05-08-2018 by Ermelo YH
The victory in the Freestyle to Music of the Stallions of the Year show was claimed by the Hannoverian Lord Django and Ilona Janas (74.166%), Ilona Janas: “I am happy like a child on Christmas morning. I really did not expect to win today. Of course, I was fighting for it and after yesterday I dreamt about winning,” smiles the Polish rider. “Lord Django loves the audience, but he wants to go forward and it can be hard to get him to focus. Besides this, everything about him is fantastic. As an 8-year-old he has such a natural ability for piaffe and passage. We do not have to work hard to make it look spectacular. As a 6- and 7-year-old he competed here in the championships, this is his last year. Next edition I hope to be here again, with my mare this time.”
Both the second and third place were obtained by the Dutch rider Franka Loos. The NRPS-approved Crosby (Chippendale x Flemmingh) became second with a score of 73.583%, followed by the KWPN-approved George Clooney in place three with 71.458%. George Clooney is a son of De Niro and was bred by Ulrike Lahmann-Gerke out of a Wolkentanz-mare. The mentality and work-willingness of the stallion have positively suprosed the owner, as did the amazing performance of Crosby. Van Olst: “These two seven-year-olds are doing very well. This is a big and vibrant arena, so you have to wait and see how they will behave themselves. But they proved to be true show horses, they cope quite simply.”
