Stal Hendrix competition reaches its climax: finalists confirmed

11 June 2026

Following today’s fifth and final qualifier of the Stal Hendrix Competition in Meerlo, the finalists have been determined. The top four-, five-, and six-year-old horses have now secured their places in the championship finale. One notable trend throughout the series has been the strong influence of sire Aganix du Seigneur: his offspring Alex’s Triple Trouble Z claimed victory among the four-year-olds today, while Rising Aranix delivered the standout performance in the five-year-old division.

For the four-year-olds, the best three results count towards the standings, while for the five- and six-year-olds, the ranking is based on the best four qualifying performances. The finals will take place on Friday, the 17th of July, at Peelbergen Equestrian Centre in Kronenberg, where the top 30 four-year-olds, top 30 five-year-olds, and top 31 six-year-olds will compete for the titles.

Stars of the future
Today’s four-year-old class was judged by Kees van den Oetelaar and Hans Dings, both of whom praised the overall quality of the field. With scores of 8.7 and 8.7, Alex’s Triple Trouble Z (Aganix du Seigneur x Zandor Z), bred and owned by Stal Bocken and presented by Emmely van Pol, stood out as the most complete young talent of the day. His pedigree is equally impressive, as he was bred out of a half-sister to Grand Prix winners Dana Blue and Hummer Z. Another horse boasting exceptional genetics finished second: Wonderful Touch (United Touch S x Denzel van ’t Meulenhof, breeder Koen Gaublomme), ridden by Bo op den Brink, received scores of 9.0 and 8.0, earning the highest jumping mark of the day. This promising youngster originates from the renowned Van ’t Roosakker damline. Under Jeroen Scheepers, Santiago des Valleés (Farzack des Abbayes x Diarado) jumped to third place with scores of 8.6 and 8.7. In the overall standings, Karelli Z (s.Kassander van ’t Roosakker) ridden by Rob Heijligers, currently leads after three top-four finishes. All horses that made today’s podium in Meerlo have qualified for the final.

Kristian Houwen dominates
After making a strong impression in last year’s Stal Hendrix Competition, the KWPN-approved stallion Rising Aranix (Aganix du Seigneur x Echo van ’t Spieveld), bred and owned by Rising Stud and ridden by Kristian Houwen, continued his successful campaign this summer. In Meerlo, no one could match his speed and clear round, lifting him to second place in the overall standings, just behind Dorien de Rock 1 (s.Dominator 2000 Z) ridden by Jeroen Scheepers. The winner of the Sevenum qualifier, Riekemieka B (Landino VDL x Zirocco Blue VDL, breeder Jurjan Bloem) under Johan Bergs, finished second today and heads into the final in a strong position. Third place went to Stal Hendrix’s homebred quality horse Redfield HX (Emerald van ’t Ruytershof x Gran Corrado) ridden by Jennifer Hidding. Competing on home soil in Meerlo, Kristian Houwen also came out on top in the six-year-old division. Riding Premier VM (Emerald van ’t Ruytershof x Edinburgh), bred by Jan van Meever, he delivered another winning performance. As a result, Premier VM has moved up to second place in the overall standings, just behind Duel Mood Z (Duel de HSP x Irco Miro, breeder John Driessen) with Britt Driessen in the saddle. Britt secured second place in Meerlo with Uricana-Grace Z (Uricas van de Kattevennen x Conan, breeder John Driessen), finishing just ahead of Kevin Cox Meira aboard Usha Key II SR Z (Untouched x Bentley van de Heffinck), bred by Erik and Josje Sleutels. The full results and final rankings can be found on www.equicompetition.nl.