Ten combinations competed in the jump-off for victory in the Grand Prix of CH De Wolden. The first starter, the Irishman Michael Duffy, was clear with Casino and set the fastest time.
Sweden’s Malin Parmler took second place with Immer Fortuna, bred in Pesse. Jur Vrieling from Holwierde finished sixth.
Delicate trail
Course builder Louis Koninckx had built an extremely delicate course for the Grand Prix. This became apparent during the race, because mistakes were noted on almost all obstacles. Twenty combinations crossed the finish line with a jumping fault, the majority of which was caused by a misjudgment of the place of take-off.
If a comparison is made between equestrian sport and football, then the international CH De Wolden is a platform for combinations at the premier league level. They competed for a first prize of 10,000 euros in the Grand Prix. Two weeks ago in Aachen and Monaco, the first prize amounted to 1 million euros.
That is Champions League, but without the Premier League, the Champions League would not exist. And so it is in equestrian sport, with the difference that various riders such as Jur Vrieling, Jack Ansems, Hessel Hoekstra or Frank Schuttert regularly appear at the start of competitions at Champions League level, but also at the CH de Wolden in Veeningen being active.
The reason for that is simple. A top rider is only a top rider if he has access to a top horse. “We need events like this to develop our horses into top athletes. This event is characterized by a friendly atmosphere where the organization leaves nothing to chance. The courses are perfectly geared to the combinations, the soil is top notch and an atmosphere has been created for the horses where they learn a lot”, said Daan van Geel from Gees, who started with no less than eight horses.
‘Event with an eye for detail’
Grand Prix winner Michael Duffy echoed those words. “This is an event organized by true show jumping enthusiasts, with an eye for detail. For example, every morning there is a top breakfast for the grooms, the caretakers of the horses, and that shows the respect that people have for everyone here,” says Duffy.
Van Geel no longer has the ambition to be active at the top level in show jumping. “My goal is to have a dozen horses from each year in my stable. Varying in age from foal to a maximum of eight years. I want to train those horses and continue to select them during that training. Actually just like a football club that starts with a large group of young children and is happy if one eventually manages to get through to the first. During those years, the lesser horses are sold just like the top horses, because the chimney has to keep smoking.”
I’m Special Power
I’m Special Power, bred in Drijber, with which Van Geel started in the Grand Prix, he owns together with Jos Lansink, the national coach of the show jumping riders. “Because many competitions, including the CH De Wolden, are streamed live via the internet, the whole world can follow these competitions. That’s why I know that there is international interest for some of my horses that I start here. It would therefore not surprise me that a few of these horses will soon be in another stable.”
Whether I’m Special Power will also be sold soon depends, according to Van Geel, on his bank account at that time. “Can I afford to keep her for a few more months or will we give the buyer the luck”, said Van Geel, who eventually finished nineteenth in the Grand Prix.