Striking: Alfredo (v. Manno) en Spirando (v. Manno)
Carriage horses are primarily bred to shine on the competition fields. However, that is not the only stage where they stand out. They perform well in international carriage driving competitions and we are seeing more and more of them as dressage horses and as unique recreational horses. In addition, we also see carriage horses in competitions that aim to preserve the tradition of driving. This is done by preserving the heritage of antique carriages, developing them, and perfecting the practitioners of this discipline. These competitions consist of three parts: A. presentation, B. the road course, C. the skill test. A competition for driving and tradition is called CAT and an international competition is called CIAT.
Recently, we came across a post on Facebook from Mellissa van den Heuvel from Breukelen. Of course, our attention was immediately drawn to this impressive team of chestnut horses, Alfredo (by Manno) and Spirando (by Manno), who participated in a CIAT in Cuts (France) in 2016. The beautiful team is owned by Mellissa and Reinier Brummelkamp. Reinier is the owner of Brooklyn Antiques in Breukelen and is a well-known collector of original antique sports carriages. He is also nationally recognized as one of the experts on the TV show 'Cash or Trash'.
A team with such a great harness horse allure obviously deserved further investigation. The name Alfredo had already rung a bell. It turned out to be the former show horse Alfredo indeed. Alfredo was bred by J.C. van Arkel from Herwijnen out of Tuillerey star preferent (Jonker x Harald). Berry van der Genugten was honored as the best newcomer in both Houten and Balkbrug in 2009. Later on, Alfredo came to Robbie van Dijk and finished second in the regional competition South. Henk van der Wiel and Lambertus Huckriede became co-owners of Alfredo. In 2013, Lambertus won the two-horse competition with Alfredo, where Cavanerno (v. Saffraan) from the Lokhorst family was his teammate. That year, he even won a championship ribbon. In the hands of Leendert Veerman and alongside Amadeus (v. Saffraan), Alfredo became Dutch champion in two-horse driving. Additionally, Alfredo was driven in the team with Zilver (v. Ranno) and in the tandem with Unaniem (v. Renovo). In single horse driving, Alfredo earned 78 victory points.
By the way, Alfredo's teammate, Spirando, is also a former show horse. He was ridden by Egbert Emmink. This chestnut horse was bred by W. Sibma from Foudgum and is out of Klaproos (Farao x Unitas). He has earned 27 performance points in single-horse driving competitions.