The 5-year old Dallas County and the 6-year old Dating's Smiley A were the winners of the dressage pony classes at the 2026 Bundeschampionate.
The Bundeschampionate are the annual German Young Horse Championships for young dressage, jumping, eventing and driving horses and ponies. They are held at the DOKR headquarters in Warendorf.
5-YO: Dallas County
Thirty-pairs competed in the 5-year old dressage pony division and the top 111 of the qualifier and three from the consolation finals moved on to the Finals on Sunday 30 August 2026. The finals were judged by Hagenheimer, Lorenz, and Viebahn.
German pony team rider and European Championship team gold and individual bronze medal winner Lilly Kasselmann captured the title aboard Gestut Kastanienhof's Weser Ems bred stallion Dallas County (by D-Gold x FS Don't Worry). After placing fourth in the qualifier they topped the board in the finals with a score of 8,70 point. The palomino got 8.8 for trot, 8.7 for walk, 8.5 for canter and submission and 9 for general impression. The pony is bred by Helmut Eickhorst.
Lilly's partnership with Dallas County was brand new as she only took over the ride on the stallion one month ago from Hanna Richter. "It was an amazing feeling in the arena," Lilly told Eurodressage about her winning weekend. "Dallas was a star like always and it was an honour to ride at these Bundeschampionate."
German pony team rider and European Championship team and individual gold medal winner Leni-Sophie Gosmann and Danica Duen's Westfalian stallion Noble Dance (by Neverland x FS Calimero) finished on the bronze medal step of the podium with 8,40 points. They won the qualifier but in the finals their scores of 8.6 for trot, 8.4 for walk, 8.3 for canter, 8.2 for submission and 8.5 for general impression were good for a third place. Noble Dance is bred by Simone Liebing.
Danish pony rider Emily Lee Vestergaard made a trip to Germany to compete Weser Ems stallion Come Together (by Cosmopolitan x HET Golden Dream) and placed fourth with 8,06 points. The pony is bred by Simone Visser and owned by Emily's mom Mia Lee.
6-YO: Dating's Smiley AT
The 6-year old dressage ponies had their title match on Saturday 29 August and Holsteiner bred German riding ponies wielded the axe of power in the division. The judges in the finals were Hening Lehrmann, Pascal Strohbücker and Wolfgang Schierloh.
After receiving the champion's sash Dirksen took to Instagram: "Oh, Dieter, my little fighter pony! Once again, you gave it your all in the arena. I’m so grateful to be able to experience and celebrate this special moment with you. I’m really looking forward to the future with this incredible pony stallion/"
Judge Nicole Nockeman, who briefly discussed the rides afterwards, said about Smiley's test that "in the trot we saw an incredibly engaged and dynamically moving pony, which always displayed a secure side silhouette." She called the winning ride a “completely secure test from A to Z."
The runners-up were German pony team rider Lilli von Helldorff on the Holsteiner bred Proud Day Max (by Dreidimensional x Rocketti ) with 8.64 points. Bred and owned by Karin Stolz, the bay stallion received 8.2 for trot, 8.4 for walk, 8.8 for canter, 9 for submission, and 8.8 for general impression. The pair moved from a fourth place in the qualifier to second in the finals for a silver medal.
Soddemann edged out German and Spanish based, Russian born, Azerbaijani junior rider Agata Zakhrabekova, who gave up international dressage sport after completing the 2024 European Pony Championships. She has been focusing on show jumping instead, but with pony Glücksbote (by Glück Auf A x Going East) she made an exception and competed the Weser Ems gelding at national pony level in Germany the past two years. They were fourth last year at the Bundeschampionate and fourth again this year. Bred by Andrea Nöllgen, Flücksbote scored 8.3 for trot, 7.8 for walk, 8.6 for canter, 7.8 for submission, and 8.2 for general impression. They totalled 8.14 points.
Photos © Tanja Becker/Equitaris - Mirka Nilkens
Related Links
Scores: 2026 Bundeschampionate
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2026 Bundeschampionate