Personal Best for Robin Heiden and Hollywood in U25 Victory

Robin Heiden claimed victory in the U25 class in Lier last night. With a score of 70.343%, the Dutch athlete and Hollywood were the only combination to break the 70% barrier. Great Britain’s Harrison Ashton finished second with Davalerian on 69.069%, while Denmark’s Frederikke Gram Jacobsen secured third place with Ryvangs Zafina. Heiden, who combines her equestrian career with studying law, was very satisfied with her performance.

The 70.343% marked a new international personal best for Heiden and Hollywood. She said: “When I came out of the arena, the feeling was really good. Apart from a small mistake in the one-tempis, we rode a faultless test. I’m very happy that things are improving at every competition. I can now keep riding in the arena myself, instead of sitting back and waiting.”

Getting to know each other
Heiden has been partnered with Hollywood for around two years. The horse was previously ridden at Grand Prix level by current Dutch national coach Patrick van der Meer, and is also known for being a clone of the legendary stallion Jazz. Robin tries not to put too much pressure on herself. “We were given the time to get to know each other,” she explains. “My advantage may have been that I couldn’t ride Grand Prix yet, so I was able to adapt to Hollywood. By now, Hollywood is also adapting to me again. We are trying to make the aids smaller and improve the level of collection. He is a very kind horse and he always enjoys his work.” Heiden continues: “I don’t really think about the fact that he competed at Grand Prix and is a clone of Jazz. The only pressure I put on myself is wanting to do as well as I can, but that doesn’t come from outside expectations.”

Groundwork and limited Grand Prix exercises
Hollywood is a very energetic horse, according to Robin. “He is a really funny horse who is always in a good mood. When he gets to do Grand Prix movements, his ears prick up and he thinks, ‘Yes!’ That’s lovely to see. He is truly made for this. He has so much personality.” Together with her mother, Jeany, Heiden does a lot of groundwork with Hollywood. “That helps him understand that all his energy doesn’t have to turn into tension. He also spends the whole day outside. We mainly focus on suppleness with lateral exercises and lots of jogging. We don’t ride the Grand Prix movements very often.”

Balancing sport and studies
The 22-year-old still has some years ahead of her in the U25 category, while also studying law. “Luckily, I can do a lot of my study from home and manage my own schedule. Of course, it sometimes comes down to setting priorities. Besides Hollywood, I ride three other horses: one young horse and two that are already progressing towards Grand Prix level. I don’t yet know what I will do after finishing my studies, but ideally I would like to stay in the horse world and work part-time in law.” With Hollywood, Heiden has clear ambitions: “I hope that we can get the very best out of ourselves. That’s not about specific scores or wins, because we’re not at our peak yet. I want to ride tests that make me think: this is how I want it to be. Then I’m satisfied. And if that happens, I think we can also be competitive at the top of the U25 level.”

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