The Tribute Cup with a mixed field of participants and a unique jury
A very special field of participants can be found in The Tribute Cup, in which five competition horses take part. But the jury is also very special. This category is yet another fascinating part of the harness horse evening on February 1 during the KWPN Stallion Show in 's-Hertogenbosch.
Two approved stallions with numerous competition points will take part in this category. First, we see the thirteen-year-old stallion Heliotroop (Colonist out of Wunita, ster pref prest PROK by Reflex M, bred by Joop van Wessel from Zwartebroek, owned by Mts. Naber from Nieuw-Weerdinge) in the arena. Henk Hammers is his rider, but last year he also performed exceptionally well in the hands of his owner, Grietje Naber. And not only in the ladies’ category—Grietje also rode him to the top position in the elite class. Heliotroop has 400 WP.
Always competing
Another stallion that can always be counted on as a participant is the seven-year-old stallion Neon GSM (Bocellies Matteo out of Daymonde keur by A New Day GSM, bred and owned by Jan Thijs Seinen from Punthorst, co-owned by Albert Lueks from Diever), who will also be the rider this time. The stallion has achieved remarkable successes with Lieke Lueks and always presents himself in his own distinctive way—with great elevation and a showy style. The bay stallion has 146 WP.
Six years old
The six-year-old Olympus HS (Kordaat out of Hikaru ster by Manno, bred by G. Lokhorst from Ermelo, owned by Stal Pos from Ankeveen) will be presented by Marcel Ritsma, who has not had the chestnut stallion in his stable for very long. In 2022, he was presented at the stallion inspection by H. Bos. He made it to the second round viewing and went to Leo Wijkmans. In the hands of Henk Hammers, he made his competition debut at Indoor Exloo 2023 and won the newcomers' class. He has now earned 55 WP, with some spectacular performances along the way. Now we will see him with Marcel Ritsma.
Experienced competitor
Another experienced competition horse is Action Quality Pavarotti (Bocellie out of Emely W ster by Manno, bred by A.G. van Ooyen from Koekange), owned and ridden by Leendert Veerman. This black stallion has built a successful competition career in the hands of Niek Alting. Last year, he won the newcomers' class at Indoor Houten and Roden and was the winner of the North competition. The stallion also participated in the performance test last year. He has 18 WP.
Also a newcomers’ class winner
Parla Pardoux (Dylano out of Isandra ster by Colonist, bred by J.J. and M.C.R. de Boer from Mantinge), owned and ridden by Aris van Manen, also started his career last year as the best newcomer, winning at Indoor Ambt Delden and Indoor Exloo. This highly promising dark bay has not competed extensively yet—he has 6 WP—but in Den Bosch, he will once again demonstrate his abilities.
Boyd, Dries, and Johan
A special and diverse group, these five horses are sure to provide an exciting competition in the arena. International top drivers Boyd Exell and Dries Degriek, together with Johan Holties, will judge this group. How will the two drivers assess these competition horses? What will they consider important? Another category you don’t want to miss! You can witness it tonight in Den Bosch.
DB for KWPN