The Holsteiner Horse Days drew to a close on the final Sunday with the decisions in the State Championships for five- and six-year-old show jumpers. Brilliant Nessaja by Brantzau and Nightwish by Nixon van het Meulenhof are the two champions in these age groups.
She is by Brantzau and Quiran and was bred by Johanna Wagner. With Jesse Luther in the saddle, Brilliant Nessaja won the State Championship for five-year-old show jumpers – Prize of the Holsteiner Verband Hengsthaltungs GmbH & Stadtwerke Elmshorn. She achieved scores of 8.6 and 8.7 in the rounds of the M*-level young horse show jumping class. „The mare has good rideability scores and always has the top pole in her sights,“ was the judges’ commentary on the grey mare. „She comes towards her rider and can shape well over a fence,“ it continued. Yet Brilliant Nessaja, whose dam competed in S-level courses with the breeder herself, has not yet completed many competitions. „She is a super modern and performance-oriented horse and I am over the moon that she did so well here,“ her rider Jesse Luther said, beaming.
Silver went to the Holsteiner Verband stallion Union City by United Way-Connor (Alf Bartholomäus) with Lucas Wenz. With scores of 8.8 and 8.4 in the two rounds, the pair finished just behind the winning combination. „A horse with an unbelievably good attitude – always jumps away from the first pole, loose and generous behind,“ judged the judges.
A medal was also secured by Maximum von der Söhr by Manchester van’t Paradijs-Up to Date from the breeding farm of Christian Schröder. Jonte Hansen was even able to slightly improve the score (8.5) from the first round in round two (8.6), meaning the bronze medal was recorded in the final tally. „The power of this horse remained evident in the second round as well,“ was the jury’s reasoning.
Holsteiner top prize winner crowned Holsteiner Regional Champion
The Holsteiner Regional Championship for six-year-old show jumpers – the Gestüt Grönwohldhof Prize – is held as a specialised show jumping class at M** level: Following the first round, the top twelve pairs (scoring 8.0 or higher) qualified for the jump-off, which was ridden against the clock. With a score of 8.5, Arne van Heel and Nightwish secured their place in the jump-off. The bay by Nixon van het Meulenhof-Uriko was bred by Holsteiner Verband Hengsthaltungs GmbH and, in 2023, became the top lot at the Elite Riding Horse Auction, passing into the ownership of U25 show jumper Theresa Kröninger. She entrusted Nightwish to the Holsteiner Verband Training and Marketing Stables – and thus to Arne van Heel – and this trust was rewarded with a flawless performance in the jump-off and, consequently, victory in the State Championship for six-year-old show jumpers.
The silver medal was secured by Connection by Connect-Quarz (Christiane Mohr) and Philip Loven. The pair had secured their place in the jump-off with a score of 8.3. The bronze medal went to Cultino EB by Casaltino-Colman (Evi Bengtsson) and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, following a score of 8.0 in the first round and a clear-round jump-off.
Photo: Janne Bugtrup (Nightwish and Arne van Heel)
