Olympus PSH convincingly reigns in The Tribute Cup
A very special lineup—that’s how we can describe the new class, The Tribute Cup, which featured five competition horses. But the jury was also remarkable: four-in-hand drivers Boyd Exell and Dries Degrieck. This class was once again a captivating part of the harness horse evening. The convincing ruler in the arena was Olympus PSH.
A uniquely diverse group in terms of age, the five participating horses undoubtedly put on an exciting competition in the ring. The two international top drivers, Boyd Exell and Dries Degrieck, along with Johan Holties, ranked this group. How did the two drivers view these competition horses? What did they find important?
Engaged audience
After the first round, all horses went around once more in a stand show. Finally, three were invited for another round. With an engaged audience, the fantastically marching Olympus PSH took first place. Boyd Exell described him as a very modern and excellent horse. The six-year-old Olympus PSH (Kordaat out of Hikaru ster by Manno, bred by G. Lokhorst from Ermelo, owned by Stal Pos from Ankeveen) was presented by Marcel Ritsma, who has only recently had the chestnut in his stable. In 2022, H. Bos presented him at the stallion inspection, where he reached the second round viewing before being sold to Leo Wijkmans. Under Henk Hammers, he made his competition debut at Indoor Exloo 2023, winning the newcomers’ class. He has since accumulated 55 victory points, including some spectacular performances. Now, we see him in the hands of Marcel Ritsma.
Parla Pardoux
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, opened the class. He started his career last year as the best newcomer, winning at Indoor Ambt Delden and Indoor Exloo. This promising dark bay has not been shown extensively, with six victory points, but he will showcase his talents again in Den Bosch.
Experienced competition horse
We also saw the experienced competition horse 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. In the hands of Niek Alting, this black stallion built an impressive competition career, winning the newcomers’ class at Indoor Houten and Roden last year and becoming the North Region champion. He also participated in last year’s performance test and currently has 18 victory points.
Neon GSM
Another stallion who is always a strong competitor is the seven-year-old 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 was once again presented by his rider. Neon GSM has achieved remarkable successes with Lieke Lueks and always presents himself with great expression and a showy performance. The bay stallion has accumulated 146 victory points.
Heliotroop
The final competitor in the arena was 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). Ridden by Henk Hammers, he also performed exceptionally well last year under his owner, Grietje Naber. And not just in the ladies' class—Grietje also rode him to victory in the elite class. Heliotroop has 400 victory points.
GJ for KWPN
Photo of Olympus PSH: Gemma Jansen