Belstaff Joins Nicola Ahorner's Stable

Dressage

Austria

Belstaff, a Hanoverian gelding who competed for Denmark and Korea at the 2018 World Championships and 2021 Olympics, has been sold to Nicola Ahorner as a schoolmaster.

Belstaff is a 15-year old by Brentano II out of Deseade SL (by De Niro x Weltmeyer x Feiner Stern). He is bred by ZG Schmitz and Leitner.

He has three full siblings: Baroque (2005), Batida de Coco (2009) and Bailando SL (2010).

Licensed Stallion

The gelding was originally owned as a young colt by Johannes Westendarp, who presented him for licensing first in Vechta with the Oldenburg society as a 2.5 year old, followed by Hanoverian approval in April 2010.

Belstaff did his 70-day stallion performance test in Schlieckau in the autumn of 2010 and scored 143.64 points for dresage and 93.84 points for show jumping to finish on 127.00 points as third placed out of 48.

Westendarp sold the young stallion to Danish horse dealers and stallion owners Andreas Helgstrand and Jens Peter Aggesen in February 2010, but the dark bay stayed in Germany that year to be produced by Westendarp and to stand at stud at Gestut Böckmann. Belstaff has sired three licensed sons (Boliviano, Bond, Baldessarini) from the two years he stood at stud in Germany.

Johannes Westendarp and Belstaff at the 2010
Hanoverian Young Horse Championships in Verden

The pair became the reserve champions at the 2010 Hanoverian Young Horse Championships in Verden. At the 2010 Bundeschampionate in Warendorf they were ninth. He then disappeared from the German show scene for three years, to resurface in 2013 under Dominic-Nathanael Erhart for a couple of shows

Denmark

Owner by German Kristin Schwarz, Belstaff made his international show debut in 2015 at small tour level under Danish Betina Jaeger. The pair competed at the CDI Odense in May 2015 and placed second twice.

In October 2015 he resold to American Rowan O'Riley. Belstaff moved to the U.S.A as a gelding and was trained and ridden by Catherine Haddad. She showed him twice in a developing GP horse class in the spring of 2016 in Tryon, and twice in 2017 in Wellington. In 2018 the horse was sent back to Denmark to be sold and Jaeger was reunited with him.

Jaeger and Belstaff returned to the arena at Grand Prix level in spring of 2018, competing in Uggerhalne, followed by the CDIO Aachen, where they clinched a spot on the Danish team for the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, where they finished 31st in the Grand Prix (70.14%).

Korea

Betina Jaeger and Belstaff at the 2018
World Equestrian Games

After Tryon, Belstaff sold to Korean Dong Seon Kim in October 2018, but Jaeger retained the ride and showed him once more internationally a year later at the CDI Herning in October 2019

In 2020 Dong Seon Kim had Olympic fever and got back in the saddle to compete Belstaff at the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, where he announced his retirement from sport to begin a career in banking and investments.

He did not retire for long because with the postponed Olympics looming on the horizon, he was eager to take Korea's sole individual slot and competed at the CDI Hagen in September 2020, followed by another campaign in Wellington in 2021. As the sole Korean competing at international Grand Prix level that year, the slot was his. At the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, they were 55th in the Grand Prix with 63.447%

Austria

After the Olympics Dong Seon Kim sent the horse back to Denmark to be resold.

In January 2022, the bay found a new owner in Austrian Under 25 rider Nicola Ahorner, who had lost her Grand prix schoolmaster Ludwig der Sonnenkonig the month before.

The new combination has made its show debut last weekend in Austria at a regional show to finish second in their first Grand Prix with 68,1%.