Bundeschampion out of world class lineage

"A good horse is rarely badly bred." Sandra Schürner sums up what makes horse breeding predictable. The best example is Bentheim NRW, an exceptional horse with no ifs or buts.

Ahlerich, Rembrandt & Co.

The now four-year-old, highly noble Bentheim comes from one of the most famous breeding facilities in Germany: the breeding of the de Baey family in Lemgo with the Dodona line. This Donar daughter is the root of the most successful dressage family of the 1980s and 1990s, which produced Olympic champions Ahlerich and Rembrandt as well as Rubinstein, the founder of the line, who was also successful at Grand Prix level. Bentheim's granddam Andona is the full sister to the exceptional sire Rubinstein by Rosenkavalier. Her dam Antine, in turn, is the full sister to Dr. Reiner Klimke's legendary Ahlerich and the dam of Nicole Uphoff-Selke's Rembrandt by Romadour II (who in turn is the sire of Rosenkavalier).
Numerous other Grand Prix horses, licensed stallions and award-winning mares from this line show that this line is as up-to-date as ever. For example, there is the former KWPN Champion Stallion and 2017 European Championship participant, Bordeaux by United, sire of the Parisian team Olympic champion Bluetooth with Frederic Wandres, among others. Then there are the full brothers Royal Angelo I and II, Kaiser Franz by Krack C, Don Angelo, Rosario, Sergio Rossi and others.
Bentheim's dam Rock'n Rose not only represents the Dodona line, but also combines the two formative bloodlines of the legendary Anglo-Arabian Ramzes (via Rosenkavalier) and Ramiro (via dam's sire Rock Forever I) in her pedigree. Four-time Olympic champion Rembrandt and Rubinstein have impressively demonstrated how well the Ramzes bloodline matches the Dodona line.
Bentheim's sire, Belvedere DB, also comes from the de Baey stud and combines two of the most successful sire lines in dressage horse breeding in his pedigree: that of Bolero via Belissimo M and that of Donnerhall via Danone. Belvedere DB himself placed in the top ten at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses with Stefanie Wolf and then moved to the USA, where he is being trained further by Nick Wagman, who sees him as a candidate for the 2028 Olympic Games in his own country.

Blasting instead of pedaling

In keeping with his origins, expectations of Bentheim were high. The elegant Beau exceeded them in his very first show season. In just four competitions under Danica Duen, he first became Westphalian Champion and then Bundeschampion - the best three-year-old riding horse stallion in the country. He left every show ring as the winner. The judges at the Bundeschampionat particularly emphasized his tactfulness in all three basic gaits, his good hindquarters, his natural uphill tendency and his rideability.

Interior at its finest

Bentheim NRW also has a character of gold, as his trainer Danica Duen never tires of emphasizing: "Charming with people and ambitious at work. It's a pleasure to work with Bentheim."
Bentheim's pedigree and personal achievements bode well for the future! And because we are not the only ones who share this opinion, he was awarded the name suffix "NRW" at the end of 2024 as an advertising medium for Westphalian horse breeding.