Two riders took the lead positions in the three junior riders classes at the 2013 CDI-PJYR Roosendaal on 3-5 May 2013 with Dutch rider Jasmien de Koeyer on Take it Easy taking the team test, leaving Norway's Alexandra Andresen with Belamour to reign over the Individual and the Kur.
Winning the team test with a 73.018%, Jasmien de Koeyer felt that her horse Take it Easy (by Florestan x Castro) was in really good shape.
"Roosendaal was a very well organised CDI and I was very successful," started Jasmien. "In the Team test I didn't made any mistakes and so we went into the lead, but on the second day my horse expressed a little tension. Normally I can handle this and in trot he went normal but in the canter he was a little excited.
Writing the choreography for the kur herself Jasmien made a high degree of difficulty and so changed her Abba kur for a new one. "Without practising I rode my new kur and I'm sure that if my horse is relaxed and without tension I can achieve the perfect performance next time," she said. "I'm very proud of my horse, it was a fantastic weekend."
Purchasing the horse, the 13-year old chestnut Dutch warmblood Take it Easy, from her trainer Tim Coomans, Jasmien also receives training from Dutch team trainer Tineke Bartels. Their aim is to strive for a happy horse. "Happy horse, happy trainer and happy judge," she said.
Winner of the Individual and kur with 70.965% and 74.083%, Norwegian Alexandra Andresen never imagined that she would win and feels that the highlight was, for sure, her freestyle. "I have had some problems in the past hitting the music but in Roosendaal it matched perfectly," she confessed.
Her horse Belamour, a 9-year old Westfalian stallion by Belissimo M x Lord Sinclair, is according to Alexandra a true gentleman who can get quite stressed at competitions and often tries to climb over the box. "Other than that he is always so respectful and kind. When I braid his mane and he has hay in the box, he stops eating so that I can braid, even though he is not tied up! And when I bandage his legs, he stands perfectly still."
Third in team test Alexandra feels this lower place was a result of some tension between her and Belamour showing up in the test movements. "I was not so happy with him on that first day," she said. "He was tense and was running away from my aids. His neck was too high so he lost his back and it was reflected in the movements. The second day I had problems with the contact but I tried to make the best of it! In the freestyle he was very fresh and in the warm-up arena everything was scary. A blanket, a woman, a bucket. So I knew that I would have to be extremely focused. In the program, he was energetic but listened to my aids all the time. I had two faults where he cantered in the trot program but, all in all, I was very happy with him!"
Trained near Oslo by Anny Hilde Lindén, Alexandra is also riding Don Massimo, which she competed in Roosendaal after only riding him seven times. Don Massimo is an 8-year old Oldenburg stallion (by Don Larino x Santander) which Alexandra describes as "a very powerful stallion. He is very expressive when he moves."
A little bit more unpredicteble than Belamour, Don Massimo needs to feel that Alexandra is really riding him or otherwise he takes control. "But he is a very sweet and loving horse," she added.
Set for the 2013 Nordic Baltic Championship, Alexandra hopes to also qualify for the European Championships, The Norwegian Championship and compete in Odense, Denmark at the end of the season.
by Sarah Warne for Eurodressage
Photos © Astrid Appels - No reproduction allowed (No Facebook!
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Scores 2013 CDI-PJYR Roosendaal