Danish Ida Kirstine Bjørn smashes the Young Riders freestyle
There were tears, cuddles and a smile from ear to ear. The Danish rider Ida Kirstine Bjørn is more than proud on her just 9-years-old lovely Hussmanns Jackson and couldn’t believe the smashing 77.183% she scored in the freestyle.
“This was so amazing. Hussmanns Jackson did so really well”, she told us afterwards. ”He just totally smashed our previous record in the freestyle. He scored so much higher than ever before, that’s just amazing. Specially in this big arena, with a lot of people.”
Just 9-years-old
“He is just 9-years-old and hasn’t got a lot of experience. We started riding Young Riders about a year ago. So I still feel he’s a little bit green sometimes. When I got him, he knew the changes, but he didn’t do competitions at all. I have him for one and a half year right now.” Hussmanns Jackson seems to like the arena in Lier. On the first day he took the win with a score of 71.961% and he became third on Thursday with a score of 71.079%.
“He likes the attention”
“On Thursday he got a bit tense but today he just enjoyed, I think he knows when people are looking at him. He likes the attention, but his power needs to be manageable, though. He has got a lot of blood and he is quite a sensitive horse, but that’s getting better and better. He’s really growing up and always putting his best foot forward.”
Final year as a Young Rider
Can you tell us something about your plans and dreams with Hussmanns Jackson? “It’s a bit scary to say, but I hope to go to the Europeans. Although we have got a lot of good riders and horses in Denmark. So we’ll see, but for now we will do the best we can. It’s my last year as a young rider so I just want to enjoy it.” And then, U25? “I’m sure he has got the potential for U25. So hopefully we can come back to Lier next year.”
Belgian Jette de Jong second
With a really small difference between the second and third place, the Belgian Jette de Jong took the silver spot. Her horse Heavenly Charming ended up with a score of 73.667%. The British Jessica McConkey scored 73.650% with Wilson Stensvang and became third.
Juniors
The Dutch Esmee Broers made it to a hattrick, winning the Freestyle with Kiki G as well today. The score of 74.833% did get her on top of the podium. The Belgian Anna Peeters became second with Harlekin, she scored 73.583%. Also the third place went to a Belgium rider. This time Clara Collard and Escape managed a top 3 result, with a score of 73.250%.
U25
The final class of today was the U25 and again it was an entire Dutch podium. Zoe Kuintjes made it to a third win this week with her partner in crime Cupido RS2. They scored 72.615% in their Freestyle. Julia Bouthoorn and Choice Finch became second with a score of 71.510%. The third place was for Lotte van den Herik and her stallion Giovanni. Their performance was rewarded with a score of 70.755%.
Photo Ida Kirstine Bjørn: Digishots
