Bundeschampion Va' Pensiero Resurfaces

Dressage

Germany

After an almost two year break from the public spotlight the 2000 Bundeschampion and licensed breeding stallion Va' Pensiero has resurfaced with a new rider.

Va' Pensiero is a 2017 born Hanoverian 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 (still) as owner of the breeding rights.

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Verden, which he won and qualified for the German team for the 2022 World Young Championships in Ermelo, but had to be withdrawn due an an injury.

Recover and Refocus

At the time of his withdrawal from Ermelo, it was also revealed that the lease contract between the owner and Wahler had ended. Va Pensiero returned home to the owner, where for twenty months he stayed out of the limelight.

Hans Richelshagen, father in law of Va' Pensiero's owner Felix Becker, explained in his blog that "after a twenty-month absence - convalescence including reorganization - our now seven-year-old Hanoverian stallion has become acquainted with sport arena again."

At the local show in Okel on 12 May 2024, Va' Pensiero resurfaced in the competition ring with the German born French rider Kim Brüning. The 7-year old stallion won an M** level test with 76.77%.

The stallion is no longer available to breeders. "Three years of breeding were enough. The sport has far more dazzling and visually appealing things to offer," said Richelshagen.