Chase Shipka Secures FEI Hopeful in The Netherlands

Dressage

USA

American dressage rider Chase Shipka has secured a new FEI in The Netherlands. She became the new owner of Hexagons Matteo.

Matteo is a 7-year old KWPN stallion by Toto Jr out of Ushimanda (by Rubiquil x Matador II). He is bred by Leunus van Lieren.

NRPS Licensed

The dark bay stallion was presented in the first phase of the 2019 KWPN stallion licensing but did not make it to the second phase.

Instead Van Lieren presented him at the 2020 NRPS licensing, where he was approved after scoring 75 points in the performance test. Because of his licensed status with NRPS he received the NRPS name Gorgeous Matteo. He was approved at the same time as Hexagon's (Gorgeous) Latino (Toto Jr x Rubiquil x Sultan), who sold to the US a few year ago and became the 2024 U.S. Developing PSG horse champion with Sabine Schut-Kery.

Matteo was trained and lightly competed by Sergio Bermejo Garcia (NED), who worked at Stable Hexagon at the time. Under the latter, Matteo finished fifth in the 5-year old division 2022 Duval Dressage Cup, a regional Dutch young horse show circuit.

Sold to the U.S.A.

The 27-year old Chase Shipka acquired Matteo. Hexagon announced the news on Facebook.

"It’s always a bittersweet moment to sell such a special horse, but we know Matteo has a bright future ahead," said Van Lieren.

Shipka is born just outside of Chicago and from Marshall VA. She started her international show career as an eventer in 2012. She switched to dressage in 2016 after a pretty bad rotational fall that made her lose her nerve. She rode her first CDI tests on eventing horse, the KWPN bred Victory Shetan (by Indoctro x Oula Owl xx). It was Judy Reynolds' KWPN bed Zigal (by Future x Beethoven) that brought her her first success after buying him in 2016. They made it to the 2017 North American Young Riders Championships, where she won kur gold and individual silver. She was trained by Oded Shimoni at the time.

In 2019 she premiered Gladstone Zee T (by Apache x Jazz) at small tour level in Flyinge (SWE), where she has been training with Jan Brink. She moved him up to Grand Prix level in 2021 under Charlotte Bredahl's tutelage. She won the 2021 U.S. Under 25 Championships and has shown him and small tour horse Dolani (by Don Frederic x Rotspon) internationally through 2024 in Florida.