Jessica Bruin emerged victorious just now with the six-year-old mare Helia van het Keizershof Z (by Harley VDL) in the IB Makelaars Prize at Jumping Amsterdam. In the 1.20m jump-off, she outclassed all her competitors by delivering another faultless round and clocking a lightning-fast time of 29.99 seconds.

Hoekstra and Delger

Marit Hoekstra, riding the grey Qstar (by Quasimodo Z), couldn’t match Jessica’s performance and had to settle for second place. The combination kept all the rails up and crossed the finish line in 30.16 seconds. Tessa Delger finished third with the six-year-old grey Orlando N (by Balou du Rouet). They completed the course faultlessly in 32.61 seconds.

‘It went as planned’

“It went exactly as planned: clear and fast,” said a delighted Jessica Bruin after the prize ceremony. “Helia is still a young horse but has a lot of experience for her age. Last summer, she competed at the World Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken. So I knew that if she stayed clear, we had a good chance of winning. It wasn’t a surprise to me.”

Selection event in Oud-Karspel

After the World Championships in Lanaken, Jessica took a break due to injury. “I broke my arm. After Christmas, I competed in the selection event in Oud-Karspel. She won there, which qualified us for Jumping Amsterdam.”

‘She always wants to jump’

“I bought Helia as a three-year-old, and the road to this point hasn’t been easy. But in the ring, she always wants to jump and gives it her all. I want to take it easy with her now and wait until she’s ready for the bigger classes.”

Written by Eline Korving

READ MORE