Hemmer and Denoix Make Their Intentions Clear in 4* Grand Prix for Kur at 2026 CDI Hagen

-- Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED (no screenshots for social media!)
This article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition.

German team members Katharina Hemmer and Denoix PCH have made their intentions clear by winning the 4* Grand Prix for Kur at the CDI Hagen "Horses & Dreams" competition at Hof Kasselmann on Thursday morning 23 April 2026.

Those intentions are, of course, reclaiming a spot on the German team to ride at the 2026 World Championships on home turf in Aachen in August. By riding a personal best score of 77.261%, Hemmer and Denoix have set a high benchmark for other team contenders at the start of the selection season. 

Horses & Dreams Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Horses & Dreams at Hof Kasselmann in Hagen is a fixture on the annual FEI dressage calendar. The CDI was first held in 2004 but was rebranded as "Horses & Dreams" in 2006 and honoured a "partner country" every year. For its 20th anniversary there is no partner country, but an album of memories and great show success being revisited.

The CDI Hagen used to be the first outdoor international competition of the year, but meanwhile several Western European events have stolen that thunder (Aachen Festival 4 Dressage, Tolbert, Fontainebleau). Still Hagen remains to be the first outdoor CDI of the year in Germany.

Hagen used to be the first big title match of the super stars each year, but in 2026 the CDIO Fontainebleau a week ago took a big bit of that cake. With seven countries sending their top riders to this FEI Nations Cup, Hagen saw its Grand Prix field severely thinned out. Even the home heroes stand out in their absence:  Nations Cup team riders Frederic Wandres, Isabell Werth or Svenja Meyer-Kämper are not competing in the big tour; nor are top German riders such as Sonke Rothenberger (where's Fendi?), Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (choosing the CDI-W Mariakalnok for Times Kismet), Raphael Netz (Great Escape Camelot), Anabel Balkenhol, Carina Scholz, Matthias Rath, Bianca Nowag.

Fortunately Horses & Dreams is much more than the Grand Prix. The Prix St Georges boasted a field of 33 (!!) competitors with a whopping field of oriental and middle eastern riders trying to qualify for the Asian Games. Then there is the national Ankum club finals which celebrate amateur top sport, and there is total magnetic power in the qualifiers for the Nurnberger Burgpokal and Louisdor Cup, which pave the way for future top sport.

Dante's Pearl Knocks on the Team Door

The 3* Grand Prix kicked off the competition on Wednesday 22 April with no less than 30 combinations presenting themselves for assessment by Elke Ebert, Sascha Schulz , Maarten Van der Heijden, Hans Voser, and Knut Danzberg.  Fifteen pairs opted to ride the Grand Prix Special on Thursday morning and it was Charlott-Maria Schürmann rapping at the German team door with the Swiss owned Dante's Pearl OLD.

The 3* GP Special was breakfast for early birds as the first rider -- Renate van Uytert and breeding stallion Just Wimphof -- went into the arena at 8 AM in the morning. This reporter left her Belgian grotto at 5 AM for the almost 3-hour drive to be in Hagen on time. It was a tequila sunrise morning with an open sky and palette of rainbow colours as I cruised from Belgium into the Netherlands and onto Germany. Loaded up on half a litre of white Monster energy drink, my pupils were fixed and dilated and I arrived in Hagen right on time and wide awake for that first class.

The winner of the Grand Prix - Charlott Maria Schürmann and the 11-year old Oldenburg mare Dante's Pearl OLD (by Dante Weltino x San Amour) - lived up to the expectations in their first season at international Grand Prix level. The duo began their Special test with a square but stretched halt and huge crossing in the sweeping trot half passes. The passage was so lovely although the regularity still needs to improve with the left hindleg generating more suspension and airtime when it's off the ground. The mare ground her teeth audibly, which shows that the task is quite strenuous for her at this point in her training. In the trot extensions she also needs to lengthen the frame and not just the stride, the second piaffe was slightly forward and in piaffe she still leans a bit on the shoulders but shows great promise. The mare dropped into trot in the corner before turning on the centerline for the pirouettes but that did not affect the score. She showed good ability to collect. Schurmann and Dante's Pearl, who is owned by the Scheufele family known for the luxury brand Chopard, scored  75.553% % to win the Special after being victorious in the Grand Prix with 73.652%. Particularly that 75% score is a clear knock on the door for that fourth team sport consideration (alongside Werth/Wendy - Wandres/Bluetooth - Hemmer/Denoix). Schurmann is currently getting coached by German based Spaniard Santiago Damil.

Hemmer Time

Talking about Katharina Hemmer and her American owned Oldenburg gelding Denoix (by Destano x Pik Noir), they were unbeatable in the 4* Grand Prix for Kur on Thursday noon. Judges Evi Eisenhardt , Maarten Van der Heijden, Ulrike Nivelle ,Hans Voser, and Raphaël Saleh rewarded her with 77.261%.

With team trainers Monica Theodorescu and Hendrik Lochthowe leaning over the fence post to watch Hemmer's test as her steady coach Hubertus Schmidt is still recovering in the hospital from a severe riding accident, "Katha" made her experience count and relied on routine to pilot Denoix with much ease through the test. As last starter to go she was in the best possible position. She began with a square halt, there was huge crossing in the half passes but the switch at B was wobbly. The rein back was good, the extensions ground covering, but the first piaffe a bit crooked. The collected walk was good. The second piaffe was impressively off the ground, although there was a slight back-stepping tendency. In canter the chestnut gelding impressed with the uphill and ground covering tempi changes, but the flying change after the extended canter was four strides (!!) too early to the marker. The right pirouette was the best one of the two, although a bit big. The final piaffe at X began a bit swaying behind but then the straightness improved. Denoix was always supple in the contact and working for his rider. They won the class convincingly.

Flexible Measuring Stick

At last week's CDIO Fontainebleau none of the 3* riders were able to score over 70%, yet in the 5* tour, scores were flying. While it has been generally been noted that since 2025 scores have lowered a little in the  judges' newfound energy and pursuit of rewarding harmony instead of "spectacular" gaits, one cannot help but wonder why a flexible measuring stick is being applied. The lesser gods now barely crack 70%, while some of the gods on mount Olympus get away with murder. 

Also in Hagen this flexible measuring stick was applied with stricter scoring in the 3* class and more lenient judging for the higher ranked riders in the 4*. Or maybe that is my subjective impression? I reflect deeply on the matter and try to scrape away any subjective interpretations of the scores though. 

Danish team rider Daniel Bachmann Andersen is back with a new Grand Prix horse, the 12-year old Oldenburg Flash Gordon (by Fiderback x Don Romantic) who was trained to GP level by Mathis Goerens. The new duo landed second place with an optimistic 73.456%. As first pair to go in the class, Bachmann and the bright chestnut showed plenty of quality but also work-in-pogress. The passage had its fabulous moments, but the regularity was not always maintained. The piaffe had potential but swayed in front. The extended walk barely had instep (at least seeing it from the position where I stood (short side at A). The two tempi changes were wonderful and straight, but the horse lost ground cover in the ones (and the first change was not entirely through). I thought I counted a mistake in the zig zag, but I must have been dreaming as the scores were 7 to 8. The right pirouette was lovely. There was loss of rhythm on the final centerline. Flash Gordon has lots of promise and I'm sure Bachmann will develop this horse into a Danish team candidate. The judges today were quite divided on that ride and had 71.087% as low score (Saleh) and 75.217% (Nivelle) as high score. 

British Sadie Smith and her 11-year old Hanoverian mare Swanmore Dantina (by Dante Weltino x Charatan W) completed the top three with 71.630%. The trot work felt a bit rushed to my taste with the movements ridden in medium trot. The half passes had super crossing at that high speed. The first piaffe needed quite a lot of motivation with the leg aid to keep going. The extended walk had a clear 4-beat rhythm but not the greatest overtrack, the collected was tense. Also in the second passage part the regularity needs to improve, but the mare has much bounce in the movement.  The highlights were the straight tempi changes and small pirouettes. The third trot extension had massive overtrack but also felt rushed. 

Kids on the Block

Two former European Under 25 Champions etched their place into the top five of the ranking. 

Semmieke Rothenberger and the 16-year old KWPN gelding Farrington (by Jazz x Samba Hit) had their first start of 2026 after Frankfurt in December and Aachen in July Semmieke makes a lovely combination with this Dutch "redhead" but today there were some bobbles in the flying changes. I also counted 6 steps in the rein back, but clearly today I'm totally failing at calculus. The first passage could have been more even, but the trot extensions were carefully ridden. The flying change after the nice extended canter was in two phases and the line of ones was broken. The right pirouette was the best one of the two.  They finished on 71.587% for fourth place. There was a score spread from 69.239% to 73.478%.

Danish based Briton Annabella Pidgley brought the 14-year old Westfalian Vamos Amigos (by Vitalis x Hotline) to Hagen. The bright bay is not the easiest horse to ride and today I missed seeing proper lateral bending. The trot work was very up tempo and often rather stiff and artificial looking. The passage was springy and electric, the rein back well ridden. In piaffe Vamos got wide in front and swing out with the right hind, even though Pidgley can get a steady rhythm going in that exercise. The collected walk was not shown; it was a medium or extended walk without neck stretch, yet scored between 4.0 and 6.5 (!).  The one tempi changes were very straight and the extended canter had plenty of power and stride. They scored 71.413% for fifth place and the judges were in unison with their scores.

Keep on Dreaming

The second day of competition at 2026 Horses & Dreams concluded with a massive Prix St Georges class in which the large contingent of Indonesian, Chinese and UAE riders stood out. They are all aiming to achieve the Minimum Eligibility Requirement and team selection scores. With so many new names in the class, it was an interesting one to watch.

The ride that stood out the most was Chinese rider Jiayi Yu on  the 14-year old Danish warmblood Jackpoint (by Johnson x Welt Hit II). Trained by Cathrine Dufour, the pair scored a personal best of 69.853%. The Dufour trademark was stamped all over this combination with the horse finely trained, light in the contact and the rider not disturbing the horse too much. Yu began her international show career in show jumping in 2017 in Bejing and rode the Youth Games in China in 2023. Her international debut in dressage was in 2025 in Herning with Jackpoint. She also owns Jaguar (by Spielberg x Fair Play), previously owned by American Danielle Bonavito.

Action at Horses and Dreams continues tomorrow with the 4* Grand Prix for Special at 8h15 AM. The class has plenty of star calibre with Dufour on Freestyle, Klimke on Vayron, Von Essen on Invoice and Nilshagen with Navarro amongst the ones to watch. 

-- Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED (no screenshots for social media!)

Eurodressage took photos of all CDI riders in Hagen. Contact us if you are interested in buying them for social media (or prints).

Related Link
Scores: 2026 CDI Hagen