Xyliana de Rover and Hamlet capture gold in Juniors at Belgian Championships
The battle in the Juniors was not a done deal and all chances for the title were still open. That made the opening class of the day extra exciting. The new Belgian Junior Champion is Xyliana de Rover, with her Hamlet dancing through her freestyle on her way to gold.
‘It’s very special and not expected,’ Xyliana de Rover responded afterwards about winning her very first national title. ‘I hadn’t come here thinking I was going to win, so this is a nice surprise.’ The 17-year-old rider has been a combination with Hamlet, an 11-year-old son of Quadroneur, for four years. ‘Hamlet is very special and very sweet. But there is definitely a spicy side to it that is not always very easy. I’m glad he did well here.’ She never expected to reach this level with him. ‘Because he was very difficult as a young horse.’
European Championship aspirations
Her freestyle was judged with 72.710%, which earned her second place in the results of the freestyle, and was enough to win the championship. ‘I had a very good freestyle, a few finishing faults but they will go out. I am very satisfied. I was also able to ride fine on the other days.’ It is the second year at the Juniors for Xyliana de Rover. ‘I hope for a European Championship place, that would be nice,’ she said. She was previously part of the European Championship team in the Children and Juniors. Last year, she did the same with Hamlet.
Top 3
The freestyle was won by Amber Hennes and KeukenGeens Allegro v/h Trichelhof. They were rewarded with a score of 73.555%. In the championship, that earned them the bronze medal. Silver went to Anna Peeters and Harlekin, they came fourth in the freestyle with a score of 71.815%.
Photo: Digishots
