Release date: 08/05/2019

The finals for the five, six and seven-year-olds provided good sport and exciting jump-offs. Holland’s Joy Lammers defeated top rider Harrie Smolders in the jump-off of the seven-year-old division with her KWPN gelding Hero (by Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve). “The course was demanding but nevertheless a large number of combinations stayed clear in the initial round.” Joy is riding Hero for two years: “When he came to me he didn’t know anything and didn’t have any competition experience. He has a lot of power, he is careful and he has a covering canter which helped a  lot in this jump-off.” Harrie Smolders finished in second and third place with Escape (Zang, by Emerald van ’t Ruytershof) and Calina (DWB, by Ci Ci Senjor ASK) respectively.
Belgium’s Jeroen Appelen was very busy this morning, he won the final for six-year-olds with the stallion Neverland Z (Zang, by Numero Uno) and he immediately jumped on a other horse to compete in the next class. Afterwards he said: “It was a great course, not too heavy.” He rides Neverland Z, owned by Neverland Stables, since January. “He is very fast and it all worked out in the jump-off. We jumped many stallion competitions this winter and we got to know each other very well. He has a lot of quality and I think, if all goes well, he will have a bright future. I have a real good feeling about this horse.” France’s Lara Postillon finished runner-up with Ethic Z (Zang, by E.T. Cryozootech Z) followed by Jos Verlooy with Nazarine vd Axelhoeve (BWP, by Emerald van ’t Ruytershof).  
A cheerful Sander Geerink, who won the final of the five-year-olds division with the KWPN stallion Jetski E.B., was very happy with the course “it had nice long lines, perfect for young horses.” Sander owns Jetski E.B. together with several other people and Valkenswaard was their first outing. “Normally he is stabled with a Finnish rider nearby, but I wanted to see what he could do. So I picked him up on Saturday and tomorrow he will return home again. Jetski E.B. has a great attitude, he is careful and cooperative. He has learned a lot the past days and gained a lot of experience, he will have a good sleep tonight,” Sander smiled afterwards. Bas Moerings finished runner-up with Jesther and Britain’s Emma Stoker took third place with Skylandria Z.