Grevens Sa Va Sold to Sweden, Alexander Helgstrand Moves On with Belantis

Dressage

Denmark

Danish junior rider Alexander Yde Helgstrand said goodbye to his Danish team horse and ride of four years, Grevens Sa Va. The 17-year old mare has been sold as a schoolmaster to Swedish Olga Fischer.

Grevens Sa Va is 2005 born Danish warmblood mare by Blue Hors Soprano out of Grevens Rubina (by Blue Hors Romancier). He is bred by Svend Skov Poulsen and Dorit Greve.

Camilla Ahlers Pedersen

Originally owned by the breeders, Grevens Sa Va became a gold medal mare at the 2008 Danish Warmblood Elite Mare show.

She was first trained and competed by Camilla Ahlers Pedersen and represented Danish warmblood at the 2010 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, where she finished fifth and was the highest placed mare in the 5-year old finals (ahead of Weihegold).

Pedersen took the mare up to national Prix St Georges level and competed her until May 2015.

Carina Nevermann Torup

Pia Lykke Espesen briefly took place in the saddle in the autumn of 2015 before the ride was allocated to Carina Nevermann Torup in the winter of 2015-2016.

She rode Sa Va at CDI's in Nieuw en St. Joosland and Odense in 2016 and at the CDI Herning in March 2017.

Sa Va came up for sale in 2017 and ended up moving to Helgstrand Dressage to be sold, joining Carina Nevermann Torup who took up a job there. Carina continued to ride the mare at the 2018 CDI Herning and Uggerhalne.

Camilla Ahlers Pedersen and Sa Va at
the 2010 World Young Horse Championships

Instead of selling her into foreign hands, Andreas Helgstrand bought her as a junior horse for his son Alexander.

Alexander Yde Helgstrand

Alexander first tested the waters on Sa Va at a home show in Vodskov in September 2018, winning and Medium class, and went on to ride her in a few more regional shows that autumn.

In his last year on ponies in 2019, Alexander Yde Helgstrand continued to competed Sa Va to gain experience at junior level. He made his international show debut at the home show, CDI Uggerhalne, in May 2019 and a month later ride at the CDI Vilhelmsborg.

As of 2020 Helgstrand was officially a junior and won team silver at the 2020 European Junior Riders Championships in Pilisjaszfalu (HUN). Individually he was sixth and fifth. A year later at the 2021 European Junior Riders Championships in Oliva Nova, Denmark collected team bronze and individually was fifth after the pair had a wobbly team test (64th) with Sa Va unsettled on Spanish turf.

Alexander chose not ride the 2020 and 2021 Danish Junior Championships, but finished second in the national 2021 Ecco Cup Finals in November.

Olga Fischer

The 17-year old Sa Va has now been sold and continues as a schoolmaster for Swedish junior Olga Fischer, who has been competing at children's level before with Hello Chello B (by Chello III x Goodtimes).

Carina Nevermann Torup and Sa Va at the
2018 CDIO Uggerhalne

Alexander took to Instagram to announce the sale.

"Sa Va is moving to Olga Fischer in Sweden. The reason why is because that now with school and a new horse (i.e. Belantis), Sava will no longer be the first priority as she deserves," he said. "Sava is the perfect schoolmaster and she will be able to teach her a few tricks, and take the time she needs."

Helgstrand added, "she will continue spending the whole day on the field as she loves. But as some of you might know, you can’t just put a horse that has been in the game for so long, on the fields. (...) Sava has been the best schoolmaster I could ever wish for, I have learned so much from her, and I’m forever grateful for that. (...) It was super hard to say goodbye, but I think it’s the right thing."

Fischer replied on Instagram: "Thank you Alexander for giving me this opportunity to take over the reins of your fantastic Sa Va and now create our own memories and have as much fun with her as you did."

Joshua, Majestic Taonga, Belantis

Alexander will not be riding at a slower pace though. He has been given the ride on the DSP bred Belantis (by Benetton Dream x Expo'se) and also schools Charlotte Jorst's Quarton at home. Belantis was previously trained and competed up to Grand Prix level by Isabell Werth and briefly shown by her Australian assistant rider William Matthew in 2021.

William Matthew and Belantis in the 4* CDI tour
at the 2021 CDIO Aachen

Werth and her sponsor Madeleine Winter-Schulze bought Joshua in 2020 and Majestic Taonga in 2022 from Helgstrand and sent Belantis up north to be sold.