We now join Edward Gal and Hans-Peter Minderhoud as one of the top Dutch riders sponsored by Kingsland, the internationally renowned Norwegian equestrian line.  William will also be sporting the popular Kingsland gear.

Last week the contract was finalized with Berry van de Hoorn, the director of Horsepoint International.  Based in Oosterhout, Horsepoint is the Dutch importer of Kingsland and also a large distributor of equestrian apparel and equipment.

Said Maarten:  “I am delighted with this sponsorship!  Kingsland’s products are top quality and very stylish.  I love that they are fashionable and yet practical at the same time.”

Maarten van Stek, who resides in Hoofddorp, recently became a part of the Para Dressage B-Team with his horse William.  The pair is also very successful in the Subtop at ZZ Licht.  Maarten’s business includes the training of both horse and rider at all levels of dressage.

Early morning April 11th we left with William to Academy Bartels for two very educational days. William was directly at ease in his nice stable at the beautiful yard of the Bartels family!

After a warm meeting with Tineke, Joep Bartels had a welcome word for everybody. Together with Stichting De Hoefslag, Joep made these days possible.

In the afternoon we had our first lesson with Tineke. We went right to work with the matters Alex and I were working on lately: collection and the pirouettes. William can 'sit' but he has to get stronger in keeping it up and once in a while he might get a wee bit 'long'.

Imke and Hunter Douglas Uno (v.Jazz) gave a demonstration at the end of the day: Speed control and flexibillity were the main subjects. Very inspirational to look at!
After a nice dinner we had some drinks and this way we were able to get to know each other a bit better.

The next morning we worked on the flexchair, Saskia Heijkants gave every rider personal advise. I was the first to go and we ended up with lots of valuable information about our position in the saddle. Training with Tineke after that, we continued to emphasise on the riders position. William had adjust a lot, but he was brave and good as always.

Physiotherapist Jarko Dun held a very interesting clinic in the afternoon about his work; making and keeping horses souple and sound.

Tired but very content we went home again, loaded with inspiration! Herewith we like to thank Academy Bartels for having us these two fantastic days!

For the second time Maarten rode with William ZZ-Light (Advanced); the first test was okay but with no highs and lows. They were third with 58%. The second test was better, sharper and more collected: 60,83% was a good score and they finished fourth. Hans van Beek did a great job capturing the warm-up.

For the second time Maarten rode Orlanda Dragman’s beautiful Corento (s. Sorento) in a show for young dressage horses in Berkel-Enschot. There were 72 competitors! The judges were Jan Wolfs, Edward Gal and HansPeter Minderhoud.Corento was wonderful and it was a nice ride. Not spectacular, but more stable than three weeks ago in Berlicum. He got 77,5 points and finished 7th! Edward and HansPeter gave us very nice compliments about the way he was ridden and presented. We are proud as can be of our little big boy!

Click here for a film on YouTube.

On Sunday the 13th we (Marc, AnneWil, William & Maarten) went to Roosendaal to compete for the first time at Advanced level. As always William was top reliable and did a good job. Riding tests is going much better. Despite difference between the judges (185 and 203 points) still a 'winstpunt' with 60.63%!

After few days of training, we were at De Nieuwe Heuvel in Lunteren. William went well in the individual test, but some mistakes at the end kept us from high scores, though the judges’ chairman gave us 67%.

The team test went much better; with more activity and more precise we won with 65.30%

The classical test went well; however significant differences between the judges kept us from a higher position.. The freestyle didn't go that well to Maarten's opinion; the judge put them on 4th place!. They were however too far behind to claim a place at the National Championships. Considering the fact this was their second time at this level, they were still satisfied.

Because we wanted to ride in the main arena at 7:30 a.m., we set out very early with William.  Trainer Alex van Silfhout – who took excellent care of William and Maarten for two weeks – gave them support again before and during the calm warm-up, where William was completely at ease in this impressive group!

Despite the fact that choreography and music of the Freestyle to Music did not fit William, we enjoyed riding it and William proved again that he copes very well in an indoor venue like Jumping Amsterdam.

There were significant differences between the judges (8%) but that is not important; we had a wonderful day and we enjoyed it very much! Many thanks to the Silfhout family, to Richelle and Christa for grooming, and last but not least to Mr. Hulsebos and Horse Hotel Holland who made this possible!

The Dutch national newspaper ‘Het Parool’ also published a nice article on Maarten! Click here for the article (in Dutch only).

Two days later they started in medium advanced at the local championships. In the classical test they ended second with 62,35% and in the Freestyle to Music, which went very well, they ended fifth with 65,75%. With this they qualified for the regional championships on 12 February!