Fifteen dressage horses competed in the final of the World Championships for Five-Year-Olds. The gray stallion Proud James once again received great support from the crowd, after already winning Thursday’s qualifier. This time, he claimed the gold!

The KWPN stallion and performance test champion Proud James also won the Sport Pro Horse Prize for four-year-old dressage horses in Ermelo last year. Under his Danish rider Mette Sejbjerg Jensen, the Jameson RS2 son impressed once more. The jury commented: “We believe you can be very proud of your Proud James.” He was forward in the right way and consistently in good balance. His trot was active, elastic, and full of impulsion. His walk showed enormous ground cover, although at the end he lost a little rhythm, but overall it was still very good. His canter was active, uphill, and well jumped from behind, with plenty of natural balance. On the final AC line, the audience already started applauding for the halt, which startled the stallion, but fortunately this was not penalized. With a total score of 90.6, the pair took the lead. Proud James is out of Cyraniek (elite prok by Johnson), bred by Yolien van Maasacker from Cuijk, and is registered with Helgstrand Dressage in Denmark.

Full Brother of Red Viper
The stallion Roman Empire (s.Romanov Blue Hors) was bred by Stal Zogland of the Kerbert family in Enschede. He is a full brother to last year’s five-year-old World Champion and this year’s six-year-old titleholder, the KWPN-approved Red Viper. Roman Empire was presented by Bart Veeze. The pair convincingly won the small final, earning a ticket for today’s final, where they were first to go. Having that extra round in his legs compared to most finalists was noticeable today, and the performance was just slightly less fluent than in the small final. Still, it remained a wonderful test. Roman Empire shows three correct gaits: in trot, lots of looseness, good rhythm, and an uphill way of going; in walk, relaxation, purity, and good overtrack, though some tension appeared at the canter depart. In the canter, he showed clear three-beat rhythm and good push. The consistent, soft contact was again a highlight. Roman Empire is out of the top mare Zolena (elite pref EPTM-dr sport-dr prok by Sir Sinclair) and is registered with Rom Vermunt and Stephanie Scheerder in Geesteren. They finished in eighth place.

Little to Complain About
Emmelie Scholtens recently had a hectic and intense period, so she temporarily handed the reins of her Desperado son Port-au-Prince (out of Klivia elite IBOP-dr prok D-OC by De Niro) to Kirsten Brouwer. Kirsten immediately clicked with the complete gelding, riding him straight into the final of the Five-Year-Olds. Right after entering, she made an error in the test, but otherwise delivered a very nice and consistent performance, including an especially beautiful medium trot. Port-au-Prince carries himself, maintains good balance in the turns, and in extensions could still develop more uphill tendency. His walk was pure and active, though sometimes he could show more overtrack and shoulder freedom. His canter was clear in three-beat and nicely uphill. Always willing and relaxed, he was described by the jury as a horse with very little to complain about. Port-au-Prince was bred by Eric Koele of the well-known Stoeterij Turfhorst in Wezep and finished ninth in this strong field.

Fine Movement Technique
In addition to Roman Empire, Bart Veeze also presented a second horse in the final: the KWPN-approved Pina Colada M. His sire, Governor, won silver at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in both 2017 and 2018. The elegant, long-legged Pina Colada M showed a fine movement technique, though in the extensions he could cover a bit more ground. His walk was spacious and pure, earning him an 8.5. His canter showed a correct three-beat rhythm, though he could work more over his back. Pina Colada M was bred by Jan and Jeroen Mol from Diepenheim. His dam is Cinola M (elite pref prest IBOP-dres D-OC by Dayano). He is registered with Rom Vermunt and Stephanie Scheerder from Geesteren.

GJ for KWPN
Foto Proud James