From 6 to 10 August, Verden will become the global stage for ‘a special showcase’ – as described by Monica Theodorescu, head coach of the German dressage riders. At the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses, the world championships for young dressage horses, the best five-, six- and seven-year-old young horses in the world will present themselves and crown their world champions. The riders’ town has already hosted the World Championships 17 times, and in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Verden will once again be the meeting place for the world's best young horses.
‘I think it's great that the World Championships are back in Verden for another three years, at the heart of German breeding,’ explains Monica Theodorescu. ’As I am already involved in the selection of the German World Championship candidates, helping to assess and choose which horse-and-rider pairs will go to the World Championships, it is extremely interesting to see what the next generation has to offer – from both a sporting and a breeding perspective. The World Championships are a special showcase.’
A prime example of how all these world-class aspects come together is Life Time FRH. The Hannoveraner stallion has catapulted himself into the final of the world's best three times. Last year, at the age of seven, he secured the title: World Champion! At the end of April, the Livaldon/Fürstenball son proved Nürnberger Burg-Pokal Burg at the very first stop in Hagen am Teutoburger Wald. A sporting exclamation mark. The exceptional chestnut had already qualified for the Burg-Pokal-final in 2024, but did not compete. Why did his rider, Charlott-Maria Schürmann, decide to compete in the junior series again this year? ‘The next step would have been the Louisdor Prize, but Life Time FRH is only eight years of age. He still has time. Of course, he has matured even more in the meantime. We started carefully with piaffe and passage over the winter so that he could gain a little more strength. But he has also been used for breeding at the Celle State Stud since April, and I wanted to see how he would cope with the double challenge first.’ He is able to separate sport and breeding very well, even though he initially neighed at all his colleagues in Hagen. ’I didn't know that about him,’ smiles Charlott-Maria Schürmann, ’but he's still great with me when riding. He would never stray from his role.’ The stallion was bred by Johannes Hesselink from Emlichheim and is owned by Domus Equus Niedner SC from Luxembourg.
This world champion from the ’centre of German horse breeding’ has made the most of the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses three times and then seamlessly launched his sporting career – a truly special showcase! So don't miss out: the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses from 6 to 10 August at the show grounds on Lindhooper Straße in Verden.
Tickets for the World Championships are available from Ticketmaster at: https://www.ticketmaster.de/artist/verden-international-tickets/981934?camefrom=de_va_pverd
