Danish Warmblood is allocated a quota of four horses in each age group (5-, 6- and 7-year-olds) at the FEI WBFSH World Breeding Dressage Championships. Each year, approximately 1,800 foals—both jumping and dressage—are registered in the Danish Warmblood studbook.

For the 26th consecutive year, Danish Warmblood chairman Jan Pedersen also serves as President of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses. He closely follows international developments in horse breeding and expressed both pride and admiration for Danish Warmblood’s outstanding results at the WBCYH.

“It is a particularly strong achievement to have nine out of twelve horses qualify for the finals. This demonstrates a high quality and a well-functioning selection system,” Pedersen stated.

“In dressage, Danish Warmblood is one of the strongest breeding associations in the world. And it is impressive when you compare the relatively small number of foals born in Denmark with the much larger numbers in Germany and the Netherlands. These results prove that breeding success is no coincidence—it requires far-sighted, knowledgeable breeders working within a modern selection system. Today, we have high-performance mare lines that form the foundation of the breeding progress we are seeing.”

Two-Step Selection Process

In Danish Warmblood, selection for the Young Horse World Championships takes place over two stages. The first is open to all; from there, the selection committee forms a preliminary squad about a month before the championship. The final team for WBCYH is then chosen from this group.

The selection committee consists of dressage judges Gunilla Nymann and Birthe Lyder Nielsen, along with professional rider Jens Holm Kristensen. Nymann was present in Verden, offering riders valuable advice and guidance. As she emphasized, the committee’s task is to select horses capable of reaching the finals—where, as she noted, “anything can happen.”

13th Gold Medal for Danish Warmblood

The double world champion Quinn G entered Verden as the favourite in the 7-year-old class, ridden by her English owner, Fiona Bigwood. Despite the weight of expectations, the pair delivered, claiming a well-deserved gold medal in the final.

Bigwood praised Danish Warmblood breeding and spoke warmly about her exceptional mare:

“She is incredibly quick to learn and finds the difficult exercises so easy that she spends more time hacking in nature than training in the arena. This mare is a future Grand Prix horse,” said the Olympic rider.

This victory marked Danish Warmblood’s 13th gold medal at the championships. Another Danish Warmblood, FA Viviani DWB, presented by Lone Bang Zindorff, also reached the 7-year-old final and finished in fifth place.

Silver Medal for a Gold Medal Mare

In the 6-year-old final, Anders Hoeck rode the mare Brandtbjergs Divya, a recipient of a gold breeder’s medal in Denmark. The pair won the silver medal. Divya is by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy, Danish Warmblood’s Stallion of the Year, who himself earned silver and bronze medals at the WBCYH. Two of his offspring reached this year’s finals.

Anne Troensegaard and Slangerupgaards Saffron, awarded a silver breeder’s medal, won their qualification round but placed fourth in the final. Carina Cassøe Krüth also secured a place in the final with the breeding stallion Svalegårds Hot Driver, finishing ninth.

Bronze Medal and Four Finalists in the 5-Year-Old Class

Remarkably, all four Danish Warmblood 5-year-olds qualified for the final.

Mette Sejbjerg Jensen, who has been riding for Helgstrand Dressage for a decade, celebrated her first medal success at the championships—winning both gold and bronze. She took gold with the charismatic and well-mannered Danish Warmblood licensed stallion Proud James (by Jameson RS2, KWPN), and bronze with the DWB stallion Straight Horse Leonardo, who stems from a particularly strong mare line related to the DWB breeding stallion Glock’s Zonic.

Stutteri G, run by Helene Geervliet, had two finalists: Quinn G in the 7-year-old class and Faustino G in the 5-year-old class, each from different mare lines. Betina Jæger narrowly missed the podium with Faustino G, finishing fourth.

Selina Solberg Vittinghus qualified both of Atterupgaard’s horses for the final. Her best result came with the noble stallion Atterupgaards Bernachi, whose dam Atterupgaards Dicte has produced five licensed stallions and is a full sister to Olympic horse Atterupgaards Cassidy.

Another standout, the gold medal mare Atterupgaards Daimi, winner of this year’s Young Horse Championship in Herning, was returning from a short break after minor surgery. She impressed with a trot score of 9 but found the demanding final test slightly too challenging at this stage.

A Historic Achievement

When Fiona Bigwood and Quinn G captured gold in the 7-year-old final, it marked not only an outstanding performance for the pair but also the mare’s third gold medal at the WBCYH.

This is an exceptional feat, achieved only twice before in the history of the championships—and both times by Danish Warmblood horses: the stallion Sezuan (by Blue Hors Zack/Blue Hors Don Schufro, bred by Linette Jæger) and the mare Fiontini (by Fassbinder/Blue Hors Romanov, bred by Henrik Hansen).

It is particularly noteworthy that Quinn G’s dam, Fyrstin Laura (by Fassbinder/Lauries Crusador xx), was bred by Henrik Hansen—making him part of the story behind two of the three horses to achieve this historic hat trick.

With the combination of top-quality horses, skilled riders, and dedicated breeders, the Danish Warmblood team once again presented itself among the world’s very best at the Young Horse World Championships.

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Danish Warmblood horses in the finals in Verden

5-year-old

Betina Jæger and FAUSTINO G.
by  BLUE HORS FARRELL/SEZUAN
Breeder & Owner: Stutteri G. by/ Helene Geervliet

Selina Solberg Vittinghus and ATTERUPGAARDS BERNACHI
by  BON COURAGE/CAPRIMOND E.H.
Breeder og Owner: Stutteri Atterupgaard

Mette Sejbjerg Jensen and STRAIGHT HORSE LEONARDO
by  LORD EUROPE/DE NIRO
Breeder & Owner: Straight Horse ApS

Selina Solberg Vittinghus and ATTERUPGAARDS DAIMI
by  SPRINGBANK II VH (SWB)/BON BRAVOUR
Breeder og Owner: Stutteri Atterupgaard

 6-year-old

Carina Cassøe Kruth and SVALEGÅRDS HOT DRIVER
by  HESSELHØJ DONKEY BOY/BLUE HORS HOTLINE
Breeder: Stutteri Svalegaard
Owner: Four Oaks ApS & Stutteri Svalegård

Anders Hoeck and BRANDTBJERGS DIVYA
by  HESSELHØJ DONKEY BOY/BLUE HORS DON OLYMBRIO
Breeder: Brandtbjerggaard by/ family Buhl
Owner: Stutteri Søbakkehus

Anne Troensegaard and SLANGERUPGAARDS SAFFRON
by  SECRET/SCOLARI
Breeder & Owner: Slangerupgaard A/S

7-year-old

Fiona Bigwood and QUINN G. 
by  QUATERHIT/FASSBINDER
Breeder: Helene Geervliet
Owner: Fiona Bigwood

Lone Bang Zindorff and FA VIVIANI DWB
by  VALVERDE/TAILORMADE TEMPTATION
Breeder: FA-Horses ApS
Owner: Bang - Dressage by/ Lone Bang Zindorff