HIO Rotterdam 2026 was treated to a vintage Saturday. In a packed, noisy, living stadium, Marieke van der Putten and Zantana RS2 OLD N.O.P. won the Grand Prix Freestyle with a huge 84.580%, setting a personal best in the process. Behind them, Corentin Pottier had more to savour than to regret, while Becky Moody and Jagerbomb claimed the Grand Prix Special. Rotterdam vibrated.
Zantana brings out her finest notes
There are days when dressage looks like a score learned by heart. And then there are days when it feels like a concert, finely played. On Saturday in Rotterdam, Marieke van der Putten and Zantana RS2 OLD N.O.P. clearly went full philharmonic.
With 84.580%, the Dutch pair won the Grand Prix Freestyle and set a new personal best. Not exactly a gentle stroll between two box hedges.
The mare was electric. But not in runaway mode. More like a perfectly connected turbo: energy, fire, and this time, all of it going in the right direction. “ She was simply irresistible ,” summed up Van der Putten, delighted to see that energy becoming an ally rather than a problem. Free translation: when things heat up, Zantana no longer runs away, she dances harder.
Rotterdam, a chic cauldron
In a well-filled stadium, the atmosphere played its part. Horses see the world, hear the crowd, feel the pressure. Zantana too. But very quickly, the mare came back into her own bubble with her rider.
“Everything I have always known was inside this horse is now coming out,” said the Dutch rider. And in sporting language, that often means the beginning of problems for the others..
Pottier second, but smiling wide
Next in, Corentin Pottier andGotilas du Feuillard took second place with 76.635%. Not the win, admittedly. But the Frenchman looked more like a man who had just won something else: the right to enjoy the moment.
Pottier praised Rotterdam, its crowd, its arena, that atmosphere that makes horses want to bring out their best piaffe. With Gotilas, the story is long, the championships are many, and the automatisms are firmly screwed in. When the horse lights up a little too much, Pottier does not panic. He knows he will come back. Old couple, old reflexes, same elegance.
Weggelaar completes the podium
Third place went to Rowena Weggelaar who scored 75.475% with Don Quichot. A performance loaded with history, as she has been riding this horse since Juniors. A mistake in the extended trot, yes. But satisfaction in the piaffe and passage. And above all, visible pride: the kind that belongs to combinations not built in three warm-ups.
Moody and Jagerbomb: “go” button
In the Grand Prix Special, Becky Moody struck hard with Jagerbomb, winning on 77.575%. The horse was hot, very hot, but in the best sense of the word.
Moody had not necessarily seen it coming after a rather quiet warm-up. But when Jagerbomb switched on, the British rider did not go looking for the handbrake. “ When he is like that, there is only one thing to do: go with it. »
ehind her, Dinja van Liere finished second with Mauro Turfhorst N.O.P.T. on 74.064%. The horse is still young and needs to gain strength, but Rotterdam gave him another very nice line on the CV.
Rotterdam, the rectangle’s big party
This Saturday of dressage had everything: scores, crowd, electricity, horses rising in pressure and riders capable of turning it all into top-level sport. Marieke van der Putten won. But above all, Zantana confirmed that she is no longer just promising.
(Photo cover ©CHIO Rotterdam)
