Va' Pensiero Sold to Australia

Dressage

Australia

Va' Pensiero, the 9-year old Hanoverian licensed stallion and 2020 Bundeschampion, has been sold and moved to Australia.

He's a 2017 born stallion by Vitalis out of Floies (by Furstenball x Metternich). He is bred by Zuchthof Düvel.

Licensed Stallion

The bay was licensed at the 2019 Hanoverian stallion licensing in Verden and approved for DSP, Oldenburg and Westfalia. He did his 14-day suitability test in Adelheidsdorf in September 2020 and scored 9,38 for dressage and 8,45 for show jumping. In January 2022 he did his first Sport test and became the high scorer with 9,36 points.

The German FN has Felix-Ferdinand Becker listed as sport owner and Christoph Wahler as owner of the breeding rights in the FN database.

Sport Career

He initially stood up for stud at Wahler's Klosterhof Medingen and the training was done by Hannah Laser.

She debuted him in 2020 and won every class that year, including the Hanoverian Young Horse Championships and Bundeschampionate. In 2021 he only did one show and then disappeared for a year.

He returned at the 2022 Hanoverian Young Horse Championships in Verden, which he won and qualified for the German team for the 2022 World Young Championships in Ermelo, but had to be withdrawn due an an injury. In addition the lease contract between the owner and Wahler had ended and Va' Pensiero no longer stood at stud.

Three Riders in Three Years

The stallion returned home to the owner, where he stayed out of the limelight for twenty months. He returned at a local show in Okel on 12 May 2024. Ridden by Kim Brüning, the the 7-year old stallion won an M** level test with 76.77%.

In 2025 Hannah Laser was back on board for one season to show him at small tour level, including the Nurnberger burgpokal qualifier in Görlitz, where he was fifth with 70.317%.

In 2026 the owner's mother, Esther Maruhn, rode Va' Pensiero herself and showed him in four St. Georg special tests at local shows between April and May.

Sold to Australia

Mary Hanna at the 2026 World Championships

Va' Pensiero sold to Australian Olympian Mary Hanna. The stallion flew to Australia in September, where he joined Hanna's Ivanhoe for a summer down under.

Mary purchased the stallion as her 2028 L.A. Olympics hopeful.

"I am very excited about our future together," Mary told Eurodressage. "I have done some training with Patrik (Kittel) before I left to come home to Australia, and I think Patrik loves this horse as much as I do. He has such a beautiful character and so much talent for the Grand Prix work. Of course there are always challenges with making a partnership with a new horse, but I feel we are heading in the right direction, and with careful planning and management I feel it’s possible to achieve our goal."

The stallion will first focus on sport before standing at stud.

"We will concentrate just on working towards LA Olympics. After that he may stand at stud," Mary explained. "I think he would be a great asset for the Australian breeding program."