Anica van Huis-Kortekaas had reason to cheer at the cross-country competition held at the De Zuidstroom equestrian center in Vinkega. In Jaranga, Nijeberkoop’s Amazone was the best in one of the four L classes of the eventing competition.
“For me it was a cross with two faces. I wanted to make a controlled crossing,” Van Huis-Kortekaas said afterwards. “So I calmly went into the first half. But halfway across the cross I stopped because someone had fallen off the horse. From that place I had to start over and make time. I just didn’t know exactly how much time I had left. And I didn’t want to go too fast, because then she grabs the brake. Then I lose control, Jaranga takes over everything and goes crazy… Still, I’m satisfied: it’s my first cross country this year, ridden on grass and dressage for the first time. The latter went well. There is a little more relaxation. And that’s a great start.”
The 44-year-old cyclist from Nijeberkoop bought Jaranga untrained when he was seven years old. The mare, now ten years old, was trained by Van Huis-Kortekaas himself. In jumping he starts at a height of 1.20 meters. “Jaranga handles everything well. She is amazed by her superior work, which makes her increasingly comfortable on the show jumping ring. But she is still strong. She has a big engine. “Laughing:” she No wonder she is a descendant of Indorado x Harley. I just have to get everything under control a little better before I take another step.”
lost horseshoe
Yvonne Philipse rode her dressage expert Florian PH through the cross without problems. On the way, Florian lost a horseshoe. Thus, the versatile rider from Wijnaldum, 38, looked for a farrier during his conversation with this newspaper. “Everything went well today. The terrain in dressage had to be improved a little. I had to drive a bit tactically to score points. The cross was a challenge. Fortunately, the parts where you could pick up the pace were also good. The obstacles became more difficult. But that didn’t bother Florian. He does everything with great pleasure.”
Why do you jump and cross with your ZZ-Light dressage horse?
“A few years ago, for a change, I started jumping and galloping cavalettias (low obstacles, ed.) around the countryside. She did surprisingly well and turned out to have more courage than we thought. We had fun with that. We are still growing very well: first a B year, now L. Actually, I want M. I think we can do it, but I have never crossed M,” Philipse looked ahead.
,,I’m happy! I got 204 points in dressage,” Dian Snoek said, cheering. And the cross? “Yes, Hidriomf tackled well in the center. It was easy. I just had to get into the rhythm myself. But especially in the middle and in the end everything went well.” The 23-year-old Koudum rider recently started jumping on Hidriomf. Mother Laura Blokland rides dressage with the twelve-year-old gelding. “Last year I started in B and today I started in L for the first time. A great start to the season.”
Good group of volunteers.
Cross-country track designer Han de Jong (Oosterstreek) was pleased. “We have built the cross in the last few weeks. We have a good group of volunteers, we cannot do without them. Especially in cross-building: if you don’t have a good build team around you, you’re left alone. Then it won’t work at all. My advantage is that I have a state pension (67), so I spend my time very well on this.”
Halfway through the L-junction, obstacle number twelve was removed. Because?
“There is a pond behind the cross. It was almost eighteen inches deep. The horses will definitely go back to that. The pond is not an obstacle, but behind it there is. When the horses come out of the water, and of course it splashes, they can run “That’s how it went out, because I don’t want any accidents. At the beginning of this week the terrain was very beautiful. But because of those heavy rains at the end of the week, so much water fell.”
Han de Jong’s relatives were also involved. His wife Bianca de Jong, among others: “Instead of two, there were four L classifications. Because the crossing stopped after starting with the number 150. So the classifications had to be divided from there.” Philipse and Snoek ended second in her classification. In class M, Meike Kuperus (Opende) also finished second, riding Fanny.