9 January 2021

Horse in focus: Vygo

The horses and ponies that we drive are the stars of the driving sport. The the report 'Horse in focus' we will be telling the story of a horse or pony who deserves a moment in the spotlight.

After the 2020 Single Horse World Championships in Pau, Eline Houterman made the decision to retire her 18 year-old Vygo (v. Pacific) from international competition. The key word here is ‘international’ as according to Eline the gelding is ‘much to fit and still so much fun’ to enter complete retirement.

Anouk congratulates Eline after her well driven cones at the 2020 World Championships in Pau
Photo: Krisztina Horváth

Two for the price of one

Vygo came to the Houterman family nine years ago. Eline’s Aunt Rian was looking for a horse for her pair and four-in-hand and Eline was looking for a single horse. Harry de Ruyter had Vygo and Ayco for sale and both horses ended up going to the Houtermans. Due to his age it was decided that Vygo would be the most suitable for Eline and Rian would put Ayco in her team.

Eline and Vygo during their first training in 2011
Photo: Private collection

No immediate 'click'

“There wasn’t immediately a click,” tells Eline. “The evening before we went to pick up the horses we had to put down my favourite horse Macho. I was completely devastated and was not at all in a place to be enthusiastic about a new horse. This was made even worse when he came to stand in Macho’s stall. But my father (Jeroen Houterman) was insistent that this would become my future star.”

At the time Eline was a member of the Dutch Perspective team and was driving another horse, Member. Eventually Vygo replaced member and with the help of team coaches Ad Aarts and Harry de Ruyter the pair started to evolve and their bond grew stronger.

No cuddling

Vygo was not the most simple horse and his experiences from before he came to the Houtermans played a roll in this. “We are not sure, but we think that something traumatic happened when he was a young jumper. If we are in an arena with jumps, he is completely stressed. He would completely shut down. But slowly we built a bond and at home I really noticed that he was building up his self confidence day by day. He really wants to work for you and it was our goal for him to be like that at competitions too. Around the barn he is sweet, calm and fair. But absolutely not a cuddly horse.”

Extra help

“At home it is our goal to get the maximum out of the horses that come to stay with us. We want our horses to grow old with us and we do everything we can to ensure that their needs are met and continue to search for ways that we can best assist them. Whatever happened to Vygo in the past was certainly not his fault or his choice, but that doesn’t make it any easier!

During a competition in Tilburg, Harry van Boxtel approached me and said that he maybe knew someone who could help. It was through Harry that we came into contact with Huub van Veghel who became our instructor for the next four years. It surprised everyone when we began to dramatically improve! In 2014 we won the international competition in Ermelo and this really confirmed that we were on the right track.”

Low point

At the end of 2014 Eline and Vygo were named to the Dutch long list for single horses. In 2016 their hard work was rewarded with a ticket to the World Championships in Piber, Austria. “Piber was so much fun. We were with a small group and we all supported one another. It was an amazing experience, but everything was new and it was a bit overwhelming.” Two years later followed the World Championships in Kronenberg where Eline along with Saskia Siebers and Frank van der Doelen won the team gold medal: “It was of course wonderful to win the gold, but for me personally it was not a good World Championship. During the marathon Vygo shut off and was busy with everything except for the task at hand. It was a long time ago that this happened and it took us by surprise. Such bad timing that this would happen at a World Championship.”

Three weeks later Eline’s sister Anouk drove Vygo at a competition in Tilburg and he was completely back to his old self.

Eline and Vygo during the 2018 World Championships in Kronenberg
Photo: Krisztina Horváth

His look said ‘it's going to be ok’

An absolute high point of Vygo’s career was competing at the World Championships in Pau this past October. At first Eline wasn’t sure if she wanted to make the trip to compete as an individual. After talking with her entire team they made the decision to go and most importantly enjoy it: “He was going so well and was so happy in the months leading up to and during the Championships. This was really the reward for all of the hard work the last years. During the stop on the way to Pau my father unloaded him fro the truck and his look said ‘this is going to be ok’. For ten days he was the centre of attention and he loved every minute of it.”

This was also the first international competition where Anouk groomed for all three disciplines. It was actually the intention that Eline would drive in Pau with Ayco, but he was at the time injured. Anouk had been driving Vygo at competitions in 2019 and seeing as they had also built a bond it was decided that Anouk would groom for the marathon (instead of their father Jeroen who normally grooms) at Vygo’s last international competition.

Eline, Anouk and Vygo in the marathon at the 2020 World Championships in Pau
Photo: Krisztina Horváth

Prince Vygo

“Vygo has given me everything. He has taught me perseverance and how to build a bond and relationship with a horse. He has taught me how to feel and how to understand that feeling. I know him inside and out and know where all of his buttons sit. Vygo has brought me to the top of the sport; and thanks to him I have been able to compete at the highest level and enjoy everything there is with the driving sport. He is my schoolmaster and that makes him so special. He is a prince in our barn and does tend to get some special treatment,” laughs Eline.

Pre-retirement?

As far as international competitions go is Vygo retired, but Eline is still planning to compete nationally for as long it can: “I still train him three times a week at a lower intensity, which is absolutely necessary because otherwise he is completely crazy! His ego has tripled since Pau and I have my hands full!”

Eline is planning on starting international competitions this year with her horse Flow while Ayco rehabilitates from injury.

Eline and Vygo during the 2016 World Championships in Piber
Photo: Maud Peters

Honours

CAI Dillenburg 2014: 1stCAI Heijenrath 2014: 1stCAI Horst 2015: 2ndCAI Chablis 2015: 3rdNK Beesd 2015: 2ndClub Champion Udense Menvereniging 2016: 1st

2016 World Championships Piber: 20th
2018 World Championships Kronenberg: 24th
2020 World Championships Pau: 14th

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