Marieke van der Putten wins Onori Prize: “Kuvasz RS2 goes through fire for me”
Marieke van der Putten won the highly competitive Prix st Georges class for the Onori Fashion & Gifts Prize late on Friday evening. With her Glamourdale son Kuvasz RS2, Van der Putten scored 72.719%, edging Adelinde Cornelissen and Luqiedo (by Aqiedo) into second place (71.275%). Third place went to Dinja van Liere and her Millennium son Lowlands OLD (69.216%).
‘Kuvasz will go through fire for you’
“I never expected to win here,” says Marieke van der Putten after the award ceremony. “It was a really strong field of competitors and again, as the first starter, my score was not so high that you think you are going to win with that. But quite a lot happened, the RAI is a difficult hall for some horses. But that doesn’t bother you at all with Kuvasz RS2. She will go through fire for you.”
First time indoor
Still, poker Kuvasz RS2 found the hall of the RAI quite exciting. “It was the first time indoor for him in such a big entourage. I had some swings and some things that could really be improved. His bridle is a strong point of his. He constantly moves through the test. I can always keep him very nicely in front of me. Every stride in trot and canter is the same. That’s really a plus in him.”
Future horse
Kuvasz RS2 has been out of the running for a while, his last major appearance was at the World Championships in 2022.”He hasn’t been well for a while. He had stomach and intestinal problems. The training with him went very fast, he is a very work willing horse.I deliberately took him out for a year so he could have time to gain strength.He really is a future horse for me.He has a lot of potential for higher work.I think it is very important to give him time.”Stable character
For Marieke van der Putten, the preparation for Jumping Amsterdam was no different than usual.”I rode the selections and I still took him to a clinic.He has a very stable character.”
Grand Prix
“After this I’m going to take the time to work with him towards the Grand Prix.I feel he is really ready for this.I hope to start him Grand Prix at the end of this year.”
First starter
Van der Putten had to start first. “But I never found that a problem. You have to put down a good test right away. It doesn’t matter to me when I start.”
Dutch party
“I think Jumping Amsterdam is a fantastic competition. It’s always very busy for the horses though. They learn a lot from this, of course. It really is a Dutch party.”
Written by Eline Korving – In cooperation with Horses.nl