Minderhoud and Maas Grab the Titles at the 2011 Dutch Indoor Dressage Championships

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2011 Dutch Indoor Dressage Championships

Hans Peter Minderhoud and Lynne Maas grabbed the national title at the 2011 Dutch Indoor Dressage Championships held at the KNHS head quarters in Ermelo, The Netherlands, on 4 - 6 March 2011. Minderhoud became Grand Prix champion on his rising GP-horse Tango, while Maas reconquered her 2008 Indoor Small Tour's champions title with Salo.

Hans Peter Minderhoud and Tango (by Jazz x Contango) left little doubt of who the champion would be. The talented chestnut licensed stallions, however, was quite a handfull as he was spooky of the shadows on the footing. The combination scored 72.41% in the Grand Prix and 76.75% in the Kur to Music. With an average of 74.58% the combination left all competition behind them.

"I rode him through the shadows a couple of times and thought he was used to them," Minderhoud explained, "but in the test he still surprised me twice. Fortunately I've got some experience and I kept on riding. It wasn't an easy championships because Tango knows he's a stallion. After me there were two mares and when I left the warm up ring he wasn't completely focused on me. On Saturday I lost a lot of energy in the warm up on this and his tank was almost empty when the competition started."

Judge at C, Jan Peeters, complimented Minderhoud on his trot work and the passage, which earned him nines. "In canter though the horse should have been rounder and covered more ground," Peeters commented. Minderhoud was happy with the victory nonetheless. "I'm very pleased though I have to admit that Tango has done better freestyles than the one today. In canter we still need to make progress. Our next show will be Indoor Brabant. I'll ride Nadine in the World Cup qualifier and Tango in the CDI tour. Only after that I'll decided whether I'll take Nadine or Tango to the World Cup Finals in Leipzig."

In the small tour Lynne Maas and her eye-catching black gelding Salo (by Ferro) prevailed. The pair won the first round, the Prix St Georges, with 70.53%, placed second in the intermediaire I with 71.14% and dominated the kur with 78.83%, totalling an average of 73.50%. "Lynne Maas and Salo rode a strong freestyle," judge at C Mara van Hoey-Smith commented. "Her horse was always uphill, the flying changes were straight and high. Really top level."

After the award ceremony, Maas confessed that she was extremely nervous. "Salo has much power and I need to learn to manage that better," she admitted. "That's why in the extensions he ran off a bit too much. And also the shadows were a nuisance. They caused all these spots on the footing and my horse was a bit spooky because of that."

The 2011 Dutch Indoor Championships also hosted two finals at Fourth level. At ZZ-Licht level, Laurens van Lieren claimed the blue aboard the bay stallion Wonderboy (by Ramon). "In 2005, 2006 and 2006 I was part of the Dutch Dressahge Team and after that, there was just silence. I hope that I can be poart of the Dutch top again with this stallion in two years," he explained.

Madeleine Witte-Vrees and the KWPN licensed stallion Wynton (by Jazz) were the winners of the ZZ-zwaar tour."We won all three rounds and that makes this title even more special," said Madeleine. "This championships is a confirmation of Wynton's qualities. He still needs to turn 8 so I had the feeling that he was a bit tired in the kur. But the talent is definitely there."

Results 2011 Dutch Indoor Championships

Big Tour
Rider - Horse - Grand Prix - Kur to Music -- Overall

1. Hans Peter Minderhoud - Tango - 72.41 % - 76.75 % --- 74.58%
2. Marlies van Baalen - Phoebe - 70.00 % - 73.08 % --- 71.54%
3. Theo Hanzon - Spargo - 69.43 % - 73.42 % --- 71.42%
4. Diederik van Silfhout - Ruby - 70.07 % - 72.50 % --- 71.29%
5. Aat van Essen - Sebastiaan - 67.52 % - 68.00 % --- 67.76%
6. Yessin Rahmouni - Only Society - 66.17 % - 68.42 % --- 67.29%
7. Wilma Wernsen - Oklarette - 64.82 % - 67.92 % --- 66.37%
8. Remy Bastings - Riverdance - 65.25 % - 63.92 % --- 64.58%

Small Tour
Rider - Horse - Prix St Georges - Inter I - Inter I Kur to Music -- Overall

1. Lynne Maas - Salo - 70.53 % - 71.14 % - 78.83 % --- 73.50%
2. Angela Krooswijk - Flash - 66.93 % - 71.40 % - 73.92 % --- 70.75%
3. Adelinde Cornelissen - Ulissa - 68.33 % - 67.72 % - 74.92 % --- 70.32%
4. Joyce Heuitink - Wup - 67.19 % - 69.30 % - 72.08 % --- 69.52%
5. Diederik van Silfhout - Trappel - 65.26 % - 68.07 % - 73.50 % --- 68.94%
6. Johan Rockx - Verdi de la Fazenda - 64.91 % - 66.58 % - 72.08 % --- 67.86%
7. Marjolein Cho Chia Yuen - Pepper - 64.91 % - 67.37 % - 70.75 % --- 67.68%
8. Mirelle van Kemenade-Witlox - Dreamcatcher - 64.74 % - 67.02 % - 69.67 % --- 67.14%