Zack, Glamourdale, Imhotep Nominated for Title KWPN Dressage Horse of the Year 2023

Breeding

KWPN

The KWPN has nominated three dressage horses to be in the running for the title KWPN Dressage Horse of the Year 2023: Blue Hors Zack, Glamourdale, and Imhotep.

The winner is decided by public vote and will be announced on the dressage day, Friday 2 February 2024, at the 2024 KWPN Stallion Licensing in 's Hertogenbosch.

Blue Hors Zack (Rousseau x Jazz)

Blue Hors Zack, champion of the KWPN Stallion Licensing in 2007, achieved success in sport under various riders. Under Nanna Skodborg Merrald, the stallion finished fourth with the Danish team at the Tokyo Olympics and individually eleventh in the freestyle. At the World Championships in Herning last year they won team gold. His breeding career is equally impressive: he has numerous approved sons and offspring on the international stage.

One of his best-known descendants is the late Zonik (Edward Gal), but also Zack's son Blue Hors Zepter (Nanna Merrald) won silver in the Special at the European Dressage Championships in Riesenbeck and was fourth in the freestyle. Sezuan won the World Championship for young dressage horses three years in a row. Zack's grandson Mauro Turfhorst reached the final of the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses for the second time in a row this year. A week later he won the bronze medal in the Pavo Cup.

Glamourdale (Lord Leatherdale x Negro)

Glamourdale has been stringing together successes all his life. The stallion licensing champion won the World Championship for seven-year-olds, the CHIO in Aachen and last year he became World Champion twice. This year too, the black pearl was extremely successful under his rider Charlotte Fry. Glamourdale showed fantastic performance during the European Championship in Riesenbeck. He won team gold for Great Britain and an individual Kur silver. With his second place, he is the highest ranked KWPN horse in the individual WBFSH ranking, and thus made an important contribution to the leading position of Dutch dressage breeders. Glamourdale was KWPN Horse of the Year 2020.

Imhotep (by Everdale x Vivaldi)

The British team has been extremely successful all year long with their KWPN horses. Just last week there was a victory in the World Cup qualifier in London. In that golden team was the 10-year-old Everdale son Imhotep, who under Charlotte Dujardin won team gold and double bronze at the European Dressage Championships. Two-time Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin is very enthusiastic about the industrious horse and is looking forward to the Paris Games with confidence. “I have a real partnership with Pete (Imhotep's stable name, ed.) that I absolutely love. He has so much energy and never stops – he just goes on and on and I love that.”

Voting is open from 20 December to 2 January 2024.