2026 FEI World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Horses
Christopher Hector examines the lineage of dressage horses at the World Championship. The champion of the five-year-old category was "Einfach Imposant B," ridden by Kira Laura Sodmann.
This gelding is the offspring of "Escolar" from a mare named "Wonnepalai" and from the "Westerhagen" lineage; one of the many sons of "Weltmeyer" — who had 134 approved stallion offspring — but could not make a significant impact on sport horse breeding.
In the next line of Einfach Imposant B's pedigree, we reach "Rubinstein," another very popular stallion who, despite his fame, could not produce outstanding competitive horses.
Nevertheless, seasoned breeders still like to see that "R" on the pedigree, as it is considered a sign of good temperament even from a distance.
"Escolar" is a controversial stallion.
There is no doubt about his impressive movements and commanding presence in the arena, but there have always been questions about his temperament, and it was hard not to notice how cautious "Hubertus Schmidt" was when riding him in the warm-up area.
"Escolar" and his sire "Ehrentusch" saved the old Westphalian "E" line, although some breeders doubt that this was necessarily a good thing; according to them: "dry, heavy, ill-tempered."
Escolar is the sire of 55 approved sons and 21 Grand Prix horses.
The best of them is "Escamillo," although it is difficult to understand how this impressive stallion — from a dam of the "Rhodiamant" lineage — is classified in the Grand Prix category on the "Horse Telex" list, as the only results seen in the official FEI database for this 11-year-old horse are one third place and three runner-up finishes in the World Young Horse Championships; and that's all.
Nevertheless, this has not stopped breeders and breeding associations from calling "Escamillo" the new savior.
Almost all major horse breeding associations in Europe have been swept under the wave of "Escamillo" blood and his sons; an influx and influence greater than that of the "Sandro Hit" or "Weltmeyer" flood, perhaps even more than the sum of both.
Dutch stallion master "Joep van Uytert" owns one of the most influential sons of "Escamillo," namely "Extreme US"; a stallion that topped the KWPN top 10 stallions list in 2025 with 281 foals, although this number was down from 454 foals the previous year.
Of course, Joep warns that the sons of "Escamillo" need mares with blood, although he says he more or less says this about almost every stallion.
Joep loves blood.
Global Amor "Andreas Helgstrand," the big Danish dealer and Grand Prix rider, is not the most popular figure in the equestrian sport, although I have always found him to be a first-class interviewee; someone who always shares his remarkable insights about the sport horse scene with enthusiasm.
He is now also emerging as a notable sire himself; with his son "Alexander Yde" reaching the runner-up position in the six-year-old category with "Global Amor OLD."
Global Amor is from a stallion named Global Player; another star of the World Young Horse Championships who won the six-year-old category in 2022 and returned the following year to become the runner-up.
Global Player is by Grand Galaxy Win and out of a mare with Don Schufro lineage; therefore, it is not surprising that he, like his grandfather Apache and also his dam's sire Don Schufro, carries the WFFS positive.
The fact that Don Schufro's status was discovered only after his death and after that remarkable period in breeding was a great stroke of luck; and conversely, it is regrettable that Apache fell under this shadow before his career really took off.
In 2023, Global Player was sold to Marie Zoller, a young German rider; an event that was not much of a vote of confidence in him as a breeding stallion.
Global Player, along with Marie, has been successful in young rider classes, with their latest appearance in February 2024 in San Giovanni, where they won in the individual section.
Global Player's name is listed in the stallion register of Helgstrand Dressage in Denmark.
Global Player's sire, Grand Galaxy Win, is a son of Apache, a descendant of Jazz, and out of a mare named Winner T with Jazz lineage.
Grand Galaxy Win competed up to the Intermediate level and was gelded after an injury in 2022, but has now returned to the Florida competition circuit.
Viehhez Happiness and Alina Schneider took third place.
At first glance, one might imagine this chestnut mare is one of the 13 foals born from Viehhegold, the great of Isabell Werth, with Sandro Hit / Don Schufro lineage, but this is not the case; she is the granddaughter of this mare and is by Viehhez Hope with Sir Donnerhall I lineage.
Happiness is from another stallion that has been both highly controversial and immensely popular; Dynamic Dream, a son of Dream Boy with Vivaldi lineage, out of a mare with Sir Donnerhall I lineage.
Critics of Dynamic Dream point to instances where he faced bans due to positive drug tests, and also to the fact that he failed to pass the performance test successfully; let alone even enter the competition field.
In the post-World War II boom of Warmblood horse breeding, the performance test was considered the Holy Grail; but when breeding stallions entered competitions, the importance of this test diminished and it was increasingly regarded as what it always originally was: a comprehensive test for assessing physical health.
Currently, the Warmblood world is full of stories about genetic issues affecting physical health, such as PSSM, which have involved some superstar stallions and their subsequent generations; perhaps it is time for the performance test to be taken seriously again.
And to complete the top 10 five-year-old horses, these horses must be named: DSP Lord Löwenherz von Blien, by Lord Europe, son of Lord Loxley, and out of a mare with United lineage, in fifth place; McMurray NRW, by McLaren, grandson of Millennium, and out of a mare with Ampère lineage, in sixth place; Boscagh's Sanjay, by Suarez, a product of Sezuan/Desperados, and out of a mare with Sandro Hit lineage, in seventh place; Senza Parole F, by Secret, son of Sezuan, and out of a mare with For Romance I/Don Schufro lineage, in eighth place; Chantal, by Revolution, and out of a mare with Blue Hors Hertug, son of Schwadroneur lineage, in ninth place; Ready to Rumble, by Le Formidable, and out of a mare with Ampère/Negro lineage; and finally, completing the top 10 horses, Hamilton's Jazzmaster, by Jameson RS2, a product of Zack/Negro, and out of a mare with Dante Weltino lineage.
Furstenball was the champion of the six-year-old category, Faustino G; a horse that carries the blood of two very handsome horses, namely his father Furstenball and his maternal grandfather De Caprio, in his veins; both horses that never went beyond the small tour level.
He is from a mare with Sezuan lineage; the same stallion that won three consecutive world championships for young horses.
However, this horse was gelded in 2022; a decision that left no room for reconsideration.
The runner-up was Marieta Hagren and Daisy.
This chestnut mare is completely Danish in her upper line and half Dutch and half Hanoverian in her maternal line.
She is from Hesselhoj Donkey Boy; an impressive chestnut stallion from ERA Dancing Hit and from a mare with Milan lineage, from Michellino.
Daisy's mother is also from Zack's lineage.
Secret was third, Sire Gribaldi; a horse from Secret, Sezuan's son, who owes his breeding career in the true sense of the word to a 10-second video on Facebook.
The rumor is that this video captured the imagination of about 600 breeders!
The name Secret truly suits him.
He appeared on the breeding scene and disappeared again; at one point, he was absent because the stable where he was kept couldn't find any workforce!
He retired after a competitive career; a period in which he won a world championship silver and two silvers and a gold in the Bundeschampionate.
And by the age of 9, only in Germany, 37 licensed sons of him had been registered.
Sire Gribaldi is just one of several offspring of Secret that have shone in young horse classes.
In the 2023 World Championship, out of 44 horses present in the five-year-old class, 11 horses were from his lineage.
Sire Gribaldi was born from All Inclusive, son of Trakehner Gribaldi, and from a mare with Thoroughbred Lorenz Crusader lineage.
When he was on a trip to Australia, I asked my friend Ludwig Christmann, an experienced breeding expert at the Hanoverian Verband, what he thought about this stallion: "Until I reached Australia and New Zealand, I had never heard anything about Secret, and everyone was asking me about him.
"In my opinion, first and foremost, Gestüt Famos had very effective marketing.
The video they released was amazing, and when they presented him, he was a black, beautiful horse with extraordinary movements.
" The demand for him was very high from all over Germany; especially from many Hanoverian breeders, because his standing place was about 20 kilometers from Verden.
He was not an extraordinary producer during his foal period, but based on what I have seen from his offspring and the feedback received from riders and trainers, they are highly trainable and have brought a different type of movement mechanics to the Hanoverian breed.
He has an outstanding uphill canter, a good trot—not too flat and with more action—and this was exactly what Hanover needed.
These horses are known for having a very rideable and trainable temperament.
For his rider, Jessica Lynn Thomas, Secret is a horse of a lifetime.
She told me that Secret's owner, Eckhard Waller, had asked her to come to his stable and say what kind of horse he was facing: He said, "Please come and look at my horse; I don't know if this is a 'world-class' horse or not, I really can't tell what it is.
When I got there, the stallion was incredibly large.
He had been ridden a few times, but very little, and had worked very, very little on the longe line.
I entered the stable and saw this huge horse; with a very large head, incredibly thin, and all legs.
Honestly, I had never seen anything like this.
Then we saw him on the lunge, and his legs were going in every direction; we didn't know if he was trotting or cantering, we just knew this horse was incredibly happy.
"The first time I rode him, I didn't know how good he could be.
Is this a world-class horse?
Because his legs were so long and each went in a different direction.
He was very narrow; I had to have a really small saddle for him, because he was like a child.
But I must say from the very first day, he was the most pleasant horse I had ever ridden, and he had just been broken and saddled.
"We really didn't ride him much at three and four years old, even at five years old very little, because he was used a lot for breeding and we didn't want him to break down.
And because he was so big, we tried to take him to competitions by riding him three times a week; it was very hard, but I kept my calm.
Everyone always asks, weren't you worried?
No, because this horse would try for me until the end of the world; he never disappointed me.
"I must say the margins and issues surrounding that horse were not very pleasant, because from the very first video he became very well-known very quickly.
Eki and I didn't count on this, we didn't know this would happen.
We loved him, but not everyone felt the same.
"He is incredibly sensitive in riding.
I have never, ever had a whip!
He just wants to do the right thing.
" Fourth - Viva Diamond, this bay mare, is by Vitalis (Vivaldi / D-D) and from a dam whose sire is Don Diamond, son of Diamond Hit.
Other horses in the top 10 include: fifth, Pythagoras WK from All At Once (Ampere / Gribaldi) from a dam with Vitalis/Negro lineage; sixth, Street Horse Leonardo, a black stallion by Lord Europe, from a dam with sire De Niro, and from Zaconik with sire Zack; then we reach an impressive pedigree: the next mare is Romanik (Romanov / Don Schufro); a dam that has produced four Grand Prix participants, including Zonik.
7th went to Isabell Werth with V-Power; a completely meaningful result, as this bay stallion is by Viva Gold and Vivaldi and comes from a dam named Virones, who herself is by For Romance and from Isabell's superstar mare, Weihegold.
V-Power from Fines, from Fidertanz and from a mare with Show Star lineage; 8th place also went to the Swedish stallion Sundan, who is by Suarez.
I'm sure you've seen his lineage earlier in this article, but again in his pedigree on Horse Telex, his level is described as Grand Prix, while Horse Telex results show him in Small Tour.
Sundan is by Bellagio; finally, the trace of the B line, which was very successful a few years ago, is seen, but no, Bellagio is by United.
V-Power 9th place went to True Love WES; a horse by Toto Junior, with Totilas and Desperados lineage, from a mare descendant of Sandro Hit.
The combination of the top 10 horses was almost inevitably completed with one of the daughters of Secret; Secrets Weapon, from a mare with Sir Donnerhall I and Weltmeyer lineage.
Odi Morona, the champion of the seven-year-olds, was represented by the Netherlands, Odi Morona.
This mare is by Blue Hors Farrell; a horse we encountered earlier, from a mare by Johnson, the number one dressage stallion in the world.
Then we come to Vincent, who is from Pretendent, one of the early stallions of the Dutch Grand Prix (to follow the story of the formation of Dutch dressage horse breeding, see this link https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2025/06/dutch-dressage-breeding-how-did-it-start/).
Secret Agent's runner-up was Charlotte Dujardin with Secret Agent; a horse from Secret and from a mare with the lineage of De Niro and Stedinger.
The third place also went to Brandtberg's Divya; a horse from Donkey Boy and from a mare with the lineage of Don Olymbrio and Zack.
Fourth place — Belcanto HB; and finally, the B line showed itself.
This chestnut stallion is from Benicio and comes from a mare that combines the R and M lines, namely Rascalino and Weltmeyer.
Fifth — Obsession Taonga from Vitalis and from a mare with the lineage of All At Once and Negro.
Sixth — Schatzmeister MZ from Secret and from a mare with the lineage of De Niro and Florencio.
In these championships, Secret was the most represented stallion with 18 offspring; 8 more than 2025.
After him, Vitalis with 9 and Escolar with 8 followed.
Dan Martyo seventh, Dribbler was from a mare with the lineage of Dancier and Wild Dance and himself from Dan Martyo; a horse with the lineage of Don Juan de Hus and Benetton Dream, who when I saw him win the five-year-old championship in 2017, looked incredibly impressive.
He is another horse that mysteriously disappeared from the scene; amid rumors that he suffers from shivers, which is not surprising, as his father certainly had the same problem.
8th place went to Red Viper; a horse from Romanov and from a mare with the lineage of Sir Sinclair.
9th place went to Felice FRH; a horse from For Romance, from For Romantico, and from a mare with the lineage of Riverside and Sandro Hit.
It is pleasing to end this report with the fourth line that includes several young horse stars of the past decade: Forst Heinrich, Sir Donnerhall I, Florencio, and of course Sandro Hit.
Image captured from the source page: The Horse Magazine