Tom Schellekens repeated Thursday’s trick tonight, winning the Hästens Prize, the final for U25 riders at 1.45 m level, with Fiarabo (by Diarado). Schellekens rode a fantastic jump-off that was good for the fastest time of 31.93 seconds. Tani Joosten made an attempt with Galdal Me (by Zambesi TN) to knock Tom off the throne, but he came up 0.41 seconds short. Bas Moerings completed the top three with Ipsthar (by Denzel van het Meulenhof) by staying clear in the jump-off in 32.48 seconds.

‘Riding as hard as possible and staying clear’

In dressage it happens much more often, but in show jumping it is statistically a minor miracle: winning two classes in a row. “That I now win an U25 class at Jumping Amsterdam for the second time in a row makes it extra special. Tonight was a really great victory. In the first round Fiarabo jumped out of the book. There are no faster horses than her. So this was really enjoyable. My plan for the jump-off was to ride as hard as possible, but I didn’t want to go too crazy. There weren’t that many clear combinations. My plan was to ride a tight double clear round. This worked out nicely.”

‘Today she proved she’s fantastic’

Tom has an explanation for how it can be that he wins the U25 class twice. ”Just having an incredibly good horse AND a bit of luck. The form of the weekend was decisive. It is a horse with a lot of quality. She can also jump a big class and she has already shown this several times. Today she proved how fantastic she is. A little higher is coming now.”

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