Blog Report: A Day in the Field at the 2026 CDI-W 's Hertogenbosch

-- Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED
This article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition.

Little over one week after my return from a month in Wellington, Florida, duty called for the next competition to attend, the World Cup qualifier in 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, only a short one-hour drive from my home. Stepping out of the Wellington bubble and back into reality is a hard task. I came home on 5 March, fortunately to good early spring weather, but reality slapped me in the face as hard as an Irish nun finding out one of the sisters has been climbing the convent wall to kiss the local farmer boy.

Two back-to-back CDI's, springled with so much socializing, but dragged down in my speed by a broken computer (more on that in my throwback blog on Wellington coming up soon) left me hopelessly behind on work. My homecoming week was spent working round the clock on the computer writing articles, organizing photos, and feeling miserable about having gained almost 6 pounds from all the American eating. It was straight back to the gym to torture my body, but I have been struggling to retrieve the routine and rhythm I carefully established since September when I had my eureka moment and decided to live a healthier life, again.The last 10 days my belly fat has been clinging onto my skin with a vengeance and champagne and oysters in Den Bosch didn't help trimming it off.

I had a surprisingly easy drive to Den Bosch on Friday morning 13 March to photograph the Prix St Georges and Young Riders freestyle, before the big ticket class began. I pencilled on paper several reflections I had during the morning sessions..

Do You Hear What They are Saying? - I'm not easily convinced by the beauty of much music used freestyles; often it is elevator music, contributing nothing to the ride or atmosphere. Lately more vocals are infused into the music, which lift the composition to a higher level, but then I wonder who actually choses the music? The rider or the kur composer? And do they truly listen to the lyrics they put into a Kur? I love Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" but how appropriate is it to let the Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter say "Now I think of all the times you screwed me over" in the trot - walk transition. Either it's a rider with a bone to pick on his/her horse, or a strange case of exhibitionist confessionalism. Either way, I found it total cringe.

Young Rider Riding - The organizers of the CDI-W Den Bosch have played with its dressage programme for years. It used to host Under 25 classes too but this year there was a Young Riders tour and I watched the Kur.  Ten U21 riders appeared in the arena, presenting a very mixed bag of music, as if drunk Uncle Gary was playing DJ at the third wedding of his cousin. Two riders in the field really stood out for me when it came to correct riding with a nice contact with the bridle: Lana-Pinou Baumgurtel (no surprise she is the European Young Riders Champion) on the typical Escolar mare Escalla. Lovely frame and contact, maybe a little too much pushing in the saddle with her seat in trot.. and Dutch Mick van der Kort, a new comer to the scene on the not most elastic horse, Mambo (by Sir Donnerhall x Lanciano). I saw his warm-up and test and he did a lovely job.

The Name Game - I have great respect for people who tell the truth and don't beat about the bush. When a breeder names his horse Naughty Boy it can be tongue-in-cheek but the Romans said "nomen is omen". A  quick look at the pedigree made me understand the thought process though: Hermes x Charmeur. 

Rodeo Clown - I understand the need for "entertainment" at a dressage competition, as well as one for education, and it was super interesting to hear what the announcer and public commentator - Dutch Olympian Tineke Bartels - had to say on Friday. Bartels was often not in agreement with the marks given, clearly expressing she thought the points were too low for many movements. At the same time, I didn't always follow what she saw about more power from behind, when we just witnessed a huge mover executing the Prix St Georges in medium trot and canter. It's not that he needed more power, but more collection I thought. Where Bartels stayed a bit more critical in her post-test-praise, the announcer on the other hand was like the rodeo clown, trying to convince the audience of the fabulosity of some of the rides with hyperboles such as amazing, fantastic, unbelievable, etc, when a test was riddled with mistakes. Woah Nelly!

To Bend or Not to Bend - You need to bend your horse in the corners ! Corners need to be ridden. The corner sets up the horse for the next exercise. I can't believe how few small tour riders use their corners for a proper onset and execution of an exercise. #grindingmyteeth - #classicdressage101

On the Marker - The Grand Prix field had 18 competitors and I did not see a single one execute the flying change after the extended canter on the marker ! They were ALL three to four strides early, even the titans (they score between 6.5 and 9 for the execution of that change)

Grand Prix Reflections

Even though it's my job to stay current with all that is happening in the international dressage world, in winters I take mental breaks from watching too much dressage. I deliberately NOT tap into the live stream of certain competitions as I find it pleasant to have a fresh mind and look at tests unencumbered by previous performances. I did not watch the Frankfurt Top 12, for instance, nor the titan clash in Herning between Freestyle and Wendy, because I like to see the horses compete at shows, where it matters; the big team qualifiers and championships.

So for me, this was the first I saw Verboomen compete Zonik Plus again since Crozet. I had seen Glamourdale at the World Cup qualifier in London though. Fry had originally entered Everdale for Den Bosch, her Tokyo Olympic ride she only showed once in 2025 (CDIO Lier).

Verboomen presented his tap dancing elegant 10-year old Hanoverian stallion Zonik Plus (by Zonik x Hohenstein) with the usual delicate aids and fine skills, but the ride wasn't as smooth as expected. The stallion became "looky" on the short side, which led to quite a few bits of tension. The trot work on the short sides was too passagey and in the extended canter, everyone set at the edge of their seat in anticipation of a potential collision between a ghost and the horse in the corner. Zonik at times has the right hind a bit behind in the piaffe, but the transitions to and from piaffe and passage were smooth. I had no clue whether the judges would have Verboomen first or Fry. Sven Rothenberger, Christof Umbach, Magnus Ringmark, Elke Ebert, and Maarten Van der Heijden rewarded the ride with 78.457% for the win. In the freestyle the next day (which I didn't see), Zonik was back to his mellow self according to the rider and clocked a second win.

Fry and the 15-year old Glamourdale (by Lord Leatherdale x Negro) showed great trot half passes and a lovely first passage. The second piaffe was crooked, the first on the forehand. Glamourdale's super solid in canter, as we all know: top tempi changes, zig zag and extended canter, but often if a mistake happens, it's in the pirouettes and in Den Bosch it was in the right one, where he overcollected and tripped over his own feet. With 78.022% they were second.

Marieke van der Putten and Saskia and Jacques Lemmens' 12-year old Oldenburg mare Zantana OLD (who is ALSO by Zonik but out of a Sir Donnerhall dam) placed third with 74.609%. The mare is also one of the most talented Grand Prix horses in Europe, but as soon as she gets a bit tense, her back loses swing and she becomes a leg mover. The piaffe and passage have so much energy and she can really collect behind and the two tempi changes were very straight, but I like to see her more lengthen in the frame and stride in the extended trot and the pirouettes lacked some balance.

Raphael Netz presented the 13-year old Thuringian bred Dieudonne (by Dante Weltino x Sir Donnerhall) in a beautiful way with straight two tempi changes. In the one's he needs to cover more ground instead of cha-cha-chaing through them and in the piaffes the horse leaned on the shoulders, but there is plenty of potential for the future. They were fifth with 72.826%.

Swiss Charlotta Rogerson and the 14-year old Bonheur de la Vie (by Bordeaux x Zack), a Grand Prix horse she took over from Sandra Nuxoll, have made much progress over the winter. The half passes were ground covering, the transition from extended trot to passage was fantastic and the one tempi changes were lovely. In the piaffes the horse travels a bit too much forward and could sit more. He had a bobble in the two tempi changes and placed 6th with 71.631%.

After the Grand Prix I decided to mix and mingle a little instead of being the perfect school girl and drive home to do my homework (meaning organize photos, write article and post it for your entertainment). Don't fear, karma is a bitch and I always get punished if I sacrifice work time for pleasure. The entire weekend I have been playing catch-up on a day missed behind the computer with the tardy delivery of this story as a result. I'll finish this article with the metaphors of more catholic flagellation like I started with: Mea culpa, absolve me.

-- Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED (We photographed all dressage riders. If you are interested in social media photos or prints, send us an email)

Related Links
Scores: 2026 CDI-W 's Hertogenbosch
Zonik Plus Edges Out Glamourdale in Western League Final at 2026 CDI-W 's Hertogenbosch
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2025-2026 World Cup show circuit