The winners of the ‘Horse of the Year 2025’ title will be announced during the 2026 KWPN Stallion Show in ’s-Hertogenbosch. Two horses will be honored: one in the jumping category and one in the dressage category. Which horse deserves the title ‘Dressage Horse of the Year 2025’ according to you? Cast your vote and help decide, together with other enthusiasts, which dressage horse will receive this prestigious title. Below you will find the nominated dressage horses.

The three nominees for Dressage Horse of the Year 2025 are Red Viper, Luxurious, and Vivaldi. Voting is open until December 31, 2025.
Last year, Glamourdale (s.Lord Leatherdale) was crowned Horse of the Year Dressage during the KWPN Stallion Show. Which horse will receive the title this year?

Vivaldi (Krack C x Jazz)
Bred by A. Versantvoort, St. Oedenrode

The preferent KWPN stallion Vivaldi is one of the most influential dressage sires of his generation. The chestnut stallion, who passed away in 2025 at the age of 23, first made a name for himself as a young horse with victories in the Pavo Cup and the Stallion Competition (class Z) under Hans Peter Minderhoud, but his true impact lies in breeding. Within the KWPN, 1,237 offspring were registered up to and including 2025, and he produced nine approved sons. Vivaldi also sired more than thirty Grand Prix horses, and his influence is strongly visible in the second generation as well, with successful grandsons such as Indian Rock, Incognito, and Extreme U.S. Vivaldi was declared preferent in 2018 in recognition of his exceptional contribution to breeding.

Hexagons Luxuriouzz N.O.P.T. (Johnson x San Remo)
Bred by W. Plomp, Tull en ’t Waal

The nine-year-old Luxuriouzz v/d Waalsehoeve, competed as Hexagons Luxuriouszz N.O.P.T. under Thamar Zweistra, has shown strong development this year on the international Grand Prix circuit. The pair achieved several top-three finishes on home soil, including at CDI3* ’s-Hertogenbosch, CDI3* Exloo, and CDI3* Rotterdam. At the European Championships in Crozet, the chestnut gelding made his debut for the Dutch team, which finished fifth. As a five-year-old, he competed at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses with Benedek Pachl, where he claimed the bronze medal.

Red Viper (Romanov Blue Hors x Sir Sinclair)
Bred by C. Kerbert, Enschede

The approved stallion Red Viper delivered several standout results at both national and international level in 2024 and 2025. Under Bart Veeze, the dark chestnut stallion claimed both the World Championship title for five-year-olds and the Pavo Cup, after which Dinja van Liere took over the reins. With her, Red Viper continued his impressive form with ease. At the World Championships for six-year-olds in Verden, he placed third in the qualification and went on to repeat his World Championship title in the final with a score of 90.400%. Most recently, at the Anemone Stallion Competition in Kronenberg, he once again produced a strong performance, winning the Z class with a score of 92.2 points.

Voting
Voting is open from Friday, 21 November until Tuesday, 31 December 2025. By casting your vote, you will have a chance to win two tickets to the KWPN Stallion Show. Each person may submit one vote, duplicate votes will be filtered out. After the voting closes, all votes will be counted and we will announce which horse will earn the title Dressage Horse of the Year 2025.

Go to the voting form

Source: KWPN
Photo: Dirk Caremans