By Sally Reid
Photography: © Take The Moment; private collection
The New Zealand Hanoverian Society, which is also the official administrator of the NZ Rheinland Studbook recently announced its awards for 2023-24, acknowledging the best of both breeding and performance in dressage,
The exceptional dressage performance horse award went to Don Vito MH (Don Frederico - Adelheid MH x Anamour, who has an equally outstanding pedigree. He was bred by Judith Matthews of Matthews Hanoverians, and is owned and ridden by Wendi Williamson. His dam, Adelheid MH (Anamour - Wel Kantje (StPrSt.) x Weltmeyer) is from Stamm 1189102, Schridde 231 (Delfina line); she, too, was bred by Judith Matthews and was the first embryo foal of the German-bred Staatsprämie mare Wel Kantje (Weltmeyer -Pikantje, StPrSt x Pik Bube), who was imported in 1996. Adelheid MH was retired from breeding after producing 14 superb foals for Matthews.
Don Vito’s sire, the Celle Stud’s Don Frederico (Donnerhall), who died in 2022, was the champion of his licensing in Verden (1999). He left 33 licensed sons, and many Staatsprämie daughters.
Don Vito MH is owned and ridden by Wendi Williamson, and, as mentioned in previous issues of WBN, has seldom failed to finish in the top three at any level of competition. He has two very noteworthy full siblings, both also trained and ridden by Williamson. The first of these, Dejavu MH, who died in 2018, represented New Zealand at the World Cup Dressage Finals in Omaha in 2017, and won many national titles. The other, Don Amour MH, was 2019’s NZ Dressage Horse of the Year and had outstanding CDI-W wins in Australia, one of which broke the Australian freestyle record with a score of 76.18%. There are also several half-sisters, including Decadance MH (Dacaprio), who was the national five-year-old Young Dressage Horse in 2015.
Fürst Rock DW
New Zealand’s dressage world has had an admiring eye on the work of Fürst Rock DW (Fürst Romancier - Rock Chiq DW x Royston Rockstar) since his first appearance in the competition arena. He is a Rheinland gelding, bred by David Woolley and owned by his rider Vanessa Way in partnership with Brooke Hughes. Vanessa – who is quite tiny – describes him as her “18.1hh dancing giant”.
Like Delia SW (see below), he was one of the stars of the 2020 NZ Young Dressage Horse Championships, where he won the six-year-old title with a colossal score of 89.4; David Woolley was awarded the Glenvar Trophy for Breeder of Best Young Dressage Horse that year... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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