Denise Nekeman and Kansas STH triumph in the Inter I at CDI Lier
Denise Nekeman and her talented gelding Kansas STH (by Dante Weltino) have just secured victory in the Intermediaire I. With a score of 69.235%, the combination left world champion Charlotte Fry behind. “He is such an incredibly talented horse.”
“I was very happy with my test, but you could see that he still found it a bit exciting. There were still a few mistakes. Kansas is such an incredibly talented horse with a lot of quality, so you can afford a few small errors sometimes,” said Denise Nekeman after her test. “The really high scores are not quite there yet at competitions like this, but the more experience he gains, the more relaxed he will become, and then those higher scores will come too. He has so much potential, and if he can already win with mistakes, I am sure there is a lot more in him. He can improve so much more,” Denise praised Kansas STH.
Grand Prix as the goal
The pair have been together for about two years now, starting in the Z2, progressing to the Small Tour, and with only one goal: “Riding Grand Prix!” But before that, Denise wants to give Kansas more experience. “I really want to give him time. He can already do all the exercises, but he still needs to learn to relax more in competition. The exercises are all there, and of course, I would love to show them, but we are not quite ready for our Grand Prix debut yet,” Denise explains. “But if everything goes well, it will come quickly,” she says confidently.
A cuddle bug in the stable
The ten-year-old Dante Weltino son shows great commitment and work ethic in the ring. “As calm and sweet as he is in the stable, he is just as hot when I ride him,” Denise laughs. “It doesn’t matter how long I ride him, he just keeps going. I really like hot horses,” she adds with a smile. “He is such a cuddle bug in the stable, and he is also very smart. Sometimes I only think about an exercise, and apparently, I change something in my posture because I haven’t even given the aid yet, and he is already executing the movement.”
Trained by Hans Peter Minderhoud for 16 years
The Dutch rider has been training with Hans Peter Minderhoud for more than half of her life. “Hans Peter has been through everything with me,” Denise laughs. “I love that he knows me so well. Often, a half-word is enough, and I am still learning from him.” In addition to Hans Peter Minderhoud, Denise is also coached by Yessin Rahmouni. “Yessin comes to our home twice a week to train with me. Hans Peter was here in Lier yesterday to help me, which was really great. I started training with Nicole Werner when I was twelve and moved to Hans Peter when I was fifteen. That was already sixteen years ago.”
Top 3
The Inter I class was sponsored by NV Ambaro. With a score of 69.235%, the victory this morning went to Dutch rider Denise Nekeman and Kansas STH (by Dante Weltino), placing ahead of world champion Charlotte Fry and Everest (by Especial), who made their international debut this week and scored 68.059%. In third place was Ukrainian rider Iryna Kharchenko with Fanto (by Fantastic), whose test earned 67.382%.
