Gestut Famos Acquires Elastic, Ride Allocated to Dorothee Schneider

Breeding

Westfalian

Maik Kanitzky has acquired the young licensed stallion Elastic from Helgstrand Dressage and allocated the ride to Dorothee Schneider.

Elastic is a 6-year old Westfalian stallion by Escolar out of Diva de Luxe (by Dimaggio x Wolkentanz II). He is bred by Daniela Werheit-Wagemeyer.

Elastic

The bay stallion was first licensed at the 2021 Westfalian Stallion Licensing in Munster, where he was presented by then owner Pascal Kandziora as owner. In 2022 the Hanoverian and Oldenburg verband approved him.

He did his shortened suitability test in Munster in April 2022, scoring 7,98 points. Elastic moved into Helgstrand's ownership and moved to Denmark, where he became a premium stallion at the 2022 Danish Warmblood licensing. Hid the 35-day performance test fin Denmark, scoring 834 points.

Elastic did not compete in Denmark but moved to Helgstrand Germany where Maxi Kira von Platen took on the ride. She first showed him as a 4-year old in the summer of 2022 and won silver at the Bundeschampionate. In 2023 she rode him in the 4-year old challenge, a national division hosted by the KNHS, during the World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo. Elastic finished third. He did one show in 2024.

Elastic has now been sold to Kanitzky and has been sent in training with Dorothee Schneider who also rides Segantini and Atterupgaards Barcelo for him.

Love - Hate Between Famos and Helgstrand?

In the past few months Kanitzky has been sending mixed messages about his collaboration with Helgstrand Dressage.

In May 2024 Kanitzky bought the stables of Helgstrand Germany, better known as Gestut Famos, and announced a collaboration between the two companies. Helgstrand signed a five-year lease contract to remain at Famos. In the early winter of 2024 Eva Möller and Holga Finken, both working out of Famos, ended their contract with Helgstrand.

In January 2025 Kanitzky announced he had broken the lease and wanted Helgstrand completely out of the farm by 31 December 2024, alleging horse welfare was not being taken care of. All went quiet while Helgstrand gradually brought some of its best breeding stallions back to Denmark (Dynamic Dream, Franklin).

On 10 March 2025 Kanitzky told Eurodressage that an agreement has been reached between him and Helgstrand for the Danish company to leave the facility. There were no answers to Eurodressage's additional questions by which date Helgstrand would leave; nor which of Kanitzky's stallions would stand at Famos, who would head the operation for Kanitzky, or who is going ride the horses there.

Four hours later, Helgstrand took to Facebook to post that "we will remain at Gestüt Famos until latest the end of this year (..) while actively searching for a new location for our breeding and sport stable."

One day later, Helgstrand announced that Kanitzky bought their stallion Elastic.

Kanitzky, who garnered his fortune with his crane building company Maxi Kraft, owns Stable Heidehof in Züllsdorf and Gestüt M.K. Ammerland in Wiefelstede. He became first known in the dressage world as the breeder of Sir Donnerhall I and II.