Dutch Pony Champion Esmae Niessen Finds New Ride in Germany

Dressage

The Netherlands

Dutch pony team rider Esmae Niessen recently sold her pony to Sweden and found a new ride in Germany for her last year on ponies in 2026.

Niessen has secured the ride on Alfons Rieg's 7-year old Weser Ems stallion Ganymed W.

Ganymed W

The bay stallion is a 2019 born German Riding pony by Glück Auf A out of Simsalabim (by Can Dance x Black Boy II). He is bred by Elisabeth Wallschlag.

He was licensed at the 2021 Weser Ems Pony Stallion Licensing in Vechta and competed in his first shows under Ann-Cathrin Rieg in 2023. The pair was fifth at the 2023 Oldenburg Young Pony Championships in Rastede and 8th at the 2023 Bundeschampionate in Warendorf.

In 2024 he competed at L-level at local shows in the Stuttgart area and in 2025 moved up to M-level, showing alongside horses and winning in Waiblingen with 8.0 as a 6-year old.

The Netherlands

Ganymed W has now moved to The Netherlands for one season, where he'll partner with Dutch pony champion Esmae Niessen.

Esmae on Do It My Way at the 2025 CDI Kronenberg Indoor

Niessen made her international show debut in 2023 in the children division, competing KWPN mare Dadona Diva (by Johnson x Rosenkavalier). They represented The Netherlands at the 2023 European Children Championships in Kronberg, where they were fourth in the team and finished sixth individually as the highest scoring Dutch pair. She is also the 2023 Dutch Children Champion.

In the summer of 2023 the Niessen family purchased Strandgaards Do It My Way, who was previously shown by Danish Smilla Seneca Raahede. Second pony Strandgaards Doleys joined soon after. Niessen and Do It My Way made their CDI debut in Troisdorf in October 2023 and gained experience in 2024. In 2025 they were nominated on the Dutch team for the European Pony Championships in Le Mans, where they won team silver and placed fourth individually. They won the 2025 Dutch FEI Pony Championship and were second in the Dutch Hippiade Championships. They finished their time together with a triple win at the CDI Kronenberg. Do It My Way sold to Sweden to the Ek family.

With one more year on ponies to go, Niessen will be competing Ganymed W, who was advertised for sale on Eurodressage's Equimarket.