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Sunday, April 27, 2025
HomeDressageTitle: "Recent Highlights in the Dressage World: Weddings, Health Updates, and New...

Title: "Recent Highlights in the Dressage World: Weddings, Health Updates, and New Beginnings"

Luxembourg 5* dressage judge Christof Umbach got married to Ralph Hombücher on 22 April 2025. The couple celebrated their union at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. Umbach was previously long-time linked to Luxembourg dressage rider Sascha Schulz, while Ralph Hombücher was married to Arnd Erben until Arnd’s sad and untimely passing in December 2023. Christof announced the news of their wedding on Facebook with "A journey into new beginnings. Love is in the air. We did it!"

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl has allocated client’s horse Del Sogno, a 6-year-old Hanoverian by Dante’s Junior x Lauries Crusador xx, to her student Carla Süss. Owned by Sönke Rothenberger, Del Sogno was licensed in Munster-Handorf in 2021 and first competed by Anna-Giulia Savic before Philly Giesselmann (née Roberts) took over the ride in 2023. She competed him at three shows and finished 8th in the 4-year-old challenge that was held at the 2023 World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo. The bay moved to Werndl in March 2024 and only showed once with Jessica, in September 2024, at L-level. Süss has now taken over the reins. Süss began her show career in 2021 on ponies and most recently has been showing Finest Beat (by Furstenball x Simply) and Valentin. She has not yet competed internationally.

Swedish Grand Prix rider Sanna Nilsson had to be taken to the emergency room in Eskilstuna, Sweden, on 19 April 2025, after suddenly falling at night. She explained, "I had extremely low / poor values when I came to the emergency room but still felt a little better already then, when I got just the right help in the ambulance. Thank you to the great ambulance drivers who listened and took care of me absolutely correctly, even though I spit down your entire ambulance (apologize once again for that)." She has been hospitalized and is testing a new round of penicillin.

Austrian Grand Prix rider Diana Porsche announced that she is pregnant with her first child. She and husband Philipp Stadlmann are expecting a baby boy in October 2025. "I couldn’t be more excited to begin this new chapter together," Diana posted. She competed at the CDI Fontainebleau before going on an extended baby break. Her show debut with Imhotep, which she took over from Charlotte Dujardin in November 2024, will have to wait as well.

Dutch dressage rider Marten Luiten is sidelined for a short while with his arm in a cast. "Yesterday I made a not so graceful tumble," Luiten took to Instagram. "A little while out of the running and super happy with the team here that keeps things going."

On April 22, 2025, Luxembourg dressage judge Christof Umbach married Ralph Hombücher at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. Umbach, previously linked to rider Sascha Schulz, shared the joyous news on Facebook, marking a new chapter in his life. Hombücher was formerly married to Arnd Erben, who passed away in December 2023.

In the world of dressage, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl has assigned the horse Del Sogno to her student Carla Süss. The 6-year-old Hanoverian, owned by Sönke Rothenberger, has had a varied competition history and is now under Süss’s guidance. Süss, who began her show career in 2021, has yet to compete internationally.

In health news, Swedish Grand Prix rider Sanna Nilsson was hospitalized after a sudden fall, experiencing low health values but receiving prompt care. Meanwhile, Austrian rider Diana Porsche announced her pregnancy, expecting a baby boy in October 2025, while Dutch rider Marten Luiten is temporarily sidelined due to an arm injury from a fall.

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Title: Laura De Cesari Awarded $25,000 Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize for 2025

U.S.A.

Laura De Cesari became the recipient of this special $25,000 Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize for 2025.

The Advanced Dressage Prize provides financial assistance for coaching and training to talented, committed horse and rider combinations with the ability and plans to reach international standards of high-performance dressage. Since 2009, the Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize Fund has awarded 26 grants totaling $650,000 in support of U.S. high-performance teams.

The Arizona-based Laura, along with her own 13-year-old Swedish warmblood Rossi (by Romanov x Vivaldi x Campari M), will use the grant funding to train with David Wightman and to spend the 2026 winter season in Florida.

The selection committee for the Prize felt Laura shows great talent as a rider and trainer, alongside a history of good horsemanship and sportsmanship. Laura is a USDF gold medalist with distinction and manages her own boutique training facility in Arizona.

Laura said, “I was incredibly moved when I received the email from The Dressage Foundation letting me know I had been awarded the $25,000 Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize. The journey with Rossi has been especially meaningful; he’s a horse I started myself and now we’re competing together at the CDI Grand Prix level. Having the opportunity to continue my education at the highest level, with the financial support to make it possible, truly means the world to me. This grant brings me one step closer to my dream of one day representing the United States in international competition. Thank you to TDF for believing in me!”

Carol Lavell achieved excellence in all phases of dressage – as an Olympian, rider, competitor, trainer, teacher, and judge. She knew firsthand the work, sacrifice, and struggle necessary to make it to the top of the dressage world. Through the creation of the $25,000 Prize, she wanted to help other deserving riders who aspire to climb this high-performance mountain.

Information about The Dressage Foundation and the Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize can be found at www.dressagefoundation.org.

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