Imke Schellekens-Bartels Welcomes Straight Horse Sezuanna to the Team

Dressage

The Netherlands

Dutch Olympic dressage rider Imke Schellekens-Bartels has been absent from the international dressage arena since 2015, but now has a new star for the future in her barn, Straight horse Sezuanna.

Sezuanna is an 8-year old Danish warmblood mare by Zack out of Bøgegaardens Don Romina (by Don Schufro. She is bred by Mogens Pedersen of Straight Horse Brood Farm,

Full Sister to Sezuan

Straight Horse Sezuanna is bred by embryotransfer and has a full sister, Ascenzione, born on the same day in 2013. While Ascenzione is being developed at FEI level by German Olympian Helen Langehanenberg, Sezuanna will now be in Dutch Olympic hands.

Both mares have a world famous, full brother, licensed stallion Sezuan, who won the World Young horse Championships three years in a row under German Olympian Dorothee Schneider.

While Sezuan (born in 2009) was officially bred by Linette Jaeger, the dam Bøgegaardens Don Romina afterwards sold to Mogens Pedersen

Decorated Mare

Sezuanna is a highly decorated mare in Denmark. She won the 2016 Danish Warmblood Mare Champion's title.

Sezuanna at the 2016 DWB Mare Performance testing in Fyn

She partly sold to Andreas Helgstrand and has only been very lightly competed since then.

She made her national show debut in 2018 under Kenneth Damgaard, who competed her first in March 2018 at the local show in Viborg. In August she finished fifth at the qualifier for the Danish Young Horse Championships and in October she placed 17th with 75.2 points in the preliminary round of the 2018 Danish Young horse Championships for 5-year olds.

Sezuanna has not been shown since then.

Dutch FEI Hopeful

Imke Schellekens-Bartels recently went on a shopping trip to Helgstrand Dressage and Bartels Academy acquired Sezuanna for her.

"She's an enormously talented mare," Schellekens told Eurodressage. "She's very hot and still very inexperienced in her training for an 8-year old, but she has an incredible amount of power and potential."

Imke plans on first getting to know the horse and train her up the levels.

"I'll start working with her and my goal is to train her to Grand Prix level and than take her into the ring," said Imke. "And of course I'll enjoy her every day of the process for her willingness and talent."