2005 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses

Belgian Selection Trial: Ankonda van de Kwaplas is Sugar 'n Spice

The Belgian warmblood mare Ankonda van de Kwaplas can be described as "sugar 'n spice and everything nice." She's a delightful black mare by Ferro x Rubinstein and was very nicely presented by the young and talented Kaatje Debie. This mare is just a doll with her refined movements and is extremely light in the hand. Her trot is nice, but can show more self carriage, her walk shows decent overstep, but was a bit tense. In the canter she can move more uphill, but has a very functional hind leg.

Ankonda van de Kwaplas is a lovely ladies and scored 77.80 points, just missing out on being selected for Verden. It must have been a bitter pill to swallow for Debie, but in all honesty, Ankonda would not be flashy enough to make an impression in Verden. She's a lovely horse, but not enough of an eye catcher to challenge stallions such as Trento B, Tuschinski, Damon Hill or Dejavu.

One got pretty much the same overall impression from Anais van het Meierhof, a sweet chestnut Belgian warmblood mare by Flemmingh x Wendekreis. Under Diana Smolders, Anais ran an errorless test that earned her 74.80 points, but she isn't the most striking type and is croup high. Nevertheless, Smolders showed nice things on this horse and this is a pair to watch for the future.

Text and Photos copyrighted: Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No Reproduction Allowed
Back One Page / Next Page of the Report