Patrik Kittel Takes Over Ride on Lyndal Oatley's Dante's Herzchen

Dressage

Sweden

Swedish Olympian Patrik Kittel has officially taken over the ride on his wife, Australian Olympian Lyndal Oatley's rising Grand Prix horse Dante's Herzchen.

Dante's Herzchen is an 11-year old Hanoverian by Dante Weltino x Hochadel x Akzent I x Adlerfarn II, bred by Ilse Knief-Meyer.

Santiago Damil

The horse only began competing for the first time in 2021 as a 7-year old under previous owner, German based Spaniard Santiago Damil.

Damil premiered her in January 2021 at M-level in Unna-Massen, showed her in Mönchengladbach and Coesfeld, before he took her into the Prix St. Georges Special in the early summer in Kronberg, where all eyes were on the horse. The combination was also listed on the first participants list to ride the German selection trials for the 2021 World Young Horse Championships in Verden.

Lyndal Oatley

The talented black mare sold to Carol and Andrew Oatley in the winter of 2021-2022 for their daughter Lyndal to ride.

Oatley premiered the mare at the CDN Ankum on 21 January 2022 winning the Prix St Georges with 78.690%. The pair made its international show debut in May 2022 in Compiegne, where they won the Prix St Georges (71.441%¨) and placed second in the Inter I.

A two-year break from international showing followed. Nationally she premiered in the Inter II in February 2023 and a year later did her first national Grand Prix test in Ankum in February 2024. The pair returned to the CDI ring at Grand Prix level at the Aachen Festival 4 Dressage, where they were fifth in the Grand Prix (70.304%) and second in the Kur. Oatley did not want to campaign the then 10-year old mare for Australian Olympic team selection.

Patrik Kittel

Oatley has now decided to pass on the ride on the 11-year old mare to her husband Patrik.

"She needs consistency and the focus on one rider and the confidence that brings," Lyndal told Eurodressage. "I know I haven’t the experience needed to help her reach her full potential. I am proud of how much I did to get her to where she is now but I want to see her shine in the way I know she can."

Kittel debuted Dante's Herzechen at a local show in Herbergen-Essen and scored 73.367% to win the Grand Prix.