German duo Helen Erbe and Fürst Kasper dominated the young riders' division at the 2020 CDI Lier held at equestrian centre Het Azelhof in Belgium on 27 February - 1 March 2020.
Erbe and her 17-year old Westfalian Fürst Kasper (by Fürst Piccolo x Attraktiv x Wunderlich) won the Team Championship test with 71.324% and the Individual test with 73.529%. The pair unfortunately had to withdraw from the freestyle in Lier as the horse had developed colic symptoms at the venue before the freestyle. He was brought home and fortunately it was just a scare.
"I was very happy with his performance. He felt really motivated," Erbe told Eurodressage.
Furst Kasper was previously competed at Grand Prix level by German Under 25 rider Sarah Runge. The chestnut was originally owned by Manfred and Bärbel Kesselmeier, but sold to Runge in 2014. She competed him one season in 2016 after which Erbe took over the ride. They made their international debut in December 2018.
Helen once represented Germany as a team rider during her pony time. With Charly Brown she earned team silver and individual test bronze at the 2015 European Pony Championships in Malmo, Sweden. She is currently training with Johann Hinnemann.
Thalia Rockx' Golden Dancer Returns to Win
They were 10th in the Team Championship test (68.480%), climbed to second place in the individual test (72.059%) and won the kur to music (77.183%).
"He went to well in the individual test and our test got rewarded with a 72%. There is still a lot of room for improvement," said Rockx. "I'm so super proud that we won the freestyle."
Rockx premiered Golden Dancer at international level at age 6 iin 2017. They contested the junior classes and were members of the gold medal winning Dutch team at the 2018 European Junior Riders Championships in Fontainebleau. Two weeks later (!!) the 7-year old competed at the 2018 World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo and placed 17th in the consolation finals.
Ermelo was Golden Dancer's last international. Now matured to small tour level, the tall liver chestnut can be Thalia's iron in the fire for team selection for the 2020 European Young Riders Championships in Hartpury.
Zoë Kuintjes and New Ride Cupido Rise
At the 2020 Lier Kuintjes was riding her second international on the bay gelding after making a start in Le Mans, France, last month. In Lier the pair was on a roll placing second in the team championship test (69.853%), fourth in the individual test (70.098%) and third in the kur to music (75.400%).
"In the team test he went well and I had a nice second place. We got our last B-squad score," Kuintjes took to Facebook. "In the individual test we upped the ante, but got a few little things because of it, but still a nice score. It was the first time I rode that test so I was very happy. Also the kur was our first time and Cupido went so well. Unfortunately there was a big mistake in the tempi changes, but still a mega score of 75.4%. I'm so proud of Cupido."
The 19-year old Zoë is already a seasoned competitor, kicking off her CDI career on ponies eight years ago in 2013. First she rode Gaudy, then partnered with Elin's Noncisdador and Bailey's Dream. With Elin's Noncisdador she represented The Netherlands at the 2015 and 2016 European Pony Championships. In 2017 they moved to junior level with Desperado and Brittsion and in 2018 she moved up another division to young riders level with Brittsion and Dark Amber.
Text and Photos by Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED
If you are interested in photos for your social media or in prints, just send us an email. We photographed all riders on Thursday and Friday in Lier
Related Links
Scores: 2020 CDI Lier
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