Skye Morssinkhof was the best U25 rider in the Reinderz Bouw BV Prize Grand Prix tonight. Eight young show jumping professionals made it to the jump-off, in which Morssinkhof and her top horse VDL Quickthago (by Quickly de Kreisker) beat the always fast Czech rider Albert Pisarik, who finished second with Kyfo (by Comme il Faut) and Mart IJland, who galloped to third place on Phenix van de Noordheuvel (by Zambesi).

Experience gained under Milan Morssinkhof

Under brother Milan Morssinkhof, VDL Quickthago already gained some experience in the 1.50 m. Perhaps that was an advantage for sister Micky, because her horse ran flawlessly in the jump-off to achieve the best result: 0/32.40 seconds. That was almost a second faster than Albert Pisarik, while Mart IJland was more than a second slower: 0/33.57.

“The victory came as a surprise”

“It went very well. This victory came as a surprise, because I have only been riding VDL Quickthago for two months. It is the second time I have ridden him in an international competition. It is the first time I have ridden him at 1.45m. We have had Quickthago since he was seven years old. He already had some experience with my brother Milan. At the end of last year, he went to work in England, so I was allowed to ride him. I feel very honored to be able to ride VDL Quickthago and I have nothing but praise for him.”

‘The crowd went wild’

‘I had seen Albert’s jump-off and thought I wouldn’t be able to ride faster than him. He has a very fast horse and Quickthago is a bit slower, but he has a big gallop. I was surprised that I had won when I cleared the last fence. I had expected a top three finish. The crowd went wild and that motivated me even more to ride faster.’

“It’s my first time at Jumping Amsterdam.”

“It’s great fun to ride here. I’ve never ridden in an atmosphere like this before. It’s my first time here at Jumping Amsterdam.”

Photo by Digishots

View all results here

Written by Eline Korving on behalf of Jumping Amsterdam