The Stable Magazine - April 2016

Acra FEI
ld Cup Final
Words: Louise Parkes Photos: Dirk Caremans/Arnd Bronkhorst/PoolPic/FEI
MINDERHOUD WINS THE COVETED
REEM ACRA TITLE AT LAST
The Netherlands’ Hans-Peter Minderhoud
fulfilled a life-time ambition when
clinching the Reem Acra FEI World Cup
Dressage 2016 title, riding Glock’s Flirt to
claim the trophy and €50,000 winner’s
cheque in Gothenburg (SWE).
The 42-year-old team gold and individual bronze
medallist at last year’s FEI European Championships in
Aachen (GER), gave it his all to earn a mark of 82.357 in
front of a packed crowd in the Scandinavium Arena.
He had wanted this win for a very long time. “It was
really special for me”, the Dutchman said afterwards.
“This was my sixth final and I’ve never been on the
podium, although I was twice really close. I started off
as a groom and it was always my dream to win it, so it’s
very emotional. My horse is almost like a dog, you can
take him everywhere. He’s very sweet and always tries
for you, he’s a really good boy!”
The win came at the expense of home crowd favourite
Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfen, who finished just 0.928 per
cent adrift with Don Auriello in second place. Germany’s
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and the stallion Unee B,
third-place finishers in Las Vegas (USA) 12 months ago,
once again stood on the same step on the podium this
time around.Minderhoud posted the 13th Dutch victory
in the history of the FEI World Cup Dressage series
which this year celebrates its 31st Final. The last time
the title went to Holland it was Minderhoud’s lifepartner,
Edward Gal, who claimed the honours with
the much-loved stallion Totilas on home ground in
‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2010. >
Australia’s Lyndal Oatley and Sandro
Boy. Photo: FEI/Liz Gregg/Pool Pic
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