Lanaken Groom-Blog

My name is Ida Tuominen, I am 19 years old and I come from Finland. I have been working at the Sosath stable as Hendrik’s groom and assistant rider for a little less than a half year. I will share my experiences with you during the next days🤗.

I got the opportunity to drive with Hendrik, Ella (Hendrik’s other Fnnish groom) and 5 horses to the World Breeding Championships in Lanaken, Belgium. It is my first time at the World Championships and I am so excited to see all the amazing horses and riders fighting for the titles. Of course, I am going to keep my fingers extra hardly crossed when Hendrik and Thomas Heineking are jumping, especially when we have my two favorite stallions with us, Diamant de Plaisir and Casalido🤞🏼.

We started to pack the truck on Monday with hay, shavings, food, blankets and all the tack gear. Packing enough stuff for 6 days and 5 horses means A LOT of things and we for sure had to play Tetris to get all the things to fit in the trailer😂.

On Tuesday it was time to leave home and head to Lanaken. Hendrik rode all horses in the morning. Around lunch time we made them ready for loading and at 12 o’clock we started our 6 hours long drive 🚚.

Finally, at 6 o’clock we arrived at Lanaken and directly started to unpack all the stuff from the truck. It took us over 2 hours to get all our stuff in the stable and in order. The horses were happy to get out of the truck and in to their nice big boxes with fresh water and hay🌱.

When we were finally done with all the work in the stable, it was time to find something to eat for us and after that shower and sleeping! 🍔🍕🛁😴

Love, Ida 💫

#2

When all the work in the stable was done we took a short brake to charge our phones and nap before heading to do some serious shopping😏🛍. All shops were not open yet, so we saved our money for the next days and watched some jumping classes instead. Then it was time for dinner- both for horses and grooms😜.

In the evening we put bandages and blankets on the horses, checked that they all had fresh water and the boxes were clean. Especially Casino Berlin’s box is important to keep SUPER clean, because he loves to sleep in his 💩and it is not the easiest job to get him white again after that😂. Good night kisses to all horses and then we headed back to the truck to sleep😴.

Tomorrow the competitions start and I hope everyone out there keeps the fingers crossed for our super stallions🍀! I will post more again tomorrow! And during the day, we will fill the story with some snapshots. Gute Nacht 💫

After that it was time for Casalido, also a great round, clear in the first phase, fast in the second one until the 4 last fences where he got a couple unnecessary poles. After that I plated Commé Prevu and made him look handsome🤩. Commé Prevu jumped like the star he is and was clear! A lot of sugar and kisses for this amazing 5-year-old super stallion❤.

After the horses had eaten their lunch it was time for Diamant de Plaisir and Thomas. ”Dino” jumped great in the warm-up and I could not wait to see how great he would jump in the showring. But what happened at the first fence, yes, the pole fell down🙈. Nothing special happened, just a small touch and the pole was on the ground😩. Thomas continued riding like nothing happened and did a super round, I dare to say that it was one of best rounds I have ever seen Dino and Thomas jumped!

At the same time when I was helping Thomas, Ella prepared Casino Berlin for the last class of the day. Ella said Casino Berlin and Hendrik did a super clear round. They were so fast that they got placed in the first class of „Sires is the World“. The first day was good but we hope tomorrow will be even better🍀!

In the evening it was time for feeding, putting bandages and blankets. We also changed fresh water for all horses; it is important that they can drink clean water as much as they want💦. After that we had some time to be with friends😜. Tomorrow the first horse, Dino, jumps around 9 o’clock. Remember to follow our Instagram story, we post there a lot of pictures and videos😍👌🏼

At the same time, Hendrik was riding Comme Prévu in the 5-year-old class. Sadly, I did not see their round but Ella said it was once again a super round and they were in the lead again! And that means Comme Prévu is qualificated for the big final on Sunday🤩.

After that it was Casalido’s turn to jump the 7-year-old class. I think Hendrik rode a really, really good round, but got one slight mistake....🙄. Not exactly Casalido’s week, but tomorrow he has the chance to show everybody how good he really is! Casino Grande jumped also a super round- but unfortunately he also had one pole down😕.

Last but absolutely not least: Casino Berlin and the final „Sires of the World“. After yesterday’s amazing performance, we would be happy with just a clear round. The course was big and technical, there was no space for hesitation or mistakes. Hendrik went into the arena just as cool as always. I think we should start calling him ”the ice-man” because he can handle his nerves so good in every situation! They went clear and qualified for the jump-off. I took Casino Berlin to the stable and washed him a little bit, because we had to wait a really long time before the jump-off started.

When it was finally time for the jump-off I was so nervous that my hands were shaking!😂 He jumped fence after fence clear and after jumping also the last fence fantastically the crowd gave him a huge applause and I felt released, I could breathe normal again🙈 In the end they got a 7th place which is super! The winner was no one else but Christian Ahlmann and Hendrik was the best german rider after him🔝🇩🇪.

In the evening we took the horses out for a walk and made them ready for the night. I hope the horses will be tomorrow exactly as good as today🤞🏼

#5

Casino Grande was first out in the showring. He was jumping the consolation final for 6-year-old horses. Unfortunately I did not see his round because I had to make everything ready in the stable. Ella was helping Hendrik and told me the round was super good, but one pole fell down today again😩 one pole down, 3 days in a row, is already really bad luck...😞

After Casino Grande it was time to prepare Comme Prévu for his second vet-check for the big final. He danced through the vet-check and is allowed to jump tomorrow. Then it was time for my favorites, Diamant de Plaisir and Casalido. Dino jumped the 6-year-old consolation final and Casalido the one for the 7-year-olds. I had to choose who I want to help, Thomas or Hendrik, I chose Thomas and Dino because I think that in the end Dino has a really special place in my heart😉❤. I ride him very often at home and he is one of the horses I will never forget.

Dino jumped a fantastic clear round again! I really love to watch him jump, because you can see it in his eyes that he really loves to compete😍 The cuddly, food loving teddy bear changes to a totally different horse in the showring, he gets a completely different mood on, he is trying so hard to please the rider and to be clear👌🏼 .

Casalido jumped also an excellent clear round on the other arena. He was fighting through the whole course and you could see that the 140cm fences were not a problem for him!🔝

After all horses were ready with jumping we gave them lunch. Then it was time for lunch for the grooms also. It has been really luxury here in Zangersheide to eat 3 times a day in the groom-restaurant were the food is fresh and ready always when you have time to eat.

In the evening we took all horses one more time out for a walk and after that we did all the normal night routines, bandages, blankets, water and good night kisses 💋 Then it was time for a little bit of party and meeting friends, but not too late because tomorrow we have to start working early.

#6

We had to wait so long that I found time to ride Casalido. I also took him for a long walk and rode him very easily, he felt good and relaxed. Afterwards, we packed the rest of the stuff together. Good, that Hendrik was here for all the heavy things😬

When it was finally time for the jump-off we were all nervous. Comme Prévu jumped great in the warm-up where Gerd managed the training. But I had the feeling that he became a little bit tired. It was already the 4th round of high level jumping this week. But when he went into the ring, he jumped so great and you couldn’t see any tiredness in his jumps anymore! Hendrik also rode so good, as always, that it was easy for the horse to do his best🔝👌🏼They were placed on an incredible 12th place - the best German pair🇩🇪

After that it was time for lunch, we gave all horses mash and prepared them for the long drive home☺ When we finally arrived at home the horses were happy to get in their own boxes and we were happy to be home. It is nice to be on the road, but it it also nice to get back home🏡

It was an amazing week. I saw so many great horses and good riding that I have so much new motivation for a long time💪🏼 I am so grateful for everything I get to see and experience because of my job😍 Thank you also to all of you out there, liking and commenting all my posts for the past week❤

Love, Ida💫