Faustino G Wins 6-YO Preliminary Test at 2026 World Young Horse Championships, Best Ridden Horses Rank 5th and 7th

- Text © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition)  
-- Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!

The first day of competition at the 2026 World Championships for young dressage horses kicked off on Wednesday morning 5 August 2026 with the 6-year old preliminary test. Gorgeous, sunny summer weather brought the show grounds at the Hanoverian headquarters in Verden to life as the first 45 horses took to the arena to try for a top 12 spot and qualify directly for the medal finals on Saturday. 

High Intensity Day

Judges Monique Peutz (NED), Kurt Christensen (DEN), Bill Warren (USA), and Juan Carlos Campos (ESP) faced the challenging task of sorting out the ranking of the horses. They had to judge the entire division at a relentless pace of nine horses per group with only 10 minute mini-breaks in between from 9 AM till 15h45 PM. Just like those spectators who wouldn't want to miss a single ride, it was running to the toilet and drinking coffee like a camel takes water in order to stay sharp and refreshed throughout the day.

Each year it is curious (and rather unpredictable) to see which qualities the judges are putting in the balance and weighing for their scores. What do they consider more important: the ground quality of the gaits, the quality of training, or future talent and potential of a horse. One would think it's an equal mix of the three but reality is just not like that.

Today it felt like that the quality of the basic gaits outweighed the purity and quality in training and presentation. The two best trained and presented horses of the day ended up fifth and seventh. They probably weren't the biggest movers (yet certainly more than above average), but they presented the most harmonious ride in the correct frame with the most elastic, light contact. Alas for them, a more spectacular, Grand Prix level style of presentation with some see-sawing in the mouth and flashy gaits proved their worth.

Faustino G Takes the Lead

Danish breeder Helene Geervliet earned another feather in her cap with today's first place of her "foal" Faustino G. After breeding the triple Young Horse World Champion Quinn G (Betina Jaeger, Fiona Bigwood), she is also the mixologist for the pedigree of Danish warmblood Faustino G (by Blue Hors Farrell x Sezuan). The tall, long-legged bay was already a finalist at last year's WCYH in Verden and today returned victorious in the 6-year old preliminary test.

Under 2018 Danish WEG Team rider Betina Jaeger, Geervliet's stallion showed himself a very "produced" 6-year old, easily shortening the trot (towards  passagy steps), but still relying heavily on the help of the rider instead of carrying himself. Faustino moved with a rather high neck, was up in the poll, and too closed in the throat latch. The bending on the left lead was more supple than on the right. The trot was very well regulated by the rider, the walk had a superb rhythm  and the canter was uphill and ground covering. Both flying changes were short behind, but the horse still got a 9.5 for submission. The trot earned 9.7, the walk 8.5, the canter 9.3 and the perspective a 9.3. He totalled 92.600 for a distinct lead in the class, the victory of the day, and the label of favourite for the gold on Saturday.

Betina did not have the most intense preparation for Verden as she joined her daughter Filippa at the 2026 European Pony Championships for nine days in Le Mans  (FRA), where she won kur gold. Betina's assistant rider at home kept Faustino ticking with some light work.

“We did exactly the same thing last year,” she explained. “It seems to do him good and works a treat.” Since last year, Faustino has gained even more strength. “That’s why his trot and canter have gained even more expression and balance. He just needed a bit more time, partly because he’s a big horse with long legs. This horse has so much energy, is always motivated and is simply a happy horse. You can even hear it." Faustino often squeals in delight. “And he’s clever; he learns so easily.”

Dizzy a Doozy

The runner-up today was the penultimate horse to go after a marathon day of watching 45 six-year olds. Finnish Merita Hagren presented Dizzy, a chestnut Danish warmblood mare by Hesselhoj Donkey Boy x Zack, bred by Hans Jorgen Hoeck of stud farm Hesselhoj in Denmark and owned by Helgstrand Dressage.

The large framed chestnut mare has the body of a Grand Prix horse, strong topline with a proper frame, powerful hindlegs, and ground covering gaits. She might not have the most feminine expression in front but she screams talent. The trot and canter were big, but it was the extended walk that definitely was the highlight gait. The first flying change was anticipated by the mare and she executed it before the aids, in the extended canter right she got tight in the back and lost the clear 3-beat rhythm in the strides. Overall it was the contact with the bridle that was a bit troubling. The mare was quite held in front, often tight in the neck, and not truly moving in self carriage.

The judges, who were probably a bit tired after such a long day, seemed very generous with the marks when they awarded her 8.8 for submission. The trot and walk equally earned a 9, the canter an 8.8 while it was 9 for perspective. They finished second with 89.20 points. Definitely a horse to watch for the future but she should be ridden with more lightness.

Three Germans

Three German pairs followed the top two in the 6-year old preliminary test with German based Italian Beatrice Arturi rounding out the top three aboard Gestut Sprehe's Hanoverian licensed stallion Sir Gribaldi. The dark bay stallion is by Secret out of a Trakehner mare by All Inclusive and bred by the late Kerstin Aronis in partnership with Heiner Janssen. Coached by Sabine Rueben, the young duo showed a well regulated trot with a good cadence, but overall the stallion keep me a bit more accepting and chewing on the bit. The reinback steps were nice, but the horse was not steady in the poll. The extended walk was very nice. In the canter half circle with the "uberstreichen" the rider just lifted the hands high instead of releasing the contact to prove self carriage. Unfortunately this faulty execution of the movement was standard practise today amongst all these professionals. The two flying changes, however, were outstanding. The canter seemed very functional, only in the left extension he lost some suppleness in the back.  The judges rewarded the stallion with 8.6 for trot, 8.7 for walk, 8.9 for canter, 9 for submission and 8.9 for general impression. They placed third with 88.20 points.

Seasoned pro Isabell Werth does not need to prove that she can train horses to Grand Prix as she clearly showcased on Andreas Helgstrand's Westfalian stallion V-Power (by Viva Gold x Fidertanz). With him she is well on her way, but today the handsome lad showed he's still a young and unruly not always accepting his teacher's commands. The pair was fourth to go in the morning and Werth rode him into the arena in an almost extended trot with some "handy" corrections in a shoulder-in right before starting the test. V-Power has a gorgeous face, topline, and is super nicely muscled. He's certainly impressive and has two extra talented basic gaits despite a very heavy paddle with his right front leg.

On the centerline he anticipated the halt and braked too soon before X, coming almost to a stop. The entire trot part was ridden in a medium trot, no collection shown, the extensions were very ground covering, the half passes showed plenty of easy crossing of the legs.  The halt for rein back was not square. The extended walk showed two hooves overstep but was not entirely supple in the back and crisp clear in the rhythm. In canter, V-Power shows big uphill strides, especially in the extensions, but has a tendency to rock. The two flying changes were big, but the one to the left clearly better. A big issues popped up in the downward transition to trot in which the horse stalls completely and dropped into walk. He did not immediately react to the aid to trot and went against Werth's leg This early bird pair of the day immediately got a whopping score of 9.5 for trot, 7.2 for walk, 9.7 for canter, 8.8 (???) for submission and 8.9 for perspective. They scored 88.20% for fourth place.

For Werth, competing in Verden was also a logistical challenge of a special kind. She travelled from the World Championships training camp in Warendorf, presented V-Power in the arena, drove the nearly three-hour journey back to Warendorf, mounted Wendy de Fontaine there, and then drove the three hours back to Verden to take part in the prize-giving ceremony with V-Power. “Extraordinary horses require extraordinary measures,” emphasises Isabell Werth with absolute conviction. “We had two minor issues in the transitions during the test, but the overall picture – the horse’s immense potential – is truly superb. The horse combines just about everything one could wish for.”

The Best Presentation

The best presentation of the day was from last year's silver medal winning duo Linda Weiss aboard Judith Köppel's Oldenburg mare Viva Diamond OLD (by Vitalis x Don Diamond), bred by ZG Alberding. The bay mare was presented in the most, beautiful, correct frame with a light, elastic and even contact and minimal aids. The horse is correctly muscled and executed the test with an eagerness to please and willingness to perform that was exhilarating. The trot work was so balanced and cadenced, the extensions well executed. Maybe the shoulder in right lacked a little angle. The halt for reinback was truly nice, but the mare got deep while reversing. The extended walk was super. The two flying changes were really good and maybe in the left extended canter the mare got croup high and lost some swing in the back, but overall it was the most harmonious and lovely ride of the day. They scored 8.8 for trot, 8.5 for walk, 8.6 for canter, 9 (why not more???) for submission, and 8.7 for perspective. With 87.20 % they were fifth.

The other super star presentation of the day was the 8th placed pair: Sabrina Gessmann aboard Elena Starr's home-bred Westfalian mare True Love WS (by Toto Jr x Self Made). This very beautiful mare had a good cadence in trot, was elastic in the bridle contact and soft footed in the trot work.  She nodded a bit in the poll in the shoulder in right and the halt for rein back was not square. The extended walk had 1 to 2 hooves overtrack and was clear in rhythm. The flying changes were through the body and straight and the extensions nicely ridden. It was a lovely, correct ride. The mare got 9.1 for trot, 8.2 for walk, 8.5 for canter and submission and 8.7 for perspective to finish on 86.00%.

How Now Brown Cow?

What decides the submission score? I often wonder....

Danish duo Mette Sejbjerg Jensen and Straight Horse Leonardo (by Lord Europe x De Niro) settled into 6th place with 86.60%. Owned by breeder Mogens Pedersen, Leonardo is such a fine lad: handsome, black and a very good mover, but the unsteadiness in the poll, the lack of bending in the corners, the too high tempo in trot (all ridden in the medium trot), he cowboy flying changes, and rolling stop as halt at entry were just a pile-up of issues that should have been taking into account in the submission mark (and overall perspective score). Who cares? This duo got 8.5 for submission, nonetheless, as the horse is smashing and the gaits wonderful. Incredible.

Judge Monique Peutz commented, "that was really great today. We saw some very good horses that were presented very well. The emphasis was on harmony; the horses were enjoying showing themselves off here. We want to see the horses moving in balance. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an enormous amount of forehand action; it should be balanced between front and hind. That’s the most important thing.”

This is the third time the judge has sat at the judges’ table at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses, and she emphasises that “the quality of the horses has always been there, but the training and presentation have changed enormously. As a result, the horses are more well-rounded: they don’t ‘just’ trot spectacularly; they trot evenly, over their backs, with good contact; their walk is also good, and their canter is well-struck – the horses have improved even further in every respect.”

Best of Holland

The best scoring Dutch warmbloods both tied in 12th place with 82.20%. They were Pavo Cup winner Perfect Ritme (by Lord Europe x Negro) and Pythagoras WK (by All at Once x Vitalis). Both blackidy-black.

Former Dutch U25 team rider Kim Noordijk presented Rob Gijsen's Perfect Ritme, who is tall, refined and long-legged with a fabulous canter. The horse has an elegant way of going with a very good cadence, also in the lateral movements. He dragged his feet in the rein back though. The extended walk had plenty of overtrack but not the longest striding. he was rather quick and hurried in his steps. The extended canter left was hugely off the ground, the first flying change in two phases, the second very big. Overall the horse was not equally elastic on both reins with the left rein consistently stronger than the right one. Perfect Ritme got 8.5 for trot ,7.4 for walk, 8.9 for canter, 7.8 for submission and 8.5 for perspective.

Franka Loos rode her own and Willem van Kampen's Pythagoras WK, another wonderful horse bred by Willeke Bos,  to solid scored of 8.0 for trot, 8.8 for walk, 8.3 for canter, 7.8 for submission and 8.2 for perspective.  The stallion did not showcase the strongest, carrying hindleg at the moment, but appeared very rideable and willing in the trot work. He easily achieved overtrack in the extended walk. He was ridden with a rather high and tight neck, but Loos maintained a quiet, steady contact. The first flying change was in two phases, the second good.

Right in front of the Dutch duo was Beatrice Hoffrogge on the black Bundeschampion Lodovico (by Lord Europe x Don Frederic). Three Lord Europes competed in Verden and all three ranked in the top 12 ! Owned by baroness Amely von Buchholtz, the Oldenburg registered Lodovico is a very high quality mover with three very springy and ground covering gaits that seem malleable. He appeared far advanced in his training, but there were some contact and bending issues today with the horse regularly flashing his teeth. The half pass right needed more bending, the shoulder in right was counter bent. He showed a big uphill canter and big flying changes but he made an unscripted flying change which Hoffrogge had to correct.  He scored 82.40% ,for 11th place with 8.5 for trot, 8.1 for walk 8.3 for canter, 8 for submission and 8.3 for perspective.

The top 12 ranked horses move directly to the final while the top 3 in tomorrow's 6-year old consolation class will also get a ticket to the final on Saturday. Tomorrow the day starts with the 5-year old preliminary test. 

-- Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!

Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses