Grand Prix beckons for NWR Bjirmen's Rinze

After a few years away from the competition arena, Robin Simons recently took the plunge and entered the 20-year-old Welsh pony Bjirmen’s Rinze (by Beukenhof’s Jordy) in the Intermédiaire II class in Hoevelaken. She had competed in this class before, but this time she set a personal best of over 65%. This brings her closer and closer to making the leap to the Grand Prix.

Bjirmen’s Rinze is a Dutch Welsh Riding Pony (NWR). He was bred by Jan S. Jukema out of Bjirmen’s Jildou (Bjirmen’s Wytse x Pitchwood Moonshine)

Becoming a Team

Robin says: “It’s really great that things went so much better than expected. We took a break for a few years because of school. I decided to give it another try and thought maybe we could still manage to compete, even though he’s already 20 years old. When I first started competing at the Inter-II level with him, we hit a bit of a rough patch. Now I notice that I’ve found more inner peace and that we’ve really become more of a team together.”

Better than expected

“In the Small Tour, I was always able to ride him very smoothly and precisely. When the piaffe and passage were added, he started to get a little tense. Now that he’s less tense, he moves through the test much more easily. I can focus better now and execute the test more effectively. Unfortunately, I did start with HC. I felt like we needed to see how we were doing the first time around. Sometimes he would buck his way through the test. In hindsight, starting at the HC level wasn’t necessary, because it went very well.”

‘We couldn’t make the sale’

Robin and Rinze have a long history together. “I was twelve when I got him, and he turned five that year. So I’ve had him for fifteen years now. He was pretty wild at first, but I kept enjoying him. I thought he was really funny, and the great thing was that he picked up the work very quickly. Within three years, we were competing at the Z level. When he was ten, I wanted to sell him, but I couldn’t. Whenever someone came to look at him, he’d act up or do something strange. So I just kept him. I started learning the changes and began competing him in horse shows. He’s 1.54m tall, but he looks much bigger under the saddle.”

Not Ready for Retirement

“Now I’d really like to compete in a Grand Prix at least once. After that, I want to see if I can find someone to ride him at a lower level. He’s nowhere near ready for retirement yet. He still enjoys it all way too much!” she concludes gratefully.

Source: De Hoefslag (Denise Dekens)