Sizora JB, Rinka vh Kapelhof and first winners Stal Hendrix competition

6 May 2026

The 2026 Stal Hendrix Competition kicked off today in Koningsbosch. Among the four-year-olds, the Newmarket VM offspring Sizora JB earned the highest marks, while Rinka vh Kapelhof and Uricana-Grace Z claimed the victories in the classes for five-year-olds and six-year-olds. The latter was also victorious in last year’s Stal Hendrix Competition.

Maarten Driessen and Marcel Willems judged sixty four-year-olds in Koningsbosch. The entire top three received an 8.5 for jumping, meaning the minimal differences in rideability between the fences ultimately determined the final ranking.

NMK mare
The Newmarket VM daughter Sizora JB (ds.Haarlem, breeders H. Brand and A. Scheper), who already made a strong impression at the KWPN mare inspection last year and was invited to the National Mare Championship (NMK), impressed once again. Presented neatly by Ivo Steeghs, this mare from her sire’s first crop earned an 8.4 for her rideability. “This is a beautiful and very modern showjumper. She jumps with good technique and is very rideable, which makes her a very complete horse,” explained Maarten Driessen. Second place went to the Solid Gold Z offspring Samurai (ds.Canstakko, breeder Josef Maier), ridden by Alexander Davis, with scores of 8.5 and 8.3. “This was also a striking horse with a very good jump. He shows plenty of scope, is pleasant to ride, and is certainly a horse for the future.” Very close behind in third place (8.5/8.2) was Con Berlin TU (Conthargos x Berlin), ridden by Anika Kuhn. “Again, a horse with a lot of scope and potential. He is still a little less developed in his body, but he also appears to be a very promising horse.”

Belgian influence
Although the weather conditions were far from ideal, most of the young horses still delivered strong performances. “It was a good course for the four-year-olds and we were able to assess the horses well. There were few, if any, horses that got into trouble. In general, they produced comfortable rounds and gained valuable experience today.” The more than 100 five-year-olds faced a two-phase course, in which nearly half completed both phases clear. Belgian rider Jan Van Alken recorded the fastest clear round in the second phase with Rinka van het Kapelhof Z (Rhythm-K van ’t Kattenheye x Darco), bred by Johan Saelmans. He was followed by fellow Belgian Jeroen Scheepers with Dorien de Rock 1 Z (Dominator 2000 Z x Der Senaat 111, breeders Paul and Huguette Exelmans-Laevers). Earlier this year, Jan Van Alken had already been successful with this mare in the Belgian STX Cycle, and now they are also achieving success on Dutch soil. The best Dutch result in the five-year-olds class came from Rob Heijligers with Oana van de Heibocht Z, a daughter of O’Neill van ’t Eigenlo (ds.Asca Z, breeder Marwin van den Nieuwenhuijzen) placed third.

Six-year-olds
Britt Driessen already made a name for herself in last year’s Stal Hendrix Competition with the two horses bred by her father John Driessen: Uricana-Grace Z (Uricas van de Kattevennen x Conan Z) and Duel Mood Z (Duel de HSP x Irco Miro). Today, she once again proved their talents. After winning three qualifying competitions as well as the overall competition last year with Uricana-Grace Z, Britt immediately claimed victory in the first qualifier for six-year-olds this year. The icing on the cake was her second-place finish with Duel Mood Z. A total of 36 of the 75 combinations completed the two-phase course without faults, and Nadine Janssen delivered the third-fastest clear round with Caprice Z (Columbus Z x Boss, breeder Maatschap Janssen-Rutten). The next competition will take place on May 12 in Asten.

Photo Uricana-Grace Z (2025) – SportFot