Edison, New Grand Prix Horse for Laurence Vanommeslaghe

Dressage

Belgium

Former Belgian Grand Prix team rider Laurence Vanommeslaghe has purchased the 11-year old Grand Prix horse Edison as her new ride.

Edison is a KWPN bred gelding by Johnson out of Mutile (by Balzflug). He is bred by the Swanenberg family

Under Fiechter's Tutelage

The liver chestnut was discovered as a youngster by Dirk and Linda van Woudenberg. Three years ago the horse became in co-ownership of Dirk Fiechter and got trained to Grand Prix level by Jeanine Fiechter.

In 2016 he was shown by Michelle Vacquier and in 2017 by Yvonne van den Brink-Fiechter at national level in Holland.

Jeanine's student Anne Meulendijks began competing him in 2019 and they made a stellar start at Grand Prix level. At the 2019 Dutch Championships they scored 70.783% in the Grand Prix. They made their CDI Debut in Exloo in June and scored 68.826% in the Grand Prix and won the Kur with 73.400%. Their last show was a regional show in Uden in November, where they earned 71.41%.

Soon after Meulendijks switched trainers and left Fiechter for Sjef Janssen. At the beginning of January Edison sold to Belgian Laurence van Ommeslaghe

"Jeanine can really ride and train horses. Because she doesn't want to compete herself, but prefers training, Anne showed him," Van Woudenberg explained after the sale of Edison. "However for Anne he was a number two (editor's note: Avanti being number one), which we understand, but we preferred to see him as a number one horse for someone."

New Iron in the Fire for Belgium

The French born and based Laurence Vanommeslaghe was a member of the Belgian team at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Caen and 2015 European Championships in Aachen with her top horse Avec Plaisir. She won the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix Championships

Avec Plaisir was retired after the CDI Perl in September 2015.

Vanommeslaghe on Ibanero at the 2018 CDI Aachen

Vanommeslaghe made her international come back in 2017 with two Grand Prix horses: Ibanero van de Vogelzang (12-yo BWP by Belissimo M x Weinzauber) and Havalon (13-yo Hanoverian by Hotline x Wolkentanz II). They were shown at one CDI in 2017 (Crozet) and one in 2018 (CDI Aachen).

The small CDI Aachen show in May 2018 was Vanommeslaghe's last international. Havalon went on to do one more national show in France at Rosieres in June 2018. With Ibanero she has been active on the French national show scene in 2019 competing him regularly throughout the year to gain mileage.