It was a ‘home victory’ for Emmelie Scholtens and her KWPN-approved stallion Desperado (Vivaldi out of Sarita elite pref prest D-OC by Havidoff, bred by the Andeweg family from Randwijk) in the CDI3* Grand Prix held during the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Ermelo. The Vivaldi offspring dominated yesterday. With a score of 71.80%, Desperado and Scholtens just managed to stay ahead of the German rider Dorothee Schneider and her Vivaldi son Vainqueur, who scored 71.63% for their test. The Vivaldi son Glock's Dream Boy is the sire of Holiday, who, under Gerdine Marree, finished third.

The sixteen-year-old KWPN stallion Desperado, bred by the Andeweg family and owned by the breeders and Ad Valk Dressage Horses, made his first appearance in the ring since his comeback this spring and showed himself to be fit and cheerful. Third place went to Gerdine Marree with Holiday (Dream Boy out of Melissa ster prest by Michelangelo), bred by Roskam and owned by Fleur and Claire Marree and Wouter Plaizier. This combination achieved a new personal best with a score of 71.60%.

Joy and Pride
Emmelie Scholtens felt very proud as she rode ‘her’ Desperado around the ring in Ermelo: “Desperado was thrilled to be back and is currently very fit and cheerful, which is the most important thing for me. We’ve achieved so many great results that now I just want to enjoy riding him, and that went really well today!” Despite the great collaboration with her horse, the Olympic rider remains ambitious when it’s time to compete. “I’m always passionate and don’t go to a competition if I don’t feel ready. I’m satisfied with our performance, but the fact that Desperado went around the arena with his ears forward today was actually more beautiful to me than the win.” Emmelie Scholtens and Desperado will be back in action in Ermelo on Friday afternoon during the CDI*3 Grand Prix Freestyle presented by Helgstrand Dressage.

Strong KWPN Participation
The class had a significant KWPN participation. Thamar Zweistra finished in fourth place with the eight-year-old Hexagons Luxuriouzz N.O.P.T. (registered name: Luxuriouzz v/d Waalsehoeve, Johnson out of Walida v/d Waalsehoeve elite IBOP-dres PROK prest by San Remo, bred by W. Plomp from Tull and 't Waal), scoring 70.674%. The sixth place went to the French Camille Judet Cheret and her Herelja Higgins (Johnson out of Sorelja elite prest PROK by Gribaldi, bred by P.F. van der Zanden from Haps), with a performance rewarded with 70.261%.

Results

Source: World Championships for Young Dressage Horses , edited by KWPN
Photo archive: Hippo Foto Media
JM for KWPN