17.3 hands high - dapple gray - excellent mover - owned by Sonja Gademan. We are talking about Jup, an 8 year old Dutch warmblood gelding by Democraat.
Silver medalist at the European Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Verden, 1997, Jup was drawn into the centre of attention. Many renown dressage riders offered enormous bids for this wonderful potential, but Sonja Gademan turned them all down. She once said that one million guilders were offered for her horse, but even such an amount could not convince her from letting Jup go.
With the silver medal in Verden, Jup was launched into the international dressage circuit and became the one to beat in the Prix St. Georges - Intermediaire I field. At Indoor Brabant Jup was again able to establish notable scores and secure a strong second position in the small tour. The only one to pass Jup and Sonja was Anky van Grunsven with her newest mount Gestion Joker, a Hanoverian gelding by Prince Tatch xx.
With recent victories at Jumping Amsterdam and a top three placement at Indoor Brabant in the Prix st. Georges and Intermediaire I class, the NOP (Nederlands Olympiade Paard - Dutch Olympic Horse) decided to grant Jup the "Olympic" status. Sonja Gademan will now annually receive a certain amount of money which should prevent her from selling Olympic Jup.
Image: Dirk Caremans