5 June 2022

Rodinde Rutjens wins despite a heavy thunderstorm in Saumur

It was an eventful week in Saumur, France last week. From sunny and 24 degrees, to a lightning strike right next to the dressage arena, and the suspension of the competition for three hours. Despite the thunderstorm that broke out during Rodinde Rutjens's test, she was able to claim the victory with a score of 48.43. She also managed to keep her competition behind her in the marathon and cones.

“Daniel Stronks was in front me. When he finished his test and came out of the arena, thick drops were already coming down. I then drove from the warm up arena down in the valley to the competition arena higher up the hill and before I entered the ring the rain turned into a heavy downpour. So I drove in, stopped at X and then the lightning struck less than 50 meters away”, says Rodinde Rutjens.

'Survival mode'

“I saw the lightning and immediately afterwards there was a very hard blow. Then the downpour turned into a violent thunderstorm. I may not have ridden my test the way I would have liked, but I did finish it. I didn’t really know what to do: the jury didn’t call, but I didn’t really feel safe. I also didn’t know what the consequences would be if I stopped. Fortunately, the ponies were super well-behaved.”

“I drove my test in ‘survival mode’ and afterwards it turned out that the protocols had become so wet in the judges box that they had to dry out for a long time before they were legible!” After Rodinde, Hughes Pottier (BEL) rode his test because his ponies were already warmed up, but then the competition was stopped for almost three hours.

Rodinde Rutjens drove her dressage test in a thunderstorm
Photo: Melanie Guillamot

Heavy marathon

A lot of water fell in those three hours. Because the stables are higher than the campsite of the participants, a large river was created. “For the terrain it was good, the rain. But during the marathon the water had already receded well. The loose sand between the obstacles was back to normal.”

The obstacles were not easy. “You really had to keep your head up. It was tough, but nice to drive.” Exloo this year was the first competition for this team. “So it was the second competition for them, but I was able to drive very well. Although I have to say that the obstacles and the cones were built differently than I am used to from French competitions.”

Rain in Saumur
Photo: Private collection

Lots of turning

“Normally they are technical, but then you can drive through them fluently. Now, in particular, the cones course was full of turns.” (lots of gates from behind, short, tricky twists and turns) “But I’m glad I drove through the course well today. That ball came from my left pony tapping the cone with his front leg.”

Besides the ball, Rodinde had 6.86 penalty points for exceeding the time, which was certainly not noticeable compared to the other participants. Only Jean Michel Olive (FRA) and Claire Lefort (FRA) managed to stay double clear today.

Daniel Stronks and Sam Couwenberg, together with Rodinde, were the only Dutch participants. Sam finished in second place behind Rodinde “I am very satisfied with the results and my ponies are in top shape!” said Sam Couwenberg. Jean Frederic Selle (FRA) finished third, and Antoine Jeanson (FRA) fourth.

Click here for the results and photo albums of the vet check, dressage and marathon

Click here for the photo album of the cones

Daniel Stronks
Photo: Melanie Guillamot

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