Euro Summit Circuit was held at Peelbergen Equestrian Center, a beautiful facility in the Netherlands. This year, for the first time ever with European championship classes! We have interviewed the Scandinavian participants who were really successful at the show: Dora Gocze, Pia Leskinen, Kirstine Forst-Jensen and Åsa Bergström.
1. What horse/horses did you bring to the show?
Dora: I took one of my own horses, ‘What a Brilliant Son’ who is a 16 year old Paint gelding and I travelled with 2 of my customers who also brought one horse each: ‘I Am Simply the Best’ and ‘Hypnotic Kid’.
Pia: I participated in DM Maybe Dynamic for the second time with my horse. The last time was in 2024.
Kirstine: I borrowed my trainer’s horse, What a Brilliant Son, an older, experienced Paint gelding.
Åsa: I brought my gelding Hustlers Raymond Razor, ”Birdie”
2. How did you prepare for the show?
Dora: Pretty much the same as any other show: keeping my horse happy and comfortable. I don’t train patterns before the show, because my horse knows his job and I have too many patterns to keep in my head with the different horses we show during the week, so I like working on preparing my patterns for each day at the show. I did focus on taking my horse on more trail rides since the Ranch Trail was held outside and I wanted to make sure that he was comfortable doing maneuvers on all kinds of footing and environment. He thought it was awesome.
We also used more time organizing our classes than we normally do, lots of classes to choose from and with 2 arenas running concurrently, 3 horses and 4 exhibitors you want to make sure that it works for everyone.
Pia: I prepared for the competitions by training at home as usual. The programs came just before I left because it takes me 6 days to get to the competition venue, so I didn’t have time to practice the programs before I arrived at the show.
Kirstine: I’m probably not the best example. A couple of days before I was supposed to go as a groom, my trainer and I decided that I could enter a few APHA classes just for fun, so I only rode the horse twice before leaving for the show. During the week, I ended up late-entering two additional classes.
Åsa: Birdie was just started after the winter, 6 weeks of riding, so I only tried to keep him happy and interested in his work. He still had winter fur on so we did more grooming than usual
3. How did you like the facility?
Dora: The facility in Peelbergen is amazing. The horses were comfortable, the nature around is beautiful so we could enjoy some long walks around the property as well. And I’m a big fan of being able to show outside!
It is also a great place to bring family along, very spectator-friendly and the glass bar/restaurant between the outdoor arenas is definitely the place to be between classes!
The stalls are tent stalls, but with solid footing and I felt that our horses were very comfortable. My understanding is that the facility would like to add permanent stalls as soon as the permits are in place. Next year I will bring a scooter to help with the long walks, the place is huge!
Pia: The NQHA shows are always big in Peelbergen. They are comparable to the European Championships in Kreuth, also in terms of the level of the competitors.
Kirstine: The facilities were absolutely top-notch. They have some incredibly nice arenas both indoors and outdoors. It’s really amazing to ride outside, and I feel like we need more of that at shows. The riding facilities and the surrounding spectator areas were 10/10. The tent stalls were large and spacious, but they got quite hot very quickly. The toilet/shower facilities, camping facilities, and food options were very poor, though. There were only two places at the showgrounds where you could use the restroom, and the food was very expensive.
Åsa: Peelbergen is a very nice place to compete. Big arenas and good possibilities for warming up.
We had so much fun at the outdoor arenas, especially the Ranch Trail that was held outside with water obstacles. The ground is fibersand though and my horse gets really tired from that. That is something you have to think about and not start too many classes per day.
4. Was this show different compared to other shows in Scandinavia or Europe?
Dora: Very much so. The 2 arenas running concurrently presented us with a challenge, but it was very easy to solve conflicts in our schedule with show management. We could feel that it took lots of time and effort from all of us, since we’re not used to this setup. It was great to have both APHA, AQHA and NSBA classes, for me it is the perfect setup for any western show, since lots of trainers have both Paints and Quarters in their barn and it gives us the opportunity to compete all together, go to the same shows and bring more horses. The concept is well known in Scandinavia, but the size is definitely something you don’t see around here. I heard show management mention 4300+ entries and who knows what it ended up being. Besides the setup of the show, the awards are definitely worth mentioning.
I don’t think we’ve ever come home from a show with this much “hardware”. Beautiful trophies, winner jackets for all Circuit Champions and so many great sponsor presents as well. I think many riders liked, that there were awards all the way to 8th place in the NSBA European Championship classes with medals and a present for everyone.
Pia: This year the competitions had been changed so that if you only competed in trail or ranch events, it worked because, among other things, trail had been changed to a walk-in system. At a certain time it was your turn to ride the track, if you had another class going in another arena, you chose which class you would go to. It worked if you had several horses and a lot of helpers, you just changed the arena and the horse, but alone and with one horse it was really impossible. I was 2 minutes late for one class, and the class had already closed. I prefer that the class arrangements are easier for myself and the horse’s well-being, like Scandinavian competitions are.
Kirstine:
There were two different shows running during the same week, which I haven’t seen or experienced anywhere else before. That meant you had the opportunity to compete in the exact same class twice, but under different judges.
Most of the representatives from the associations were also present from the USA — NSBA, AQHA, and APHA. It was also possible to pay directly by card for memberships, late class entries, etc.
Åsa: At this show they had 2 arenas running concurrently so if you are showing in both it requires a little planning. Scandinavian show are usually not at this big facilities. The staff from The Netherlands Quarter Horse Association did a huge job and such a big effort, always trying their best and make this a great show for everyone. Also NSBA, AQHA and APHA had representatives at the show, which was very nice to meet. And the photographer Claudia Dermois was everywhere taking super nice photos.
5. What classes did you participate in and how did it go?
Dora: With my gelding ‘What a Brilliant Son’ we participated in APHA Open and NSBA Open Ranch classes. He’s a wonderful horse and shows very well every time. We became Reserve European Champions in the NSBA Ranch Trail, Circuit Champions in the APHA Ranch Trail and he also became Circuit Champion in the Novice Amateur Ranch Rail with Kirstine Frost who borrowed him for a few classes at the show. We also had many firsts and seconds in Ranch Riding, both in Open and in the Novice Amateur.
With my customer’s young mare, ‘I am Simply the Best’ we became Circuit Champions in both AQHA and NSBA Open Longe Line and Stine, her owner, also won the NSBA Non Pro Longe Line Circuit Champion title with her. They got Reserve Circuit Champions in the Amateur In Hand Trail and I believe I ended up on a 5th place overall in the Open after a bigger mistake in my pattern. She’s such a clever and beautiful mare and it was a special experience showing her, since we basically let her be a horse at home with Stine since Euro Paint last year, and we practiced occasionally during lessons. She’s 3 years old now and knows her job, so we focused on keeping her happy and only practiced parts of her patterns. I think it really showed in her expression how relaxed and comfortable she was and the judges rewarded us for that.
Pia: I competed in select and L1 open classes, AQHA and NSBA. Trail, pleasure, horsemanship, hunter under saddle. I placed among others. NSBA EC-class 3-4.level 4th place out of 16.
Kirstine: I competed in Ranch Rail and Ranch Riding. It went really well, and I earned many good placings, mostly within APHA. There are not that many Paint horses competing in the classes. In NSBA and Quarter classes, there are quite a lot of horses. I earned a 6th place in an NSBA European Championship Ranch Riding class.
Åsa: I started Ranch Classes. Champion in Ranch Trail Amateur, Ranch Riding Open, Ranch Rail Open and Ranch Rail Amateur. And 6 circuit wins, 3 NSBA and 3 AQHA. Birdie also did Horsemanship Novice horse L1 (for fun and to dress up) and was 3rd in the circuit there. I am just very blessed with a nice horse. Birdie was happy and had fun and thought he was hanging out wis his friends the hole time.
6. Do you have any advice to people who are thinking about participating next year?
Dora: Go for it! This show is a unique experience for us to enjoy a week at a beautiful place and the drive is a little shorter than to Kreuth. I would encourage you to reach out to one of us who have participated before, everyone is happy to help with good advice, I did the same this year before we sent our entries. I particularly would like to encourage Paint owners to consider this show, it got a great reputation already for the AQHA and NSBA classes, but from this year APHA horses had the same opportunities: showing for 2×2 judges, the possibility of becoming a Circuit Champion and all the great awards and sponsor presents. Not to mention the possibility of competing for a European Champion title with all breeds in the same class! I really hope to see more riders from Scandinavia next year!
Pia: The classes are big and the waiting time is sometimes long, good team around to help, the tent stables are really hot during the day like a Finnish sauna, but cold at night. A good place to try before the European Championship shows. In Peelbergen, there are up to 4 arenas competing at the same time, plan your classes carefully.
Kirstine: Unfortunately, they had absolutely no control over the speaker announcements and result announcements. Half the time, you couldn’t get your results for your horse and had to come back later, and the other half of the time you could end up waiting hours for the results. One evening I didn’t finish until 10:00 PM, and they never announced the results at all, so I had to come back the next day and collect my ribbons myself. Still, there’s an amazing atmosphere, an incredibly high level of competition, and long, tough days where the show often finishes close to midnight.
You should definitely expect very long waiting times, so it’s worth considering not entering too many classes and instead spreading your classes between show 1–2 and show 3–4. Then you can simply enjoy the fact that there are so many competitors in the classes and that you’re riding in some of the world’s most beautiful facilities side by side with some of Europe’s best western horses.
Åsa: Bring a bike. The distance between the camping, stables and arenas make your feet sore. Be prepared for windy weather (hairpins needed for the hat) and summer heat. Go and have fun with your horse and take the opportunity to make new friends.
Text: Linn Olersbacken Hellberg
Photo credit: Claudia Dermois Equine Photographer
National Snaffle Bit Association Scandinavia 
Lämna en kommentar