The first winner of the Blom Stallion Competition 2024/2025 has been crowned. Under Alex Gill, Night Life VDL was the best out of three VDL stallions in a row in the Z/ZZ class.

In the combined 1.30m/1.35m class, the large audience at the Peelbergen Equestrian Centre was immediately rewarded with excellent sport. Twelve combinations advanced to the jump-off.

Back in training
Alex Gill and Night Life VDL (Erco van ’t Roosakker x Arezzo VDL, bred and owned by VDL Stud), who had previously triumphed in the Van Santvoort Makelaars Cup this summer, were the only pair to complete the jump-off at the 1.30m level in under 38 seconds. This performance edged out the powerful New Pleasure VDL (For Pleasure x Diamant de Semilly, bred by the De Maertelaere family) under Hessel Hoekstra and the sharp and speedy VDL Sambucci de Muze (Hunter’s Scendro x Vigo d’Arsouilles, bred by Joris de Brabander) under Luke Hill, who took second and third place respectively. Together, the three VDL stallions dominated the podium in Limburg. “This horse is truly incredible! He had a busy summer and ended the outdoor season with an 11th place at the World Championships in Lanaken, where he also jumped clear every day. That’s why I gave him a well-deserved rest,” Alex Gill explained. “Two weeks ago, I started training him again, and last week we entered our first competition. My goal here was just to have a smooth round, but Night Life picked everything up so effortlessly that we easily delivered a fast round in the jump-off. To win on top of that is fantastic. Night Life VDL is unbelievably careful, agile, and exceptionally athletic.”

A strong start to the indoor season
The competition brought together several stallions who had also performed strongly this summer. For example, No Mercy (Cape Coral RBF Z x Now or Never M, bred by Hans Vrijvogel) delivered two flawless rounds under Tom Martens, earning fifth place. The KWPN-approved stallions Never Lose (Lector vd Bisschop x Tolano van ’t Riethof, bred by Bert van der Kloet) under Marco Sas and Menno H (Stakkato Gold x Baloubet du Rouet, bred by Pieter van Hees) also impressed with clear rounds in the jump-off, with Menno H competing at the 1.35m level.

Results
Stallion Competition 2024/2025

JS for KWPN
Photo of Night Life VDL: Horses.nl/Paardenkrant