Tommie Visser claims gold in Belgian Small Tour Championships

‘Really super cool, what a lovely horse,’ enthused Tommie Visser. He just won the Belgian Small Tour Championships with Karma Begijnhoeve (by Desperado). The nine-year-old prima ballerina danced to the gold. Silver went to Suraya Hendrikx and Benicia, who won the freestyle, and bronze was for Jorinde Verwimp and Vicomte de Reyves.

‘They sometimes say a good beginning is half the battle, the first test I had so much lead, that’s super cool,’ said Tommie Visser. On Thursday, he managed to win the first class with Karma Begijnhoeve and afterwards he commented: ‘this can’t get any better’. His reaction today was slightly different: ‘I had not won the freestyle except for one point, so it could have been better,’ he laughed.

This is how dressage should be
‘It’s still a bit of trying with Karma. Last time during CDI Lier I had only jogged her a bit on the rest day and then she was a bit too fresh the day after. So yesterday I thought I’ll do some gallop work. And now I noticed she was a bit on the tired side. As a result, technically there are still a few things that could be better, but she showed super consistently for three days.’ According to Tommie Visser, Karma Begijnhoeve is the perfect example of a dressage horse. ‘What she has very much about her is that she makes it look very easy. Really very natural. That’s why I really like her as a horse. This is how I think dressage should be.’

Transition to Grand Prix
Whereas the youngsters are preparing for the European Championships this summer, it is different for the Small Tour. What will the season look like for Tommie and Karma? ‘I was still very much in doubt whether to continue training her and then start her at Medium Tour at the end of the year. But I notice now, after several days, that she really needs to get stronger to be able to hold on well all days. I think I will ride a few more times international Small Tour. And then continue training to move up to Grand Prix next year.

Foals of Karma
Karma Begijnhoeve was bred by Tommie Visser and his husband Rob van Puijenbroek. Being successful with their own breeding products makes winning the title even more special. There was more great news from the Begijnhoeve this week. ‘Yes super nice! Rob is riding Le Premier Begijnhoeve and that used to be a stallion, so we have made babies with him and Karma. This week two very beautiful black foals came out of that, which is really super cool!”, said a proud breeder. Le Premier Begijnhoeve came sixth in the championship in the same class.

Top 3
The battle for the Small Tour championship was not yet decided prior to the test and the results were close. Silver went to Suraya Hendrikx and Benicia. She won the freestyle today with a score of 75.710%, just one point difference from Tommie Visser and Karma Begijnhoeve, who scored 75.690%. The bronze went to Jorinde Verwimp and Vicomte de Reyves, she scored 75.220% in the freestyle.

Results

Photo: Digishots