By Eva Maria Livesey / AES
Photography: Jacquelien van Tartwijk

March 21 saw another busy AES Stallion Grading Day at the home of AES Netherlands in Schijndel with a total of 35 stallions entered representing the disciplines of dressage and showjumping.

The judging panel consisted of Bert van den Oetelaar, Robbert Ehrens, Koen Oleart and Esther Manders. All stallions were inspected on the hard ground before being invited to come forward to show of their movement and jumping ability in the indoor.
First to be presented were the Pony stallions. The AES has a very vibrant community of pony breeders, and in recent years we have seen great popularity in using Pony stallions on horse mares to create a smaller-sized competition horse, for example for younger riders.
The stand-out entry among the ponies was D&R Sportpony’s Barista SK (by Beauty W x Zip) who convinced with correct conformation and with a very expressive canter making him the Champion of the dressage section. This lovely pony was bred by C en H Soethout-Koopman...

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