Rising talents impress in second Stal Hendrix-competition qualifier

12 May 2026

The second leg of the Stal Hendrix Competition took place today in Asten and saw a new group of winners come to the fore. In the four-year-old division, Eric van der Vleuten and Piet Raijmakers awarded the highest marks to Karelli Z (s.Kassander van ’t Roosakker), while Doriek de Rock I and Million’s Crack claimed victory in the five- and six-year-old classes.

Former top riders Eric van der Vleuten and Piet Raijmakers judged more than 50 four-year-old jumping talents. “It was a varied group of horses, both in terms of training and quality, with a few very promising horses among the leaders,” Van der Vleuten commented.

Four-year-olds
Karelli Z (Kassander van ’t Roosakker x Balou du Rouet, bred by S. Valeijn), ridden by Rob Heijligers, received the highest overall score with an 8.3 for jumping and an 8.5 for rideability. The result puts the gelding at the top of the interim standings. “This is a very complete jumping horse: easy to ride and showing excellent technique over the fences.” Two promising talents shared second place after both receiving scores of 8.3 and 8.0 respectively: Special Lady (Cornet Obolensky x Glasgow van ’t Merelsnest, bred by Jan Pen) ridden by Elke van den Broek, and United Son (United Touch S x Centurion, bred by Georg Hummelsheim) ridden by Jose Ignacio Rosal. “Special Lady is a very attractive horse with plenty of scope and good rideability. United Son stood out thanks to his light-footed canter, beautiful technique and excellent rideability.” Sizora JB, the Newmarket VM offspring who won the first leg of the competition, finished seventh today.

New winners
After finishing second last week in Koningsbosch, Dorien de Rock I (Dominator 2000 Z x Der Senaat 111, bred by Paul and Huguette Exelmans-Laevers) turned the tables today. Ridden by Belgian rider Jeroen Scheepers, she won the five-year-old two-phase class in an exceptionally fast time. Rob Heijligers continued his strong form aboard Oana van de Heibocht Z (O’Neill van ’t Eigenlo x Asca Z, bred by Marwin van den Nieuwenhuijzen), once again securing a podium finish. These two combinations now hold first and second place respectively in the provisional standings. Third place today went to Riekemieka B (Landino VDL x Zirocco Blue VDL, bred by Jurjan Bloem) under Johan Bergs. In the highly competitive six-year-old division, Barbara Schreuder guided Million’s Crack (Million Dollar x Chello I, bred by Hans Karsten Ingwersen) to victory. The experienced duo, who already have significant international mileage, finished ahead of more than 70 combinations. Sam Versteijnen came closest to their winning time with Pandemi (Hermantico x Starpower, bred by Mari Vissers), followed by Britt Driessen aboard Duel Mood Z (Duel de HSP x Irco Miro G), bred by her father. After finishing second in Koningsbosch last week, they now take over the lead in the interim standings. The Stal Hendrix Competition continues on 22 May in Sevenum.

Photo Dorien de Rock – DH Equimoments
Text Jenneke Smit