Dutch rider Harrie Smolders secured yet another victory with his successful Holsteiner horse – and he did so in front of a home crowd in Valkenswaard. Monaco is by Cassini II out of Contender and was bred by Ralf Lütje from Haseldorf; he belongs to line 429. The 17-year-old Monaco is in the form of his life and a crowd favourite. A visibly emotional Harrie Smolders said after the victory: “He’s getting better and better as he gets older, and I’m so grateful to have him in my stable. He’s a one-of-a-kind horse.” A year ago, the pair finished second here – a reputation that dogged them for quite some time; although they were always consistently good and finished highly, that little bit of luck needed to secure victory at the very highest level was always missing. That was until their first major triumph in the Rolex Grand Prix in Geneva last December. And now the curse of the ‘eternal runner-up’ seems to have been broken once and for all.
Flower Girl (Michal Szadkowski), a daughter of Hickstead-Catoki from line 628B, and Marcus Ehning finished sixth in a 1.60-metre course at the Competition of Champions in Münster – in the Grand Prix, no less. The mare was the fastest horse in the first round, and a fault at the final jump in the jump-off prevented her from achieving a better placing.
The Holsteiner Association stallion Keaton HV by Kannan-Contendro I (Rudolf Schmitt, Wöhrden), line 4847, shared this fate under the saddle of Arne van Heel in the 1.50-metre Grand Prix in Lier, Belgium. After a clear round in the first round, this new partnership had to contend with a knockdown at the final jump in round two – yet they were still rewarded with seventh place.
DJM Aachen: The entire podium in the Children’s class goes to Holsteiners
At the German Youth Championships in Aachen, there were Holsteiner titles to celebrate: Quineiro (Ernst Eggers), a son of Quintero-Parco xx, line 223B1, rode clear and fast in all three classes, helping his rider Eske Biermann to the title in the Children’s class. “I’m a bit speechless and just so grateful that I get to ride Quineiro. He went so well in every round. I can’t really put into words what it means to me to win here,” said the beaming winner Eske Biermann, who was visibly moved after her golden weekend in Aachen.
The silver medal went to Schleswig-Holstein: Justus Thomsen and Clooney by Clarimo-Carpaccio (Peter Fr. Friedrichsen, Ahrenshöft), line 8456, secured second place. Many fans of the Holsteiner breed will certainly recognise the gelding from his numerous flawless rounds with Justus’s father, Peter Jakob Thomsen. The bronze medallist is also a Holsteiner mare: ridden by Svea Wagner, Mandy by Manchester van’t Paradijs-Caretino, line 8858, bred by Udo Wagner, secured the medal.
You can find further successes of Holsteiners from around the world here:
Photo: Global Champions Tour (Monaco and Harrie Smolders)
