Stal Hendrix competition crowns its champions

17 July 2026

The finals of the Stal Hendrix Competition were held today in the sand arena of Peelbergen Equestrian Centre. In the four-year-old division, Con Berlin TU claimed the overall title under Anika Kuhn after a consistently strong season. Rising Aranix, ridden by Kristian Houwen, successfully defended his title in the five-year-old division, while Duel Mood Z confirmed his excellent form under Britt Driessen by taking top honours among the six-year-olds.

Each year, the Stal Hendrix Competition proves its value in the development of young showjumping talents. It serves as an important platform where riders and horses gain valuable experience, while breeders and talent scouts also have the opportunity to identify promising prospects. Today’s finals provided a fitting conclusion to the competition after five qualifying rounds held across Limburg and Brabant.

Quality throughout
The four-year-old division featured a strong group of horses, judged by Ruben Romp and Jens Baackmann. “We saw a very nice group of four-year-olds, with only small differences between them. The winner is a very complete horse with a great future ahead. Today, we actually awarded the highest marks to the United Touch S daughter Wonderful Touch, a very modern jumper with a great take-off. The overall depth of quality made this a very enjoyable final,” said Ruben Romp. By finishing second in the final with scores of 8.5/8.5, the Conthargos son Con Berlin TU (s.Berlin, bred by Terhoeven Urselmans), ridden by Anika Kuhn, secured the overall competition title. He impressed with his scope, athletic ability and excellent technique over the fence. Final winner Wonderful Touch finished sixth in the overall standings. Completing the podium were the talented Alex’s Triple Trouble Z (Aganix du Seigneur x Zandor Z, bred and owned by Stal Bocken, 8.3 /8.1), ridden by Emmely van Pol, who had already won the qualifying round in Meerlo, and the careful Ipsthar offspring Sidam (ds.Dakar VDL, bred and owned by the Hoogstrate and Deurloo families, 8.2/8.2), ridden by Mandy Deurloo. Together they represented the very best of an outstanding generation.

Successful title defence
For the second consecutive year, Kristian Houwen guided the KWPN approved stallion Rising Aranix (Aganix du Seigneur x Echo van ‘t Spieveld), bred and owned by Rising Stud, to victory in the Stal Hendrix Competition. Last year the powerful stallion achieved the highest judging score, while this season he secured the title through consistent results. Earlier this year, the stallion, who combines effortless jumping with tremendous scope, had already won the qualifying round in Meerlo and today once again qualified for the twelve-horse jump-off. The final class itself was won by the athletic and light-footed Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve offspring Langelo LVD (ds.Chin Chin, bred by Elevage Laverdure), ridden by Jose Fumero. Two Belgian bred talents completed the podium: Dreamer vh Bergerhof Z (Diamant de Semilly x Limbus, bred by Frank Damiaens) under Jeroen Blomen and Dorien de Rock 1 (Dominator 2000 Z x Der Senaat 111, bred by Exelmans Laevers) under Jeroen Scheepers. The latter had already won the qualifying round in Asten earlier this season.

Driessen dominates
In the six-year-old division, Britt Driessen came close to defending her title with the Uricas van de Kattevennen daughter Uricana Grace Z (ds.Conan Z), bred by her father John Driessen. However, her biggest rival turned out to be her other mount, the homebred Duel Mood Z (Duel de HSP x Irco Miro). Duel Mood Z came out on top after having already finished on the podium three times earlier this season. Uricana Grace Z claimed second place after also securing three podium finishes, including victory in the qualifying round at Koningsbosch. It was a perfect conclusion for the Driessen family, especially after Uricana Grace Z had already won the Stal Hendrix competition as a five-year-old last year. Kristian Houwen climbed to third in the overall standings thanks to an impressive double clear performance in the final aboard the Emerald van ‘t Ruytershof son Premier VM (ds.Edinburgh), bred and owned by Jan van Meever). The complete results can be found at www.equicompetition.nl.

Text: Jenneke Smit / Photo: Eva van den Adel