17 April 2016

Horst: Saskia Siebers wins again!

It was a thrilling finish today in the international single horse division. The obstacle driving was certainly not simple, but time ended up being the biggest deciding factor. The course was unique and made use of new patterns, one of which was an oxer (a double gate) placed in the middle of a broken line which began with an extra small gate. 

Wilbrord van den Broek and Saskia Siebers stood with less than a point between them going into cones and a lead of a little more than a ball over Weronika Kwiatek (POL) and Marlen Fallak (DUI). Fallak drove a clean course with a fraction of a time fault (0,31) with Kwiatek following and doing almost the exact same: no knockdowns and 0,34 time faults. It was then Saskia Siebers turn. The concentrated driver didn't make a single mistake and finished within the allotted time. "I didn't look at the clock, just focused completely on the course. It went wonderfully." says Siebers. All the pressure was now on Wilbrord van den Broek as he entered the ring. The reigning world champion Oscar was in his old form, but a ball fell by gate seven. "I didn't even realize," tells Van den Broek. "But there was quite a bit of pressure. Part way through the course I feld my arms getting tense and inbetween gates shook them loose. I learned that trick from my father," he laughed. "It was an unlucky ball, but I'm still really happy with second place in this huge field of competitors." The twenty year old Oscar was on the sidelines since July of last year and this was his first competition back. "Oscar has shown that he is completely healthy and it will now be the trick to keep him that way this season." Van den Broek will be defending his world title this August in Piber.