A flurry of gold medals for Germany on Freestyle day

As the sun shone over Ermelo (NED) on the final day of competition, the FEI Para Dressage European Championship 2025 got underway with all five Grades competing for their individual Grand Prix Freestyle medals. Several ‘usual suspects’ clinched the gold, next to one bigger surprise.  

In the first Grade to go, Rixt van der Horst and Eisma’s Royal Fonq N.O.P. of the Netherlands strutted their way to Grade III Freestyle Gold for a score of 80.634. Riding to a medley of Survivor by Destiny’s Child and Vivaldi, the combination produced their most dynamic test, yet. “I picked that [Destiny’s Child] song because I’ve been through a difficult time in the past few years, and also Fonq has come a long way and is now shining with me, so I thought the music was really suitable for both of us,” Rixt said of her song choice. “An ending like this, it is magical for us to do this here in the Netherlands.”

In what was their last dance together in a competitive arena, it was Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Joergensen and Jolene Hill who took the silver with a score of 79.807. For the first time this week, the bronze medal went to Francesca Salvade of Italy riding Escari, scoring a Championship personal best of 76.274.

Germany’s Dresing makes it a hattrick in Grade II

Once again, the Grade II gold medal went to Heidemarie Dresing and Poesie 143 of Germany, scoring their best ever competitive mark together of 80.973. “It’s amazing. I wanted to achieve a score of 80 today and we succeeded, so I am very happy, and it gives us the hattrick!”
This 10-year-old mare now puts Heidemarie in the enviable position of having two European Champions in her stable, having won in Riesenbeck with Horse24 Dooloop, ahead of what will be a home games in Aachen at the FEI World Championships 2026.

Familiar with the silver medal this week, Katrine Kristensen and Goerklintgaards Quarter claimed it once again with a score of 78.374. It was Great Britain’s Jemima Green who secured her second bronze medal of the week with her seven-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Fantabulous, scoring a personal best of 76.307.

‘Kings of the dance’, once more

Latvia’s Rihards Snikus and King of the Dance gave a crowd-pleasing performance set to up-beat medley of Latvian and Latin American tunes to take the gold again on a score of 80.674. “The horse was in another rhythm to what he usually is at home, and Rihards could feel that he was tired today, but they did so well,” his sister, Elene, said of their performance today. “We both love it [in the arena],” Rihards said, on what is his favourite day of competition, and it was clear that being a DJ gives the athlete an incredible sense of tempo as he and the 17-year-old Latvian warmblood rode perfectly in time with the music.

For the third time this week, finishing just behind her long-time rival was world number one, Italy’s Sara Morganti riding Mariebelle for a score of 79.827. Great Britain secured yet another bronze with Mari Durward-Akhurst and Athene Lindebjerg scoring 77.140.

Another triple gold for Germany

The Grade V competition saw Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp match her teammate’s hattrick of three gold medals with yet another win, scoring a personal best with the expressive 10-year-old mare, Pramwaldhof’s Bayala, to finish on 77.700. “She felt so great, I’m so proud of her. She heard the music and just knew it was time to dance. She was so reactive to me, every step felt amazing,” Regine said emotionally of the young mare who made her Championship debut this week. “This is crazy, three gold medals! I cannot put into words how this feels, I wasn’t expecting this at all!”

 The Netherland’s Britney de Jong claimed another silver for the host nation riding her dynamic Freestyle with Caramba N.O.P. In a repeat of the individual medal result, Sweden’s Lena Malmström won the bronze medal once again, finishing on a score of 75.615 with Fabulous Fidelie.

France’s first gold in the Grade IV

In a real shake up to the leaderboard, Alexia Pittier of France emphatically topped the podium with Sultan 768 to claim their first ever Championship medal. They wowed the crowds with a complex floor plan set to a medley of classic French songs and finished on a score of 78.055, well ahead of their nearest rivals. “I can’t explain how happy I am right now, we’ve worked so hard for this day. He’s only a young horse and he has improved throughout the week to go into the arena today and give me such a relaxed and expressive ride,” she said of the 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding whom she partnered at the Paralympic Games in Paris last year.

Silver was claimed by Sweden’s Louise Etzner Jakobsson with Goldstrike B.J, the individual champions from Thursday. The pair performed to an Abba medley which matched the 14-year-old gelding’s enthusiasm, finishing on a score of 75.145. Taking the bronze medal once again was Pia Wulff Jelstrup of Denmark with Zafia who danced around the arena for a score of 74.995.

Incredible competition in Ermelo

After a week of incredible competition in Ermelo, there has been a true changing of the guard in Para Dressage sport, with new team and individual champions crowned at the pinnacle of European competition.