Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus win by a wafer-thin margin ahead of Lottie Fry and Glamourdale in 's-Hertogenbosch

The world number one, Justin Verboomen, showed his European Champion Zonik Plus for the first time this year. The stallion had had a break since his victory in Frankfurt. The black horse bounced through the Brabanthalle. In the trot traversal to the left, Verboomen called for a little more diligence from the hind leg. The backwards movement could have been even smoother.

The first passage-piaffe tour, as if controlled by an inaudible metronome, caused the pair’s scores to exceed 80 percent for the first time. In collected walk, the Rhinelander “stomped” in the foreleg. The second piaffe was a textbook success.

Slight tension in the gallop

The final sovereignty and suppleness was missing in the double changes, zig-zag traversals and 15 flying canter changes from jump to jump could have been more relaxed and straight. But the left pirouette was once again a “training video”. The right also went well. On the last line, the pair from Belgium were still behind “Lottie” Fry, who had taken the lead with world champion Glamourdale. But with the final piaffe and the points for flowing transitions, Verboomen closed the bag with a final score of 78.457 percent.

Fry: Twisting worm in the pirouette

Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale were among the favorites among the 18 participants. The pair made it clear from the outset that they were not competing to be a “distant second”. After all, the 30-year-old has long been established in the Netherlands as far as riding is concerned, as well as the public’s sympathy.

At a strong trot, the black stallion worked over the topline and overshot by up to one hoof width (8.3). There was a tendency for the right front leg to swing out higher than the left. In the first piaffe, “Glamy” threatened to get behind the driving aids. This was to the detriment of the diligence. The croup sank little in this lesson.

Gallop from 9.7 to 4.0

After a confident stride in both tempi’s, the second piaffe was even less successful. The black stallion swerved slightly, only to then pick up a lot of points in his basic gait, the canter – double changes, zig-zag traversals and of course the strong canter (9.7). Even the left pirouette would have benefited from more canter jump than just turning. The one to the right was a total failure: in the introduction he jumped on both feet, then jumped over, a backward tendency could also have been recognized – costly mistakes that ultimately cost the victory.

The final piaffe was by far the best executed of the pair. At the point, the black horse showed the kicks, stayed in front of the driving aids and therefore also more balanced. 78.022 – second place.

Zantana S and Marieke van der Putten lay claim to the team

Mechanics galore, suppleness with room for improvement – the Zonik daughter Zantana RS2 is a horse with plenty of work ethic. This dynamic helps the black mare, who was born at Lewitz Stud. Sometimes, however, this energy also presents her rider, Dutch rider Marieke van der Putten, with the task of presenting the lessons not only obediently, but also with a certain relaxed self-confidence. This already began with the trot reinforcement without any significant change in the neck and therefore hardly any recognizable frame extension, even though the legs flew dynamically both in front and behind.

Stallion dam at the top of the world

Zantana clearly feels comfortable in the high collection lessons. She received scores of up to 80 percent. Occasionally, there was a tendency for the hind leg to kick at different heights in the passage. The confident canter was marred by a mistake in the right pirouette. Here the winner’s paternal half-sister jumped over.

Zantana, already the dam of three licensed stallions thanks to embryo transfer, including the popular Debutant PS, finished third with 74.609 percent.

Belgium pushes forward

Larissa Pauluis’ gelding Flambeau has covered a lot of kilometers in the World Cup season. The piaffe was a highlight of the performance – rhythmic with a clear load pick-up. In the strong walk, the gelding could have leaned more towards the bit. Nevertheless, he stepped more tactically over the tracks of the front hooves. The highlight of the Neumünster winners’ performance were many canter movements such as the series changes. The pirouettes were turned rather than jumped in phases. What the Belgian did better than many others was to differentiate between collected trot and passage. One would have liked the last piaffe to be a little more on the spot. The pair, who have already competed in two Olympic Games together, scored 72.892 percent – fourth place for Belgium.

Mon Dieu, Raphi!

In addition to the successful veteran Great Escape Camelot in Neumünster, Raphael Nezt has a second horse for the top sport, Dieudonné. The extremely willing black horse impresses with his active hind leg. Netz got him relatively late, as he revealed to EQUI PAGES in an interview, but then Dieudonné learned quickly and eagerly.

The sensitive gelding, third in the Grand Prix in Basel in January, still held his breath a little in the first trot reinforcement. In the second strong trot, Netz was then able to “open up” his hand a little more. The son of Dante Weltino made use of the space and drew closer to the bit (7.8). The first piaffe was not quite in the ideal rhythm, but the passage was very even throughout the test. While the strong walk was already good, the quality of the collected walk deserves an exclamation mark.

An oversight on the short side

The pair made a mistake in canter. On the short side before the strong canter, the bay dropped out briefly. The score was lost, so the pair then showed the strong canter with the handbrake on. However, their concentration was restored before the zigzag traversals and the gelding needed to stay straighter in the single changes, which were not completely tension-free. The left pirouette was another highlight. The good pirouette to the right should have been more balanced to get close to the 7.6 for the left pirouette.

Very beautifully offset, sublime passage steps were achieved on the last center line, the piaffe similar to the two previously shown. And a happy, beaming Raphael Netz. Dieudonné has never competed in such a field before. With 72.826 percent, fifth place, the DSP gelding from Baden-Württemberg has finally arrived in the upper echelons of dressage.

Family Affair from the Münsterland region goes international

Dr. Svenja Kämper-Meyer came seventh behind Switzerland’s Charlotta Rogerson with the “family product” Amanyara. The big headline above this ride: Fine contact, the poll always the highest point! That’s how it should be.

The pair scored with a strong trot and an exemplary salute. The piaffe was still very forward at times, but was trotted in time.

The Ampère daughter does not have the most generous canter. But one that is practical for precise canter movements. The rider made skillful use of this capacity. In the double changes, just like the zig-zag traversals and single changes. The mare’s tail should show a little less effort in these. Super successful: the equally centered and balanced right pirouette.

70.848 percent, which was second place in the current test at the time, was on the scoreboard. In the end, the pair from near Münster finished in seventh place.

Moritz Treffinger: Knots in the “ones”

Even the good halt and fluent backing, in addition to some highlights in the canter, could not distract from the fact that Moritz Treffinger and Cadeau Noir have already delivered better tests than today’s Grand Prix in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. There had already been an initial discrepancy when they were broken in. This probably still lingered in the judges’ memories. Because the average score for the fluent trot traversals was just below “pretty good”, which would have been a 7.0.

The black stallion showed the piaffe on the spot. One wished for a little more hook bend. But the rhythm was right in all three required piaffe and the transitions were also smooth. That the Christ son probably lacked the atmosphere. The fact that the atmosphere in the Brabant halls was a bit of a problem for the Christ son became apparent in the walk. The contact was unsteady in the strong walk, even though the Hanoverian clearly over-stepped. In collected walk, the beat was not always flawless.

Highs and lows

Treffinger therefore had to score points if he wanted to “ride into the money” in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. At first it looked as if he would succeed in the canter tour. Uphill, relaxed and straight flying canter changes to two jumps (7.7) and a well-distributed, even zig-zag traversal to the left and right of the centerline (7.7) had him aiming for the 70 percent mark again. However, a total misunderstanding in the single changes, where hardly any of them were successful, dashed his hopes.

Kämpfer Treffinger concentrated on the following lessons and after a well-executed right pirouette he brought the test to the finish without any further irritation. He finished in 13th place with 67.783 percent.

Belgian rider Alexa Fairchild was disqualified after the ride.

All results Grand Prix Dutch Masters 2026

Small tour

Treffinger had already competed in the Prix St. Georges in the morning with young horse Vincero. Treffinger has a special connection to the winner of the test, Maclaren, who was presented by Dinja van Liere. He rides his sire Morricone at Gestüt Bonhomme, where the U25 European Champion has been working as a rider for several years.

Results Prix St. Georges Dutch Masters 2026