Profi le

BUILDING ON success

ANDREAS HELGSTRAND HAS BUILT ON A HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL CAREER AS A RIDER TO DEVELOP A BREEDING EMPIRE WHICH NOW EMPLOYS 130 PEOPLE AND NUMBERS 650 HORSES AROUND THE WORLD, AND IS RETURNING TO THE LIMELIGHT IN COMPETITION ONCE AGAIN. POLLY BRYAN FINDS OUT HOW HE MAKES IT WORK.

For Andreas Helgstrand and his dressage breeding and sales empire, 2020 was a year of two halves. urin the first half of last year, no one came here – it was very difficult, the orld and lympic medallist tells me from his famous sales centre, cocooned within the northernmost tip of Denmark, near Aalborg.

“But then, around July, it all changed. Things started to open up, people were more brave when it came to moving around and suddenly, business was very, very good. e sold a lot of horses.

ne of those horses as vie, the no nine-year-old double world young horse champion by Don Juan De Hus who sold to ermany s isa ller in u ust, despite speculation that he might become a grand prix ride for ndreas. It s that business acumen and willingness to sell even his very best horses if the right buyer should come along that has propelled Andreas to success, and it doesn t surprise me that, despite the pandemic, the company managed to achieve one of its best years yet. In just 12 years, Helgstrand Dressage has grown to become

PHOTOS: MIA BACH – HELGSTRAND DRESSAGE AND RIDEHESTEN.COM

a true global empire: breeding, producing and selling elite dressage horses all over the world. Now, Andreas tells me, he employs more than 130 people, and has around 650 horses spread across his various centres, from foals to some of the orld s most famous stallions.

TOP RIGHT: ANDREAS HELGSTRAND HAS BUILT A DRESSAGE EMPIRE THAT SPANS THE GLOBE, AND HAS GAINED INVESTMENT FROM OUTSIDE THE EQUESTRIAN INDUSTRY. ABOVE AND BELOW: GESTUT FAMOS, HELGSTRAND DRESSAGE’S HEADQUARTERS IN GERMANY.

“We have a very strong marketing set-up, ith four or fi ve people employed ust to market our horses. We’re pushing them hard,” he says. “It has been a real game-changer that people are becoming brave enough to buy horses online, and we sold several last year without viewings. But then again, e off er buyers the chance to exchange the horse if they are not happy – and we only sell horses that we are happy to have back. We don’t just take the money and run – we want to do things in a really modern way,” he continues, telling me that according to a recent analysis of the company, they have a 56% success rate when it comes to return business.

‘RETURNS’ POLICY

Helgstrand’s innovative ‘returns’ policy and after-sales service is just one of the many ways it has stayed ahead of the curve. It helps, of course, to have a rider like Andreas at the helm. Andreas spent almost seven years as head rider for Denmark’s esteemed Blue Hors stud, and it was his partnership with the entrancing grey mare Blue Hors Matine that I al ays said that my fi rst priority as for Helgstrand to survive and make good, and then I would start to ride [grand prix] again, so now I can compete and do a bit more.”

I ask him what it would have meant to have been selected to ride at another Olympics, his third, 13 years after his last. He smiles.

“I get my adrenalin kick from the business nowadays, and I don’t need much more. Competing is a lot of fun; I used to be much more stressed about competitions when that was the only thing on my mind, but now I have so much more that it is just pleasure.”

will still be what many dressage fans think of when they hear his name. With Matine, Andreas claimed individual silver and bronze medals at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, before riding Blue

Hors Don Schufro to team bronze for Denmark at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Since launching Helgstrand Dressage at the end of 2008, Andreas’ competitive career has centred around young horses. He has never left a World Breeding Championship KEVINSPARROW without a medal, having been crowned champion twice, with young stallions Jovian and Revolution.

But, despite the sale of D’Avie, 2021 has seen him make a return to international rand prix dressa e for the fi rst time since early 2016, primarily with the 11-yearold Fassbinder mare Fiontini. Previously competed by Severo Jurado Lopez, head rider for Helgstrand until April 2020, Fiontini has continued to ourish under ndreas this year, and the pair were long-listed for the Tokyo Olympics.

“Fiontini is a very good horse with a lot of capacity and potential,” Andreas says.

CONTINUED EXPANSION

Returning to top level competition has certainly not been at the expense of further growth of the business. Quite the opposite. Over the past few years, divisions of Helgstrand Dressage have opened in Florida, Germany, and now, the UK, with four-time Olympian Richard Davison heading up the British arm.

For the expansion of his business to be a success, it relies on getting the right people onside, something Andreas prides himself on.

“I would love to have more English clients and feel closer to the UK, but it is impossible for me to be everywhere. Richard is well known, and very knowledgeable, and a really good match for Helgstrand,” says Andreas.

Davison Equestrian, comprising Richard and his son, showjumper Joe, has become the UK base for both Helgstrand Dressage, and Andreas’ latest venture under Helgstrand’s umbrella company, Global Equestrian Group – a partnership with German Olympic

ABOVE LEFT: THE INDOOR ARENA AT GESTUT FAMOS. ABOVE RIGHT: THERE ARE 42 STABLES IN AIRY MODERN BARNS AT THE GERMAN FACILITY, BUT WORLDWIDE HELGSTRAND DRESSAGE IS HOME TO 650 HORSES. ABOVE INSET: ANDREAS WAS PART OF THE BRONZE MEDAL-WINNING DANISH TEAM AT THE BEIJING OLYMPICS.

ABOVE: ANDREAS WITH BLUE HORS MATINE, WHO CAPTURED MANY HEARTS AT THE 2006 WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES. BELOW: REVOLUTION, STANDING AT STUD AT HELGSTRAND DRESSAGE AFTER WINNING THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD TITLE AT THE WORLD BREEDING CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2018.

showjumper Ludger Beerbaum. As front-line contacts for UK buyers and sellers, Richard and Joe will assist with selecting suitable horses from Helgstrand’s vast collection, along with arranging post-Brexit importation and delivering Helgstrand’s signature after-sales service. They will also facilitate the UK development for the Group’s future equestrian sector business acquisitions.

Meanwhile, the German dressage sales centre and stallion station, home to the likes of So Unique and Valverde, is headed up by husband and wife team Ulf and Eva Möller, with Ulf also managing the Wellington branch in Florida.

“In Germany we have a new barn with 50 horses, and 10 of our best breeding stallions. It is run much like our base here in Denmark. In Florida we have 60 horses,” says Andreas, adding that he aims to “pump in good people who can run their own business, who I don’t need to always be on top of”.

Much of Helgstrand’s ability to take such confi dent leaps in its rapid expansion plans comes down to what Andreas describes as the most si nifi cant development in his business journey so far: the sale of over half the company to Waterland Private Equity, in 2018.

“People wondered if it was even possible to sell an equestrian company to a private equity group, but I managed to do it and it has been a superb journey for us so far,” says Andreas, managing to convey his intense pride in his business accomplishments, without even a hint of arrogance. “Investors are now starting to loo at the horse orld diff erently, seein it as real business, not just someone’s hobby.”

It’s another example of Andreas pushing the boundaries of both breeding and business, refusing to be restrained by traditional methods and opportunities. It takes courage, but contrary to my assumptions, Andreas tells me that he would not consider himself a risk-taker.

“Many people think I’m a little crazy and take these big risks,” he chuckles. “But actually, I’m really careful. I won’t take a risk that I don’t know I can manage, or survive.”

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Much of Andreas’ success undoubtedly comes down to his thorough understanding of the market, and an enviable eye for spotting promising young horses that people genuinely want to buy. ideability is top of the list, he confi rms, when explaining what he looks for in a horse. “About 20-30% of our market are professional riders, but the majority are amateurs, and they don t ant a diffi cult horse. hey ant an easy horse they can enjoy – but of course most of the time quality and trainability belong together.”

ABOVE: ANDREAS WITH JOVIAN, WINNING THE FIVE-YEAR-OLD CLASS AT THE WORLD BREEDING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2019. RIGHT INSET: RICHARD DAVISON, WHOSE DAVISON EQUESTRIAN BUSINESS HAS BECOME THE UK BASE FOR BOTH HELGSTRAND DRESSAGE AND GLOBAL EQUESTRIAN GROUP.

Quality is the name of the game here, but there are also relative bargains to be had – the ‘budget’ section of the Helgstrand sales website features horses priced between €25,000 and €50,000, though the majority sell for well in excess of this. These are, after all, horses boasting the very best in European bloodlines, and selected and trained by Andreas’ crack team.

“We buy around 100 foals in a year, and of course not every one of them will turn out to be a superstar,” he says. “But €50,000 will get people a better horse here than anywhere else in the world. If they don’t sell we continue to train them, and then they might cost €100,000 in a few years time.

“I can tell pretty quickly whether a horse is worth holding on to for longer in order to achieve a higher price. You have to look at the whole picture – good horses nowadays have no weaknesses. If you see a horse and wish for more here or there, it is not good enough, but so many people forget to look at everything. Horses are getting better very fast, and with social media, people can easily see what is out there.”

“I can tell pretty quickly whether towards a more modern system that focuses more on education and improving knowledge among breeders.”

EDUCATION FOR BREEDERS

I ask what he would like to see improved when it comes to sport horse production and assessment, and for Andreas it is obvious.

“Transparency, and greater education,” he says. It can be very diffi cult to understand what makes a horse good or bad, why this one might score a nine or a 10 in one area, or a four or fi ve. I d li e to see a move towards a more modern system that focuses more on education and improving knowledge among breeders.” So, which horses excite him the most right now? hey include fi ve year old world champion Revolution – now eight and Revolution – now eight and scoring over 77% at Prix St scoring over 77% at Prix St Georges – and Jovian, also a Georges – and Jovian, also a fi ve year old orld champion, fi ve year old orld champion, no seven. hen there s the seven no seven. hen there s the seven year old e uan dau hter ueenpar s endy, fi ve year old bron e medallist in , and another he hails as a top grand prix horse of the future.

“I like a lot of horses out there at the moment, but I’m very happy with what I have here,” says Andreas. “Jovian, Revolution, Queenparks Wendy – they have everything.”

LEFT: ANDREAS HAS AN ENVIABLE EYE FOR SPOTTING PROMISING YOUNG HORSES.