Nicola and Katanga v/h Dingeshof’s first European competition last weekend was of success. With a double clear round in the Nations Cup in Rome, they sure had a share in Belgium's second place. On Sunday, Nicola and Katanga v/h Dingeshof managed to ride a double clear all over again in the Grand Prix of Rome, resulting in a 4th place.
After Nicola returned back home from his American tour at the end of April, Katanga v/h Dingeshof enjoyed a few weeks of rest. They then started to prepare for their first European competition of the year, the Rome CSIO 5* at Piazza di Siena. Most important on Friday’s to-do list: the Nations Cup. Nicola and Katanga v/h Dingeshof rode two spotless rounds, guiding Belgium towards a second place. “Those few weeks of rest were really good for her”, analyses Nicola Philippaerts. “Rome was a very important competition, as our chef d’equipe already stated that this was an observation moment to see whether the horses were in form or not, so our double clear definitely proved something. Katanga felt really good and jumped amazing.”
On Sunday, they made up for the Grand Prix. They finished the first round clear, together with 12 other combinations. In the second and deciding round, another five combinations managed to leave all fences up, and again, Nicola and the 12 years old mare belonged to those five. “The GP of Rome is a very renowned one. She jumped flawlessly during our first round. However, we have some progress to make in the jump-off. Katanga wants to perform tó good. That’s something to work on. But I’m more than satisfied with our results from last weekend.”, concludes Nicola. Next weekend, he travels to Cannes together with Olivier Philippaerts. They are in for the next leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour and the Longines Global Champions League.
