The only U.S.-bred seven-year-old in the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses finished a very credible 10th of 40 starters during the competition at Ermelo in the Netherlands on Sunday.
Vianne, ridden by Hope Beerling of Australia, earned 80.6 percent for quality, with a technical mark of 69.644 percent. Three of five judges marked her at 8 or more, contributing to a total of 75.122 percent for the Hanoverian mare (Vitalis/Ramiro’s Bube). Owned by NorCordia USA (click here for a story on that enterprise) the mare was bred by Catherine Haddad Staller, based in Califon, N.J., and Wellington, Fla. Hope is her student.
Hope Beerling and Vianne carried the flag for the U.S. at the Young Horse Championships at Ermelo. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Catherine said she was “absolutely thrilled to have my horse and rider show such good training and presentation on a world class stage.”
The competitors included top-class riders, among them World Cup Finals winners Isabell Werth of Germany (the Olympic multi-gold medalist was fifth on the Hanoverian stallion Valdiviani) and Hans Peter Minderhoud of the Netherlands, ninth with the Dutch Stallion Las Vegas.
As Catherine pointed out, “That’s a tough arena to enter on an unknown horse without a big name. Hope and Vianne left a serious business card on that centerline in Ermelo. As both breeder of the horse and trainer of this pair, I’m honored and proud to watch them reach the top 10 in the world.”
The victorious seven-year-old was Germany’s Danciero (Dancier/Fuechtel’s Floriscount), ridden by Anna Kasprzak of Denmark. The Hanoverian gelding received a quality score of 96.800 percent, a technical mark of 76.858 and a total of 86.829.