Gal and Maas Win the 2013 Dutch Indoor Dressage Championships

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2013 Dutch Indoor Dressage Championships

Small tour rider Lynne Maas and Grand Prix rider Edward Gal were the distinctive winners of the Prix St Georges and Grand Prix divisions at the 2013 Dutch Indoor Dressage Championships held at the equestrian centre Utrecht in Utrecht, The Netherlands on 2 - 3 March 2013. While the competition was great at PSG-Inter I level, Gal freewheeled to victory in his category.

With Lens Nekeman's golden oldie Next One (by Jazz x Le Mexico) Edward Gal can always count on a loyal, experienced Grand Prix horse. The 18-year old bay gelding is super consistent in his performances with an always rhythmical passage to crank up the points. The duo scored 74.79% in the Grand Prix and 78.29% in the Kur to Music to average a score of 76.54% and grab the Dutch Indoor Grand Prix Champion's title which Gal earned the last time in 2009 with Totilas.

"Next One is still so fit so he can easily do these championships," Edward Gal commented afterwards. "He just does it so easily. Undercover and Romanov are both in the running for the World Cup Finals so this was a nice show for Next One."

The silver medal went to Diederik van Silfhout on his 16-year old liver chestnut Popeye (by Havel x Dillenburg). The pair twice settled for second place with solid seventy percentage scores. They earned 70.78% in the Grand Prix and 74.75% in the Kur. "I was able to ride him nicely. He was relaxed and that's nice leading up to Indoor Brabant in two weeks," said van Silfhout.

Laurens van Lieren and the 10-year old dark bay mare Wellnetta (by Louisville x Rubiquil) finished in bronze medal position with a 69.89% and 73.75% score twice ranking him third. The duo made its Grand Prix debut a year ago. "This is only her eighth Grand Prix test. I'm very happy," said Van Lieren. "At home I have two more horses at this level. I'm in a luxury position."

Lynne Maas Grabs Fourth Indoor PSG Title

Lynne Maas and Salo For the fourth time in their career Lynne Maas won the Dutch Indoor Prix St Georges championships and for the third time she did it with her dark bay 14-year old Dutch warmblood gelding Salo (by Ferro x Havel) . They were champions in 2008 and repeated the feat in 2011. Last year Maas won the title with her second horse Zamora. After a long period of injury Salo returned to the show ring in January 2013 and earned his third indoor PSG title. The competition, however, was tough with Emmelie Scholtens and Apache on their heels.

Lynne Maas made routine pay off at this event and produced whopping scores. With 76.93% in the Prix St Georges and 81.21% in the Kur to Music she stayed a fraction ahead of Scholtens, who earned 76.45% and 79.67%. In the Kur to Music, Scholtens' scores per judge ranged from 74.75% to 82.88%. After a two-day competition at the Indoor Championships, Maas averaged 79.07%, while Scholtens settled for a 78.06% average.

"Only during the selections I decided to ride Salo at the Indoor Championships," said a beaming Maas. "He scored better than my other horse Zamora. If I wanted to win from the ladies next to me on the podium I had to bring my highest scoring horse. However, initially I hadn't planned on riding Salo but I'm happy it worked out this way."

Emmelie Scholtens, the 2012 Dutch Outdoor PSG Champion, was a bit disgruntled about her silver medal on the 8-year old licensed stallion Apache (by UB40). "I'm not happy with silver. I didn't expect it. Yesterday we were still very close. I was able to add a notch in the kur. I'm disappointed about my points, there was a big difference amongst the judges. It's a pity. It really matters if you end up first or second."

Adelinde Cornelissen and Ruud van Nobelen's 13-year old black mare Tiara (by Jazz) followed in a distance from the front-runners but the pair still put respectable notes on the score board. The duo obtained a 73.95% in the Prix St Georges and 77.5% in the Kur to music to end up with the bronze medal.

"This mare only started competing at age nine," Cornelissen commented. "I have recently trained her a lot with music. I used her as a stand-in for Parzival in the award ceremonies. I suffered from that and last time in Mechelen I even had to retire her in the test. Today she did a really good job. I'm happy with this third place."

Photos © Digishots

Results - 2013 Dutch Indoor Dressage Championships

Small Tour - Round 1 - Prix St Georges
Judges: Nijskens, Van Nispen, van Hall

1. Lynne Maas - Salo - 76.93
2. Emmelie Scholtens - Apache - 76.45
3. Adelinde Cornelissen - Tiara - 73.95
4. Thamar Zweistra - Zodinde - 72.32
5. Dominique Filion - Wenicienta - 71.18
6. Annemieke Krom - Kansas C - 71.01
7. Danielle Heijkoop - Action - 68.11
8. Kyra Klinkers - Tara - 67.85
9. Lotje Schoots - Zarah - 67.81
10. Peter de Boer - Amazing Comeback - 67.72
11. Janneke Punte - Furst Felix - 67.02
12. Fieke Houwen - Miss Loxley - 66.45
13. Ineke den Drijver - Pallieter - 66.32
14. Saskia Poel - Unforgettable - 65.96
15. Yvonne Fiechter - Candessa - 65.66
16. Jan Pieter Weenink - Tobias - 64.43
17. Joyce van Schaik - Well Done - 64.34
18. Cindy van Vugt - Zanzi Bar - 63.82
19. Lilian Merx - Veron - 63.38
Jessica Buying - W Esther de Jeu - DNS/RET/ELI

Small Tour - Round 2 - Kur to Music
Judges: Peeters, Retera, Bonhof

1. Lynne Maas - Salo - 81.21
2. Emmelie Scholtens - Apache - 79.67
3. Adelinde Cornelissen - Tiara - 77.5
4. Thamar Zweistra - Zodinde - 75.29
5. Dominique Filion - Wenicienta - 73.25
6. Lotje Schoots - Zarah - 73.21
7. Kyra Klinkers - Tara - 71.46
8. Peter de Boer - Amazing Comeback - 70.5
9. Annemieke Krom - Kansas C - 69.21
Danielle Heijkoop - Action - DNS

2013 Dutch Indoor Small Tour Championship - Overall Ranking

1. Lynne Maas - 79.07
2. Emmelie Scholtens - 78.06
3. Adelinde Cornelissen - 75.73
4. Thamar Zweistra - 73.81
5. Dominique Filion - 72.22
6. Lotje Schoots - 70.51
7. Annemieke Krom - 70.11
8. Kyra Klinkers - 69.66
9. Peter de Boer - 69.11

Big Tour - Round 1 - Grand Prix
Judges: Sanders, Hamoen, Mouw

1. Edward Gal - Next One - 74.79
2. Diederik van Silfhout - Popeye - 70.78
3. Laurens van Lieren - Wellnetta - 69.89
4. Danielle Heijkoop - Siro - 68.76
5. Seth Boschman - Twister RVL - 67.41
6. Thamar Zweisra - Truman - 67.38
7. Johan Rockx - Verdi de la Fazenda - 65.82
8. Margo Timmermans - Utah - 65.39
9. Wilma Wernsen - Oklarette - 65.25
10. Diederik van Silfhout - Vorst D - 64.68
11. Laurens van Lieren - Tyara - 64.54
12. Roger Schulkens - Rapsodie T - 63.55
13. Mirelle van Kemenade - Dreamcatcher - 63.23
14. Petri Bax - Something Special C - 61.31
15. Karin Pettersson - Cleopatra - 59.11

Big Tour - Round 2 - Kur to Music
Judges: Peeters, Retera, Bonhof

1. Edward Gal - Next One - 78.29
2. Diederik van Silfhout - Popeye - 74.75
3. Laurens van Lieren - Wellnetta - 73.75
4. Danielle Heijkoop - Siro - 73.5
5. Thamar Zweistra - Truman - 71.71
6. Seth Boschman - Twister - 70.38
7. Johan Rocks - Verdi de la Fazenda - 68.21
8. Margo Timmermans - Utah - 67.13

2013 Dutch Indoor Grand Prix Championships - Overall Ranking

1. Edward Gal - 76.54
2. Diederik van Silfhout - 72.77
3. Laurens van Lieren - 71.82
4. Danielle Heijkoop - 71.13
5. Thamar Zweistra - 69.55
6. Seth Boschman - 68.9
7. Johan Rocks - 67.02
8. Margo Timmermans - 66.26