Winning the 4-year old division at the 2004 Danish Young Horse Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, were Pia Kugelmann Nielsen and the KWPN registered Tardi.
This young, dynamic duo dropped right into the limelight by beating the power house Blue Hors team Andreas Helgstrand on Blue Hors Romanow. Kugelmann and Tardi entered the 2004 championships as winners of the regional qualifiers and were able to change their status of underdog combination into that of a winning pair.
The black KWPN branded Tardi was bred by the family Van Oerle in Den Hout, The Netherlands, and discovered by Kugelmann as a foal in the field. In 2000, Pia was working as a trainee for Anne and Gert Jan van Olst in The Netherlands. "I bought him from a farmer who lived almost next to Van Olst," Kugelmann reminisced, "Tardi was only 4 weeks when I saw him and decided to buy him. He came to Denmark when he was 4 months old."
It was love at first sight for Kugelmann. The drop dead gorgeous foal Tardi was a striking beauty but had more qualities than that. "I was attracted to Tardi because he had good movements," Kugelmann explained, "but I think I bought him because I was very impressed by his sire Negro."
Working at Van Olst's barn, Pia came in close contact with Tardi's sire Negro (Ferro x Variant) who is trained and competed by the Danish Anne van Olst-Koch. Van Olst and Negro won the Dutch KWPN/KNHS Stallion Competition in 2000 and 2001 and was the highest placing Dutch horse at the 2001 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, Germany.
"I had the opportunity to work with Negro a few times during the year I worked for Anne and I simply loved everything about this horse; his movements, his temper, his look, his willingness to work, everything," Kugelmann confessed.
With faith in sire Negro and after falling for Tardi's good movements and beauty as a foal, Kugelmann purchased Tardi as her future competition horse. In 2004, Kugelmann and Tardi entered the young horse classes for 4-year olds in Denmark -- with great success. They won the qualifiers for the Danish national Young Horse Championships as well as the national championship.
"I think Tardi's strengths are his temper and his movements. He is such a nice horse to work with because of his good head. He is cool about everything and he is a quick learner. I do not think that he has any weaknesses," Pia told Eurodressage.
The 24-year old Pia Kugelmann Nielsen lives in Hadsund, Denmark, and studies International Marketing at the University of Aalborg. She hopes to graduate next summer after having studied for five years.
Kugelmann's future plans with Tardi are to train him for the 2005 Danish Young Horse Championships and she hopes to qualify him for the 2005 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, Germany. "I want to train him so that him and I will be better and better. .. but my long term, future plan/dream is to ride at the Olympics one day, who knows maybe it will be with Tardi," Kugelmann said.
Text copyrighted Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No Reproduction Allowed
Related Link
Tardi, Schianto and Clearwater, 2004 Danish Young Horse Champions