Mannheim (U25) and was nominated on the German team for the 2023 European Under 25 Championships. As team rookie she led Germany to team gold while she added individual and kur gold to her tally. She ended 2023 by winning the Piaff Forderpreis finals.

At the 2025 European Under 25 Championships

In 2024 they moved back up to the senior division with a stellar season in Wellington, winning seven out of eight international starts. She continued in Europe with solid scores at the CDI's in Munich, Kronberg and then Aachen, where her horse had to be withdrawn after the Grand Prix due to a medical emergency. He suffered from a severe allergic shock. Three months later the gelding returned at the CDI Troisdorf and won both tests.

In 2025 the duo was back to their winning ways in Wellington in the senior division, but upon returning to Europe they dropped back down to Under 25 level and showed in Mannheim to make it on the German team for the European Under 25 Championships, where they won team gold and were fourth individually. Their last show was the CDI Thermal in California in November 2025 for the U.S. Open Final

Laminitis

Hendricks has been based in the U.S.A since the winter of 2025-2026, riding professionally at Beth Eversole Noorthoek's stable.

Felicitas gave an update on Drombusch's whereabouts.

"At the end of 2025, right as we were heading into 2026, he started a severe laminitis episode," Felicitas disclosed. "There are honestly multiple reasons about why I have been quiet about it so long. One of the biggest reasons was because I was emotionally, mentally not ready to talk about it. I was pretty much in some kind of denial. It's a very bad disease. Every horse person knows how tough this disease is. It puts you onto a roller coaster of you not being able to even give clear answers. He could be great one day and horrible the next day. Not having clear answers for such a long time definitely also played a huge role."

She continued, "there are so many decisions along the way. A lot of tough decisions. You are never really sure, is the right decision, the wrong decision? You have to take it day by day. You don't want too much outside noise."

Drombusch spent time in a sling to recover and has a full medical team assisting him on the road to his recovery.

Felicitas said, "we are still in the middle of the process. I want to focus on Drombusch feeling better every day. The ultimate goal has been clear from day one for Drombusch to be able to enjoy his life again and get to enjoy the retirement he deserves. He wan to keep going. He wants to get through this and I'm sure he will."