Golden dream horses: Proud James wins the World Championships in Verden!

Golden dream horses: Proud James wins the World Championships in Verden!

The eagerly awaited FEI WBFSH World Championships for young dressage horses recently took place in Verden, and the event once again offered the very best performances in the saddle. As reitturniere.de reports, the KWPN stallion Proud James won the gold medal in the five-year-old horse class under rider Mette Sejbjerg Jensen. With an impressive final score of 90.60 percent, he left the competition far behind.

But that wasn't all! Mette Sejbjerg Jensen showed an extraordinary talent as she was able to lead two horses onto the podium. The silver medal went to the Oldenburg mare Viva Diamond OLD, ridden by Linda Weiß, and the bronze medal went to the Danish straight horse Leonardo, also ridden by Sejbjerg Jensen. “I had a bit of luck on my side,” said the rider with tears of joy as she celebrated her victory, as reported by horse2rider.com.

A look at performance

Proud James, a son of the well-known stallion Jameson RS2, received the following marks for his performance: 9.3 in the trot, 8.3 in the walk, 9.0 in the canter, 9.2 for permeability and an outstanding 9.5 for perspective. The silver medal for Viva Diamond OLD with a total score of 89.20 was no coincidence. Her best performances were a deserved 9.3 in the walk and 9.1 in the canter. Straight horse Leonardo won the bronze medal with 87.40 points, helped by a solid performance with scores of up to 9.1 for the canter.

• Proud James: 90,60%
• Trab: 9,3
• Schritt: 8,3
• Galopp: 9,0
• Durchlässigkeit: 9,2
• Perspektive: 9,5
• Viva Diamond OLD: 89,20%
• Schritt: 9,3
• Trab: 8,8
• Galopp: 9,1
• Durchlässigkeit: 9,0
• Perspektive: 9,0
• Straight Horse Leonardo: 87,40%
• Trab: 8,8
• Schritt: 7,8
• Galopp: 9,1
• Durchlässigkeit: 9,0
• Perspektive: 9,0

A total of 15 horses competed in this exciting final, including 9 stallions, 4 mares and 2 geldings, from a colorful mix of breeding lines from different countries. Led by chief judge Patricia Wolters, the competition was considered a great success, praising the horses' harmonious presentation and natural gait.

The future of the event

Tournament director Wilken Treu mentioned in his remarks that the event should be continuously improved in order to do justice to both the spectators and the participants. Positive feedback from the riders gives hope that the coming years will also be full of exciting competitions.

The eventing itself, often referred to as “equestrian triathlon”, has its own special demands on the riders and animals, with dressage and show jumping tests as well as cross-country riding. Here the harmony between horse and rider is required in various disciplines, which leads to a brilliant spectacle for all horse lovers, as explained in detail by fei.org.