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Inside The Dutch Masters: Friday 23rd April 2021

Saturday, 24 April 2021
The Dutch Masters 2021

Daniel Deusser wins the VDL Groep Prize

Photo © Rolex Grand Slam / Peggy Schröder Daniel Deusser and Casallvano at The Dutch Masters 2021. Photo © Rolex Grand Slam / Peggy Schröder.

The VDL Groep Prize was the highlight of Day 1 of the 2021 edition of The Dutch Masters, and attracted 41 leading horse and rider partnerships, among them 13 of the world’s top-20-ranked show jumpers, including Swiss world number one and Rolex Testimonee, Steve Guerdat, world number six, Pieter Devos from Belgium, and American Rolex Testimonee, Kent Farrington, currently ranked seventh. 

Local course designer, Louis Konickx, set a fair 13-obstacle 1m55 test in the Brabanthallen’s main arena, with 10 combinations eventually progressing to compete in the jump-off. Christian Kukuk from Germany and his grey gelding, Checker 47 set the quickest first-round time of 71.29 seconds, and they were joined by riders from six different nations, including two local Dutch riders – Kim Emmen and Marc Houtzager – making it a truly international spectacle and final showdown. 

Second to go, it was Emmen and her 12-year-old stallion, Jack van het Dennehof, who set the early pace; however, it was Rio 2016 team bronze medallist, Daniel “Double D” Deusser and his 12-year-old gelding, Casallvano, who ultimately proved too strong for her and the rest of the field, as they breezed around the seven-obstacle jump-off, fault-free in a time of 35.66 seconds to claim the honours. 

Thrilled with his victory, the 40-year-old German commented, “Having walked the course, I was quite surprised that there were so many clear rounds. My strategy in the jump-off was to try and win the class. I have to say, all the lines and the turns worked out really well, so I’m absolutely delighted for my horse tonight."

“Casallvano is actually a really scopey horse. He’s a little bit shy when he comes into the ring, but that’s also a positive part of being very careful on the jumps. I have to say that although he’s a very fast horse, I had in the last one or two weeks a couple of turns that didn’t work out like I expected, and I finally came to that point today where everything works out, which makes me very proud."

“Considering the circumstances, it’s not normal that we can do our job at the moment. The organisation here and the sponsors did a great job to make that happen and let us ride again."

“I will ride Scuderia Tobago [Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z] in the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday. He is in great shape and he had a couple of very good results in Wellington a couple of weeks ago, and I hope to continue in the same shape on Sunday.”

Meet the Next Gen with: Jack Whitaker

Photo © The Dutch Masters / Remco Veurink Jack Whitaker. Photo © The Dutch Masters / Remco Veurink.

You’ve spent winter in Belgium, Spain and Portugal – do you feel your horses are in good shape coming to The Dutch Masters? 

Absolutely – they’re all in very good shape at the moment. I managed to keep them fairly fit during the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant they and I had a lot of time off. It’s obviously a challenge spending all winter competing outdoors in Spain and Portugal, and now having to adapt to an indoor show, but I feel like I’m in the best possible shape. 

How excited are you to be competing in your first Rolex Grand Slam Major? Any nerves? 

I’m very, very excited, and I was extremely happy when I got the news from the organisers of The Dutch Masters! Having competed with Haya Loma N in the show’s first class earlier on today, I’m not feeling so many nerves now, although I think that could change on Sunday ahead of the Rolex Grand Prix. I’m planning to compete with my 12-year-old stallion, Valmy De La Lande, who’s been my standout horse over the last six months, and the one I’ve been jumping all of my Grands Prix with. Fingers crossed he’s on the ball on Sunday!

What are your plans for 2021 and what would you like to achieve? 

I’m just planning to go to as many of the big shows as I can. FEI Nations Cups will be a focus for me, and I’ll just try to do as well as possible. If I’m lucky enough to be invited to some more Rolex Grand Slam Majors then that would of course be absolutely fantastic.

Walk the Course with: Louis Konickx

Photo © Rolex Grand Slam Louis Konickx. Photo © Rolex Grand Slam.

What do you love most about being a course designer? 

I love the creative side of course designing. It fascinates me to think about the course that I’m responsible for creating, how it will look and ride, and how to best use the whole of the arena. I don’t like routine, and I like to challenge myself, so no two courses will ever look the same. For that reason, I always love to create something new and fresh. 

Tell us a little bit about the course for Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix… 

We had a course designed for last year’s show, which was put into hibernation! I then got the message that this year’s arena would be larger, which meant I was able to stick with the same plan as 2020, but open it up a little and adapt it slightly. I believe we now have a really nice course.

How important are The Dutch Masters’ partners and sponsors, such as Rolex, to the success of the show and the fact that it is going ahead now?

They are all hugely important, and they are totally engaged with the show. That’s the reason they decided to get involved in the first place – they are very much part of the team. They understand the current situation we find ourselves in and appreciate how much it means to the riders to be able to compete again. World-class show jumping couldn’t happen without them.

 

About the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping

The Rolex Grand Slam is considered by the sport to be the ultimate equestrian challenge, primarily due to the sporting prowess required to achieve this feat. It is a quest taken on by the world’s top riders, vying to secure the legendary status associated with winning the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.

The format of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping is simple: anyone who wins three Majors in a row receives the Rolex Grand Slam trophy and a €1 million bonus on top of the class’s prize-money. If that same rider then continues their success by winning a fourth Major in succession, they will be rewarded with an additional €1million bonus. If two shows are won in succession, the bonus is €500,000 or if an athlete wins only 2 majors in a period of four successive shows, the bonus is €250,000.



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