With a huge field of competitors travelling to the south west of The Netherlands for the 2014 CDI Roosendaal on 8 - 11 May 2013, the show featured big action in the three show rings, but struggled with bi-polar spring weather mixing rain and hail with sunshine and wind gusts. The big winners in the youth riders division of the event were Lisanne Zoutendijk, Michèle Thill, Alexandra Andresen, Stephanie Kooijman, and Anne Meulendijks.
The 2014 CDI Roosendaal will go down in the books as one of the wettest editions ever with frenetic weather conditions throughout the four days of competitions. Torrential downpours, wind bursts, hail and even a bit of melting snow struck the show grounds, even though the footing upheld pretty well the entire weekend.
Zoutendijk Unbeatable in Own Country
Dutch FEI pony routinier Lisanne Zoutendijk has became the unbeatable pony rider in her country, at national and international shows. Aboard the 10-year old buckskin gelding Champ of Class (by Champion de Luxe x Dornik) she won the team championship test (75.171%), the individual test (74.106%), and the kur to music (79.667%).
The pony division was highly dominated by the Dutch riders which incorporated the majority of competitors, as there were only a few B-team riders from Germany, a large division from Norway, a couple of Brits, Italians and Swedes, and one Belgian rider.
Three different riders ranked second behind Zoutendijk, all riders in the running for a team spot for the 2014 European Pony Championships in Ireland. The CDI Roosendaal was the first official team selection trial for Dutch pony, junior and young riders and team trainer Tineke Bartels was on the scene to inspect her flock.
"He felt really good every single day and hardly responded to the rain and wind," Zoutendijk told Eurodressage. "On the second day I rode my test a bit more safe because of the wet, heavy footing but still I was very happy and can look back on a great show."
Juniors Thill and Andresen Neck to Neck
A Luxembourg and Norwegian junior rider put in a neck-to-neck race in their division during the weekend. Michèle Thill won the team test, Alexandra Andresen aced the individual test and kur to music.
Thill and her 13-year old Hanoverian gelding Windhook (by Waikiki x Arogno) led the field in the junior team test on the first day of competition, posting a winning score of 70.676% ahead of Denise Nekeman and Vlingh. Andresen and her Westfalian stallion Belamour (by Belissimo M x Lord Sinclair) were fourth with 69.505% but set the record straight the next few days.
"Windhook was really good at the show. He was in super shape," said Thill. "I had a very good feeling and was very happy that he don't loose that form despite the rain and storm. At the start as I was bit scared that he would be distracted but he wasn't. He's such a fun horse and I hope to have many more great experiences with him."
Andresen and her liver chestnut licensed stallion showed more consistency in the individual test, despite the heavy rain, and won the class with 72.939% just a fraction ahead of Thill who scored 72.544%. In the Kur to Music the Norwegian was able to generate a bigger gap with her rival and landed at the top of the board with 77.125%, while Thill finished second again on 75.000%.
"I am very happy with the result after the weekend. In the team competition, we miscalculated the warm-up time and ended up with a too long warm-up. Belamour was behind my leg and we made some expensive mistakes. He knows where to make the halt, so he stopped before me. After the extended canter, I collected him, and he thought it was walk. There were also some other small things that weren't too good," Andresen explained. "The second day was much better. We had a much shorter warm-up and Belamour was a lot fresher. The trot program could still be better and with more energy, but I had a good feeling. In the finale Belamour was extremely behind my leg. I saw that he was tired already in the box when I came to plait his mane. We didn't warm up too much, but he was still slow. I tried to make the best out of it in the arena, although I almost had to carry him around. But we managed without mistakes! That was the first time I rode my new freestyle, and I am very happy about the feedback I got from the judges."
Young Riders Meulendijks and Kooijman On Each Other's Heels
Former barn mates Anne Meulendijks and Stephanie Kooijman have proven their worth in Roosendaal and are Holland's biggest young rider rivals at the moment. Whereas in the past Kooijman was wielding the axe of power, this year Meulendijks and Avanti have grown and improved and are now challenging the Dutch top duo and beating them at CDI's.
In the Team Championship Test, Meulendijks reigned supreme on Avanti, a 9-year old Dutch warmblood gelding by United x Farrington, scoring a winning 75.439% with Kooijman second on 72.982%. In the individual test, Kooijman stepped up to the plate and redealt the cards, winning the class on her trusty 11-year old KWPN gelding Winston (by OO Seven x Coktail), with 73.728%. Kooijman referred Germany's Juliette Piotrowski on Sir Diamaond to a second place, while Meulendijks was fourth. Germany's 2013 European Championship medal winning Young rider team member Piotrowski was unable to break through the Dutch dominance in Roosendaal. She was fifth in the team test (70.088%), second in the individual (72.149%) and third in the kur (74.125%). In the Kur to Music Meulendijks won again with 78.000%, but had Kooijman breathing down her neck in second place with 77.958%.
"He went so fantastic on the first day," said Anne Meulendijks. "He gave me such a great feeling. He didn't care about the wind and the atmosphere. We had a bit of bad luck on the second day. Because the footing was so wet he didn't want to give his all, which caused mistakes, but with such weather nobody can do anything about it. It was a pity for the show because it's such a well organized and fun competition. On the last day Avanti was really good again. He's such a cool horse to sit on every day and when he goes into the ring, he knows what to do. In the kur we still had a couple of little things, but there were many nice pieces in it and then I got that score, which was totally fun."
Kooijman was pleased with how her horse performed in Roosendaal. "Winston went well, but he can do better," Stephanie admitted. "It was our first outdoor show and straight away one that took several days. Even though it was the first show, he was well on my aids and I was very happy with him. Winston can stand the weather well, he is really not bothered by it."
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - No Reproduction allowed
Eurodressage's Astrid Appels was on the scene taking photos of a few youth riders competing at the CDI Roosendaal (we shot all PSG and GP riders). Contact us if you are interested in photo prints, collages or albums.
Related Link
Scores 2014 CDI Roosendaal