KWPN Horse Days Roundup

Horse enthusiasts enjoyed five days of finely bred horses and exciting sport at one of the KWPN's most important events of the year. The festive KWPN Horse Days were well attended, and spectators were captivated by the finals. Horses from the KWPN's four breeding directions were represented at the event. Following is a brief roundup of the KWPN Horse Days.

Dressage

The top group of three-year-old dressage mares included nine horses with very good movement and little difference between the mares. The new champion, Crisjena, is a well-developed Vivaldi daughter out of Odjena (s.Cabochon, breeder: J. de Bruijn of Schelluine, registered party: A. Valk of Gorinchem). The mare has textbook-classic conformation and movement. Second place finisher Cabola, who is by the same sire as Crisjena, is out of the renowned preferent keur mare Pabola. Mother and daughter are from one of the most famous dressage horse breeders of the Netherlands: A.A. van der Koppel of Wadenoyen.

The Apache son Ferrari (out of Vivaldi keur by Jazz) won the Equimax Cup for dressage foals. Bred by J.A.M. van Deurzen of Nuenen, the chestnut with beautiful conformation moved to victory with ample carriage and suppleness. The judges expressed great contentment with the champion: “A foal with abundant nobility and easy movement, especially in the effortless canter - simply a complete foal,” said Toine Hoefs about the champion that will be auctioned at the Borculo National Elite Auction.

Jumping

As a foal, Chinchidee (Chin Chin x Orchidee ster prok by Contender, bred by Derk Noordhuis of Wijster) won the National Championship; at the 2010 KWPN Horse Days (three years later), she captured the championship for three-year-old jumper mares. She is a complete mare with presence, size, and nobility. The well-developed and charming Charisma (Cornet Obolensky x Lomein elite by G.Ramiro Z, breeder: M.C.G. van den Oetelaar of De Moer) won Reserve Champion.

The Zambesi daughter Fleur claimed the Equimax Cup for jumper foals, much to the satisfaction of breeder/registered party L.H.B.M. Beusink of Eibergen. A well-built bay with a light-footed, convincing canter, Fleur is out of Special BP ster by Voltaire. Special BP ster is also the dam of last year's Equimax Cup winner, Entertainer (s.Tangelo v/d Zuuthoeve).

Pavo Cup

Spectators enjoyed watching talented dressage horses compete for the Pavo Cup. Borencio (Florencio x Miss Sinclair elite by Lord Sinclair, breeder: T. Pittens of Nistelrode) danced convincingly to victory in the Pavo Cup for four year olds. The test riders, Carl Hester and Seth Boschman, expressed great enthusiasm for the talented gelding. “A horse with lots of talent: he has a good walk, trot, and canter; he's loose in the back; and he collects well,” according to Seth Boschman, who gave the stallion a 10. Carl Hester praised Borencio for his sensational canter and awarded him a 9.

The winner in the five-year-old division was the KWPN stallion Amazing Star, who Carl Hester described as a special horse with lots of suppleness and who gives his rider a great feeling: “Amazing Star has a fantastic canter and a very adjustable trot - he can collect and extend.” With test riders awarding the stallion a ten, he was honored as the champion. The KWPN stallion Apache, who Carl Hester also awarded a 10, won Reserve Champion. Apache trotted with ample expression and demonstrated abundant talent.

VION Cup

The VION Cup competition is for talented young jumpers. This year, Boemerrang (Namelus R x Ups-A-Daisy keur by Mermus R, breeder: H. de Roover of Strijbeek) emerged the winner under Chantal Regter. The bay Namelus R son, a full brother of the selected stallion Cuba Libre, earned excellent scores in the final. For jumping form, Boemerrang scored 9.2, and for his way of going between the jumps, he earned an 8.5.

A fantastic jumper, the Indoctro son Always There (out of Tennesse ster prok by Voltaire, breeder: T&L Collins of Riethoven) captured the championship for five-year-old jumpers, under Camilla de Benedicto. Sri Aladdin (Quasimodo Z x Merci by Burggraaf, breeder: A.M. Gillis of Hulten and R.P. Plaisier of Rockanje) ended the Reserve Champion under Rob Heijligers and performed better in the jump-off than in the first round. The KWPN approved stallion Chello III jumped three convincing rounds in the competition to end third with Marcel de Boer. Dennis van Tilburg clocked a very fast time aboard the KWPN stallion Arezzo VDL and climbed to fifth place in the standings.

In the six-year-old division, Rob Heiligers rode the fastest final round with the Celano son Zaragoza (out of T.Star by Quick Star, breeder: J. Reef of Heeze), resulting in victory for the combination. Last year, Zaragoza rightfully placed second in the five-year-old division.

In the seven-year-old division of the VION Cup, the very fast Royal Queen (Nassau x Sarah Leander by Elton, breeder: G. Brinkman of Zutphen) galloped to victory under 16-year-old Dennis van de Brink. His sister Stephanie rode Wapper (Perion x Regina by Ircolando, breeder: T. by de Brink of Nijkerkerveen), who finished as the Reserve Champion.

Gelder Horses

In the competition for the best Gelder mare, the judges declared the Vitens daughter Carola-Woma (out of Miranda keur sport-(driving), breeder: M. Wopereis of Mariënvelde) the Champion. They described her as a youthful mare with good Gelder type, a well-developed front end, beautiful front leg use, and a strong hind leg.

Among the keur- and elite mares, Wanda (Sirius x Nonja ster by Elegant, breeder: P.J.F. Rutten of Heumen) received the champion's sash. Wanda, who boasts a well-developed front end and outstanding movement, won the 2008 Championship in this division.

Alexandro P sired five of the six top foals in the foal class. Florance (Alexandro P x Mesalliance, bred by Ria Hekkert) won the class. She showed very well and demonstrated balanced, powerful, and elevated movement.

Harness Horses

The National Final for the Greet Bergstra Cup was a highpoint again this year. The two highest placed horses of each class compete in the Grand Final. Eleven mares faced off in this year's final, and Taunita elite (s.Manno, registered to the Van Wessel family of Zwartebroek) took the Cup.

The Manno Trophy competition was thrilling. Aron HBC claimed the coveted trophy with Harry van Middelaar. Stuurboord Landzicht placed second with Mark de Groot.

Click here to view the complete results.