European Pony Champion Del Classico Retained for Denmark

Dressage

Denmark

Del Classico, the 2025 European Pony Kur champion and Danish team pony, has been retained for Denmark. He has found a new rider in the same country.

Del Classico is an 11-year old Westfalian bred pony stallion by D-Day out of Capina Mia (by Classic Dancer x FS Don't Worry). He was bred by Ingrid Schmidt in Germany.

German Beginnings

The chestnut stallion was licensed for breeding at the 2016 Hanoverian Pony Licensing in Verden and first stood in the care of stallion keeper Adolf Theo Schurf.

He made his show debut as a 3-year old in 2017 under Marc Rose and as of the spring of 2018 Paulina Holzknecht began competing him. She won the 2018 Westfalian Young Pony Championships with him and took him to the B undeschampionate where he got bronze.

In 2019 Anna-Lena Frenzel began competing the stallion and they finished 7th at the Bundeschampionate in the 5-year old finals. A year later they were 14th in the 6-year old preliminary test at the Bundeschampionate but did not do the consolation round.

Sold to Denmark

Del Classico sol to Line Rude Hare in Denmark for her daughter Esther to ride. The new duo made its national show debut at FEI pony level in August 2021.

Esther and Del Classico continued to compete at national pony level until the summer of 2023.

Victoria Bang Zindorff

As of 2024 Danish pony rider Victoria Bang Zindorff, daughter of international Grand Prix rider Lone Bang Larsen, took over the ride and debuted him in February 2024 in Silkeborg. The pair's international show debut followed two months later at the CDI Tolbert and from there they went to Aalborg, Hagen and the Nordic Baltic Championships, where they won gold. They were named first reserve for the Danish team for the 2024 European Pony Championships in Opglabbeek, and got to substitute for Rikke Schoubye Johansen and D'Artagnan who dropped out. They ended up winning team silver but stranded in 35th place in the individual test with 66.838%. They won silver at the 2024 Danish Pony Championships.

In 2025 Victoria and Del Classico were a fixture for Team Denmark campaigning at CDI's in Aachen, Lier and Hagen, winning twice. At the 2025 European Pony Championships in Le Mans they won team and individual test bronze and kur gold.

Retained for Denmark

Del Classico has now moved on to his next rider, Anna Dora Munch.

Munch is an experienced national level pony rider competing two ponies at the moment: Tackmann's Giotto (by HET Golden Dream x Valiant Starlight) and Valegro (by Voyager x Der Feine Lord). She debuted as a competition ride back in 2021.