Each year many breeders look forward to this moment: the youngest crop of stallions makes their appearance in the stallion competition to battle against their peers. In the first leg of the Anemone Horse Trucks Stallion Competition Dressage, it was the Dettori-son Dark Rousseau ridden by Kim Alting that triumphed. 

“A talented horse that was presented very well”, comments Janine van Twist on the performance of Dark Rousseau and Kim Alting. “The walk is good, but could be more swinging in the back, an 8,5. We give a 9,2 for the trot. We notice a lot of balance and push, especially for a four-year-old, and Dark Rousseau showed us beautiful transitions and lateral movements. The canter has great balance and a powerful jump, an 8,7. We reward the submission with a 9. The stallion is soft in the contact and wonderfully focused on the rider, those beautiful transitions impressed us every time.” Receiving an 8,9 for overall impression resulted in an overall score of 88,6 points and thus the victory for Dark Rousseau (Dettori out of Westside ster PROK by Rousseau, breeder H.G.A. Verdellen of Hegelsom). 

Newport impresses in trot

Newport (Glock’s Toto Jr. out of Adaula elite IBOP-dres PROK by Jazz, breeder P. van Doorn of Leersum) claimed the runner-up position with Febe van Zwambagt. “This stallion was presented in a lovely manner. The walk is spacious, with a swinging back, although Newport could follow the hand better, an 8,4. The trot is, certainly for a four-year-old, well-balanced, a 9. The canter is uphill, but could develop more strength, an 8,8. Given the age we are sure that he will improve on that. We grant him an 8,5 for submission. The stallion is performing his test very nicely, but the mouth should be more closed.” An 8,8 for overall impression put 87 points on the scoreboard. 

Nashville Star and Dinja van Liere place third

“In terms of covering enough ground we have nothing left to desire in this walk”, reckons Janine van Twist after the performance of Nashville Star (Desperados out of Ezrasijgje ster by Westpoint, breeder L. Martens and daughters of Zuidveen). “He walks with big strides and a swinging back though sometimes he still has some trouble with the transitions. We award a 9 for his walk. The trot has great balance, the stallion is high-legged and displays great self-carriage, but he could gain a bit more strength, an 8,8. The canter gets an 8,5. That gait shows a good jump but is a tad rushed at times, and Nashville Star could develop more strength in this gait too, which is perfectly fine for a four-year-old.” The errors at the start lower the mark for submission (8,3) and an 8,5 for overall impression results in an 86,2-point total. 

Results

Photo: Horses.nl/Melanie Brevink