Germany’s Sanneke Rothenberger stole the show with a hat-trick of gold medals at the inaugural FEI U25 Dressage Championships which drew to a close in Hagen (GER) today. The 23-year-old rider led her country to victory in Friday’s Team competition and then returned to top both yesterday’s Grand Prix and today’s Freestyle classes with her 15-year-old Oldenburger, Deveraux.

However the real winner of the weekend was the sport itself, as rising stars from 14 nations demonstrated their formidable talent and enormous promise. These Championships are designed as a stepping-stone on the steep climb to the elite level of the sport, and the future is looking very bright indeed, with great expectations that many of those who excelled over the last few days may already be on the road to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Staged at the elegant Hof Kasselmann in Hagen (GER), the event attracted 41 horse-and-rider combinations including nine teams and eight individual competitors, and the flags of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland were flown with pride.

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