Hilde Veenstra has just clinched victory in the Geotrade Prize at Jumping Amsterdam. In the U25 1.40m class against the clock, the Dutch rider relied on the ten-year-old mare L-Dora van de Zietfort (by Eldorado van de Zeshoek). The combination remained faultless and recorded the winning time of 52.94 seconds.

Morssinkhof misses out

Her compatriot Skye Morssinkhof rode her heart out with the eleven-year-old Westphalian VDL Quickthago (by Quickly de Kreisker), but fell 1.97 seconds short. Albert Pisarik finished in third place with the eleven-year-old KWPN horse Kyfo (by Comme il Faut). The pair cleared all the fences in the course against the clock and finished faultless in 55.83 seconds.

‘It went better than expected’

Veenstra: ‘It went better than expected. She has been feeling really good in competition over the last few weeks. Of course, I wanted to win at Jumping Amsterdam and I succeeded. This is very special. Dora is already a very fast horse. Today, I wanted to prepare her well for Saturday’s competition. My trainer Patrick van der Schans and I made a plan to go straight through the double and how we could save time. This allowed me to cut the corners. It worked out well.”

“I really love mares.”

‘I have been riding my mare for just over two years. We started at 1.20m and have progressed to 1.45m. I have always had a very good connection with her. I really love mares because they will go through fire for you. She is also very sweet. I am super happy with her and hope to ride many more great youth competitions with her.’

Goal: NK Young Riders

“This is my fourth year competing in the U25 at Jumping Amsterdam. Last year, I also had a clear round with her and we finished sixth. Back then, she was less experienced than she is now. Now we understand each other better and I know how to respond to the audience with her. I hope to compete with her in Bedizzole in March. Then we can prepare for the outdoor season and our goal is the Dutch Championships for Young Riders.”

Photo by Digishots

View all results here

By Eline Korving on behalf of Jumping Amsterdam