Jur Vrieling and his 11-year-old gray horse Long John Silver 3 N.O.P. (by Lasino) had a fault at the takeoff of the double, which was cleverly set up after the ditch. Unfortunately, a pole fell on the grass arena in Milan a little later, causing Vrieling to finish in 18th place. The disappointment was great for the experienced rider from Holwierde.
“At the takeoff for the double, I already felt that I wouldn’t make it to the second part, and that’s what happened,” Vrieling says, who had hoped for a medal beforehand. “You hope for it both as a team and individually. I would have been happy with a fifth or sixth place, but I’m not satisfied with 18th place.” Reflecting on what could have been done differently, Vrieling says, “While walking the course, we had clearly made the decision together to do six galloping strides to the double. I had some doubts about it, but I thought it would be fine, but it didn’t go well; I should have added an extra stride for certainty.”
Long John has become faster. Vrieling praises the qualities of his horse. “We’ve worked hard to make him faster, and he is now, because in the hunt and in the team competition, he was the fastest horse in the Netherlands. But for double jumps, I really need to take my time,” says Vrieling, who openly admits that he is still unjustifiably afraid of time faults. “If I had taken a bit more time today, I could have certainly avoided a fault, and that was also the case in the last round of the team competition. A time fault is always better than a fault. I need to train myself more on that and change my mindset. My horse is fast enough by now. He was in good shape and still not tired when he finished the course; I just need to ride better,” says Vrieling.
Source: KNHS.nl / equnews.nl
