Henk van de Pol Completes Derby Trilogy in Van Schijndel Bouwgroep Prize

Amidst loud cheers from the sold-out grandstands, the Van Schijndel Bouwgroep Prize once again became one of the absolute crowd favorites at The Dutch Masters. Thirteen top riders attempted this spectacular derby test, but it was Henk van de Pol who got the audience on their feet. The Brabant native stormed to victory with No Fathers Girl, thereby completing his personal derby trilogy.

Van de Pol knew he had a serious chance with his fast horse. "This horse wins a lot and is truly made for this kind of class," he says afterwards. "She's incredibly fast. Maybe not the type of horse for a big Grand Prix, but for this kind of test she's perfect. She can actually do this every week."

The victory gained extra significance for Van de Pol due to the location. "Winning is nice everywhere, but this is of course my home competition. Then it's extra special. The atmosphere was great, the audience really went wild. In a Grand Prix it's dead silent, but here everyone is so engaged. That makes it fantastic to ride."

Bas Moerings also showed once again to be in excellent form. With the eight-year-old Nunblisther, he finished second. British equestrian Claudia Moore broke through the Dutch dominance with Lover Boy SVO and finished third, ahead of Hessel Hoekstra with Stargos VDL. Belgian equestrian Annelies Vorsselmans completed the top five with No Cider TD.

Photos: TDM/Digishots