Team SLTN wins the Wolvega Horse Clinic Team Challenge
Indoor Friesland 2025 Day 2. Three riders, one result. The Team Challenge was first on the program. THE initiative for dressage riders in the ZII, ZZ Light, and ZZ Heavy classes. Ten teams had the opportunity to put together their strongest possible team and shine in the Paardenkliniek Wolvega Team Challenge in the beautiful arena of the WTC Expo in Leeuwarden. Thirty combinations and ten team captains gave it their all. As in every competition, there can only be one winner. Today, Team SLTN, with riders Heleen de Haas, Nina Woerts, and Dinja van Liere, was the lucky winner. They scored 72%, and team captain was Käthy Rurenga.
Team Hartog, led by team captain Marion Dubbeld, came in second. This team consisted of Sofie van Rooij, Romy Schaftenaar, and Marten Luiten. The third team to compete was Team KWPN, captained by Sjak Laarakkers. This team consisted of Renate Langeberg, Vai Bruntink, and Astrid Langeberg. These teams scored 71.28% and 70.14%, respectively.
Red Viper ZII Debut
Dinja in Frisian company: Heleen de Haas and Nina Woerts. Nina: “I'd ridden for Team SLTN before through our team captain, Käthy Rurenga. I asked her again, and she agreed. Käthy was going to arrange two other team members, and I was surprised when I heard Dinja's name. Riding with her is, of course, incredibly fun. At first, I thought I misheard her, but it was true. I also thought it was very sporting that Dinja started with a young, relatively inexperienced horse.” Dinja: “That's right, Red Viper had never ridden a ZII test before, and certainly not indoors in such an environment. Even the award ceremony went great; he was the most well-behaved of the three who hid behind him.”
Best test of the season
Heleen: "My result was the worst, but that's the fun of riding in a team; I could still win." Nina: "My horse was a bit tense in the warm-up area, but luckily he was there for me in the arena. We didn't make any major mistakes and we rode the best test of the season." Dinja: "I really wanted to ride well here, even though it was his first ZII test and the surroundings were very impressive. However, I know I can count on him. He's tough, but very sweet. We had some things that didn't go so well, but everything else goes the extra mile, so you still score high on average. Yes, I really have a good feeling about this; he rode this test like a dream."
Worth repeating
Nina and Heleen conclude the conversation: “As far as we're concerned, this was definitely worth repeating. We'd like to thank Käthy and SLTN very much. For us Frisians, this was a dream. To be able to compete at Indoor Friesland, on such a team, with ambassador Dinja, and even win.”
Text: Marjan de Wildt
Photos: Digishots
