After a first performance together during the First Qualification on Friday, My Toto and Hans Peter Minderhoud missed their qualification by next to nothing, with a score of 81. On Saturday, the pair had to enter the Small Final to earn their way to the 6-year-old Final taking place the day after, and that is exactly what they effortlessly did!
Pictures: Dirk Caremans – Hippofoto
According to the judges, My Toto (Glock’s Toto Jr. x Voice), the black KWPN bred by Aat Both showed off his talents significantly better than during the qualification: a 87,60 overall score with an amazing 9,4 for his trot and 9 for perspective.
While some young horses might tire and struggle to give their best performances over a long period of time, this was far from being a problem for My Toto who, on the contrary, performed increasingly better over these three consecutive days, resulting in a gold medal on the Final of the World Breeding Dressage Championships of the 6-year-old, with 88,600! “My Toto absolutely deserves this medal, he really tried his heart out.” Commented his rider, proud of their performance.
As for the silver medal, it seemed a bit déjà vu, as Leonie Richter and Vitalos (Vitalis x De Niro) already won the Vice-Champions title back in 2022! The Hanoverian stallion bred by Josef Bramlage was awarded a total score of 88,400, that is to say just 0,200% below the gold medalist, with a 9,2 for his trot and 9 for perspective. “A horse with a grand future ahead of him thanks to his natural talents” praised one of the judges, definitely sharing the breeder’s opinion of having raised a “natural”: “When we sold him as a foal, we already thought he was a super star, a future champion in the making”.
With a great score of 87,200, Zuperman OLD (Galleria’s Vincent Maranello x Destano) and Beatrice Hoffrogge wrapped up the top three of this World Breeding Dressage Championships 6-year-old Final. Two 8,8 for the trot and submission were granted to the Oldenburg stallion bred by Stefan Tietje as well as a double 9 for his canter and perspective. After being away from the competitions for a while due to an infection resulting in Zuperman now being blind to an eye, the pair has done quite a successful comeback. His rider, who also happens to be his owner, couldn’t be more proud of her champion: “I was super pleased we advanced to the final. The fact he feels so great on the last day and only got better as the weekend progressed gives me a lot of confidence towards the future”.
1st place – My Toto (Glock’s Toto Jr. x Voice) & Hans Peter Minderhoud
2nd place – Vitalos FRH (Vitalis x De Niro) & Leonie Richter
3rd place – Zuperman OLD (Galleria’s Vincent Maranello x Destano) & Beatrice Hoffrogge
