Former young rider Julie de Deken finished second in the Prix St Georges with 69,100%. Riding her own Westfalian gelding Fazzino (by Florestan x Rivellino xx), De Deken is preparing her horse for Grand Prix with the help of her trainer Tineke Bartels.
In the Intermediaire I, Fazzino (who won the bronze medal at the World Young Horse Championships under Arnd Erben) was nervous and made a few mistakes. "I totally lost him," De Deken told the Dutch magazine De Hoefslag. "A big disappointment, especially because it all looked so good up to that point. I'm back with both feet on the ground." De Deken hopes to make the transition to Grand Prix in the future. "Fazzino is ready, I'm not," she said. "Fortunately there is no pressure so we'll only make the transition when we are both ready."
Louise Nathhorst on her small tour horse Leonardo, which she has been competing at that level since 2004. Leonardo is a 13-year old Lord Calypso x Calando gelding owned by the British Cecilia Blakey.
Sara Henrietta Bergstrom Kallstrom, the Swedish rider with the longest name (besides Princess Nathalie zu Saeyn) has made a more than successful transition to horses. A few years ago she competed her pony Stan internationally. On her search for a horse, she ended up in Jan Brink's stables and bought Garcia, on the condition that she was staying with Brink to train and ride. |