Van der Putten and Zantana Break Through at 2025 CDIO Lier, New Hope for Dutch Dressage

Dressage

2025 CDIO Lier

In a period in which Dutch dressage sport is showing a thin layer at the top, 2022 WEG team rider Marieke van der Putten has emerged as the new hope for Holland.

Thin at the Top

With Dutch team stalwarts Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud's future unsure as sponsor Glock is calling it quits in the summer, Emmelie Scholtens having sold her Olympic mount Indian Rock to the U.S.A., and Dinja van Liere's Hermes on and off with minor injuries, the top has become very thin in Holland, a country which has been dominating the sport in the 2000s until 2010 when Totilas was sold.

The Dutch KWPN studbook is the world Nr 1 ranked studbook for dressage in years, but there seems to be a lack of top horses available to Dutch riders.

The year 2025 began ominous as the NOP foundation was unable to sign any international Grand Prix horse to its programme to secure top horses for Holland.

Bright Star

However, a light is shining at the firmament as Marieke van der Putten made an impressive break through on a new young Grand Prix horse, the Oldenburg mare Zantana.

At the 2025 CDIO Lier on 16 - 18 May 2025 the pair made its international big tour debut in the 3* tour and finished second in the Grand Prix with 72.522%. The hot and sensitive Zantana showed immense quality in piaffe-passage and is the one to watch for Team NL. In Lier the pair went on to place second in the Special with 68.553% as nerves got the better of the mare.

She also brought along a second new Grand Prix horse, the 10-year old KWPN bred Kuvasz (by Glamourdale x De Niro). On the 3* tour she placed third in the Grand Prix (71.848%) and second in the Kur (74.080%).

“I already had both horses going really well at home, so I travelled to Lier with a good feeling," van der Putten explained. "Still, I didn’t know how they’d react in a fully dressed-up arena. Especially with Zantana, I found it a bit nerve-wracking, she used to be quite spooky.”

Familiar Face

With Titanium at the 2022 World Championships

Van der Putten is a familiar face on Team NL. Aboard the now 13-year old Danish bred Torveslettens Titanium (by Totilas x Stefinger) she first represented The Netherlands at the 2022 World Championships in Herning to finish 31st in the Grand Prix (71.118%). They qualified for the 2023 World Cup Finals in Omaha and placed 8th in the Grand Prix (70.776%) but had to withdraw from the freestyle as Titanium got colic and had to be operated on. They returned to the arena in october 2023 and had a succesful season in 2024 but missed out on Olympic team selection. At his last two CDI's this year in Den Bosch and Exloo, Titanium scored 66.565% and 69.087%

Marieke has now emerged with two new Grand Prix horses which she trained to GP level herself: Zantana and Kuvasz. Zantana is an 11-year old Oldenburg mare by Zonik out of renowned top producing broodmare Sondra (by Dir Donnerhall). She is bred by Paul Schockemöhle and was acquired by Van der Putten's loyal sponsors Saskia and Jacques Lemmens at the 2019 PSI Auction for 955,000 euro. The pair premiered at CDI small tour level in July 2023 in Kronenberg and did Leeuwarden three months later. A 1.5 year break followed to prepare Zantana for Grand Prix. Their debut in Lier was a hit.

"It took a while for us to become a real team," said Marieke about Zantana. "She needed to gain confidence in the ring, but it’s so special to feel that she now fully trusts me. She’s such a hardworking mare. Yesterday in the Grand Prix, she was incredibly focused.”

The One

Kuvasz has been in training with Marieke since he was three and she describes him as "the one."

"From day one, I believed he’d make it to Grand Prix, although not everyone agreed with me,” she says with a laugh. “As a young horse he was a bit weak behind, but I always said, ‘Just wait, he’s the one.’ And now it’s finally starting to show.”

She continued, "we’re really a team. He’s a horse that always gives 200 percent. He’d never let me down, and that gives me so much confidence. I used to have to lunge him at home all the time, otherwise, I’d be on the ground within ten seconds. At competitions, I still need to lunge him quickly, let him get a few bucks out, and then he’s ready to go. It’s just part of who he is, and honestly, I find it kind of funny.”

Three to Tango

Alongside Titanium, van der Putten is in the rare position of having three international calibre Grand Prix horses to tango with.

"This isn’t just something ordinary,” she said, referring to this rare privilege. “I know how special this really is. I’ve worked incredibly hard for it, years of time and effort, and then it’s just so rewarding to see it all come together.”

Last weekend's CDI Exloo (30 May - 1 June) served as first Dutch team selection trial for the European Championships in Crozet. Marieke and Zantana were the highest scoring Dutch pair, winning the CDI Grand Prix with 73.174%, followed by Marlies van Baalen on Habibi, Thamar Zweistra on her 9-year old Luxuriouzz, and Hans Peter Minderhoud with Taminau. Van der Putten was 6th with Titanium (69.087%) and 8th with Kuvasz (68.478%).

Marieke is aware of lucky she is to have the Lemmens couple of RS2 Dressage as the owner and her sponsor since 2017. The couple with businesses in the pharmaceutical industry is not interested in selling the horses. "I really do feel privileged to have three Grand Prix horses. That hardly ever happens, so I’m very grateful. But we also know things can change in an instant, so for now, I’m just enjoying every minute," she said.

In the Pipeline

Van der Putten's future is secure as she has another string of small tour horses in the pipeline towards Grand Prix including the 9-year old About You (by AC-DC x Estobar), who won the Inter I kur at the CDIO Lier, the 10-year old mare Forza (by Furstenball x Sir Donnerhall) which she last showed internationally a year ago at the CDI Tolbert, as well as the 10-year old Keano (by Governor x Krack C), who finished 7th in the consolation at his first and only international so far, the 2021 World Young Horse Championships, and the 11-year old Jameson (by Zack x Negro), whose last CDI start was in March 2023.

When asked when she is going to compete the highly popular breeding stallion Jameson again, Marieke replied to Eurodressage without revealing any of her cards. "When he's ready," she said. The black stallion used to be offered at stud via Joop van Uytert's station but has been removed from his 2025 roster.

"He's no longer breeding because I want to focus on working him towards Grand Prix level," Marieke added. " I noticed that for him it couldn't be combined." Marieke debunked castration rumours and confirmed that Jameson is still a stallion.