Pjethro Withdrawn from Dutch WCYH Team, Sold to the U.S.A.

Dressage

KWPN

Gert-Jan van Olst's Dutch wamrblood stallion Pjethro will not be competing for The Netherlands at next week's 2026 World Championships for young dressage horses in Verden. He has been sold to the U.S.A.

Pjethro is a 6-year old KWPN stallion by Kjento out of Jaomie (by Desperado x Houston). He is bred by A.J. Beerens.

Licensed Stallion

Originally named Pjento Naomie, the chestnut was licensed at the 2023 KWPN Stallion Licensing and became the second best scoring horse in the 2023 KWPN Autumn stallion performance test with 87 ppints.

Initially trained and competed by Zandra Birklund, Pjethro finished second in the 2025 KWPN Stallion Competition Finals. Later in the year Charlotte Fry took over the ride and rode him to a second place in the 2025 Pavo Cup Finals. They were also second in the 2026 KWPN Stallion Competition Finals.

Pjethro was selected as first reserve for the Dutch team for the 2026 WCYH in Verden with fellow British rider Sadie Smith in the saddle as Fry is busy preparing Glamourdale for the World Championships in Aachen a week later. They were called up to represent KWPN after stallion Fiji was withdrawn due to colic.

Sold to the U.S.A.

Pjethro will not go to Verden after all as he has been sold to Fritz Kundrun from Wellington, Florida.

This is the second year in a row that Van Olst pulled one of his horses from the WCYH because it sold before the event took place. Last year, Everest sold just days before Verden. Van Olst has retained the rights over the frozen semen.

Fritz and his wife Claudine Kundrun are best known as sponsors of U.S. Grand Prix riders Sue Blinks, Ali Brock and Olivia Lagoy-Weltz, as well as the financial backers of the U.S. High Performance Dressage Development Program. They also own the successful breeding stallion Ampere. Fritz Kundrun is founder and co-owner of global commodities giant AMCI (American Metals and Coal International).

Pjethro's spot will be taken by the second reserve Mattie P Fan Dulve (by Pier 448) under Danielle Heijkoop. This will mark a historic occasion as it will be the first time that a Friesian represents the breed's actual birth country The Netherlands at the WCYH. One Friesian has competed at the WCYH before, but for the Belgian team, in 2024.