Flore de Winne and Flynn FRH live up to expectations and are Belgian Champions

The pressure was high and the longing great, Flore de Winne managed to live up to all expectations with Flynn FRH and just won gold at the Belgian Dressage Championships. It is her very first national title in the seniors and it seems the ideal preparation for the Olympics in Paris.

The combination has already had quite successful months and victory in the championship seemed a logical extension of that. With victory in the Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special and Freestyle, Flore de Winne was unbeatable this weekend. ‘Crazy!’, laughs Flore de Winner. ‘I never thought this, I’m standing there between two routinesmen who have been on that podium so many times before and now I come in between them as a little dummy. That’s really incredible though.’

‘He always got my back’
Her performance in the freestyle was rewarded with a score of 78.900%. ‘Surely the best thing about Flynn is his will, he really wants so much. I found him a bit tired today, it’s also been a long time since he’s competed three tests, usually it’s two. So I missed that sparkle today, maybe more for my feeling than for the sight. He keeps doing his job, that horse always got my back,’ sounds a proud rider. ‘He really likes doing the job.’ The sparkle was not missed by the audience though, after the test there was a loud cheer and lots of applause for the brand new champion.

Eyes on Paris
Asked how eager Flore was, she replied, ‘Eager, super eager! That’s really fantastic, that we were able to finish it. That was my worst nightmare anyway, that it would fail. It’s still an animal, of course, so you never know in the end. But he has never let me down before and he’s not letting me down now either.’ For now, Flynn FRH gets a rest and goes out to field. ‘After that we will either go to Rotterdam or to Aachen and then hopefully to Paris, which is the ultimate. We’re really looking forward to that.’

‘Super nice event’
About the organisation of the Belgian Championships, Flore de Winne is super enthusiastic: ‘It was great, we were lucky today with the weather. Everything was very well managed, a super nice event. For the horses everything was fine, top stables. Really well organised.’ We are only too happy to take these words from the new Belgian champion.

Top 3
Next to her on the podium was Larissa Pauluis, she scored 76.535% in her freestyle with First Step Valentin to secure silver. Bronze was for Charlotte Defalque and her Botticelli, after she scored 76.310% in the freestyle.

Results

Photo: Digishots