Proud owners Kees and Tosca Visser from Moorland Stables made the decision to support their Moorlands Totilas in Holand instead of travelling to the WDM show in Cannes.
They were the witnesses of the Dutch national title that was successfully defended by Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas. On a beautiful Freestyle night yesterday the dream pair took the Gold with a very harmonious and relaxed test, rewarded with 88,15%. “Sometimes I was a bit behind the music. However this was on purpose as I liked to practice some new experimental things this Outdoor Gelderland show before CHIO Rotterdam, which is a qualifier for the WEG for the Dutch team”, Edward commented.
Olympian Marlies van Baalen became the runner up in the Dutch national championship. She had the luxury to have the choice between her mare BMC Phoebe or BMC Ojay for the Freestyle and made her choice for BMC Ojay. “He is a bit more experienced and thus more reliable in the floodlight”, Marlies said, who was over the moon with her silver medal.
Bart Veeze surprised himself and the audience with the bronze medal with Gribaldi-son Stefano. He had quite a difficult and risky test with difficulties he had seen once from Isabell Werth, doing two tempi changes on a circle followed by one tempi changes on a straight line, immediately followed by a pirouette. Bart Veeze did this Freestyle successfully in Wiesbaden lately and this was only the second time he rode it. He even became the runner up in the Freestyle with 73,90% while Marlies van Baalen was rewarded with 73,650%. “I was very nervous during the day”, Bart commented. “I just hoped to qualify for the Freestyle and now I am in the medals. I can’t believe this has happened”, he said happily.