August 20, 2023 
“I said to my groom, ‘I really want to win this one today’, but the chance that everything works out and you win it is so small… but we did it,” said 24-year-old Sanne Thijssen (NED) ahead of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) Grand Prix of Valkenswaard.
On Saturday, talent and a solid course plan outweighed any statistic and Thijssen pulled off the hometown win with 17-year-old stallion Con Quidam RB. The class was stacked with eight out of world’s top 10 riders, but Thijssen and Con Quidam were the ones to watch from the first jump. With expressive style, the pair had their team in the kiss-and-cry kicking their legs too.
“He is almost impossible to describe, he is from another planet. Frederik [de Backer] said already ‘he’s an alien!” said Thijssen.
“In Round One, we had a little miscommunication to the double, he sometimes is so motivated he wants to take over the control, which makes it very difficult for me to ride him, and I thought it’s not possible to get out of that double…and somehow he did it and that’s what I think is so special about him,” said Thijssen.
Thijssen smiled as they pranced out of the ring, and shared a laugh with Daniel Deusser’s groom Sean Lynch after he made a remark about her challenge for control.
By the jump-off Thijssen and Con Quidam found their synergy, laying it all out on the table. They stopped the clock in 38.10 seconds dethroning the leader, Ben Maher (GBR) and 10-year-old mare Dallas Vegas Batilly (39.33 seconds).
“One day somewhere this horse was not born out of a mare. He was not bred. I think he landed with a spaceship, with a UFO, and then met Sanne Thijssen…Great hooves of fire,” said an incredulous commentator Frederik de Backer as Thijssen threw her hands in the air in celebration.
Call it show jumpers intuition, but it was as if Thijssen knew she had it even before the final riders jumped off.
Henrik von Eckermann (SWE) made a valiant attempt to catch Thijssen with 12-year-old mare Glamour Girl, and nearly succeeded, until the mare carried a rail to the ground with her hind legs in the final combination. His faster time of 36.70 seconds was a bittersweet result.
Last to go Max Kühner (AUT) negotiated the Ulliano Vezzani (ITA) with ease aboard 12-year-old gelding Up Too Jacco Blue, but he didn’t bargain with enough risk to shave down Thijssen’s time. The pair finished in 38.84 seconds, landing in second place.
“When I walked the course I saw it was one of the more difficult courses. In the end we had 10 clear, but we had some good competitors. I think it was a very good class, a very good competition, and a very good jump off,” said Kühner.
Maher, who ultimately finished third, is still coming up with Dallas Vegas Batilly. All things considered, a podium finish made Saturday a good day for the pair.
“She’s incredible, she’s only 10 so she is still learning a little bit at this level. We didn’t have a great day yesterday which meant we were first to go today, but I used the big stride she has… and Sanne’s little horse was quicker in the end,” said Maher.
The little but mighty 17-year-old stallion Con Quidam adds the LGCT Grand Prix of Valkenswaard to his decorated list of conquests. With a 80% top ten finish rate this season, according to Jumpr App, and more than €800,000 accumulated in prize money, he’s still at the peak of his career.
The highlight reel includes jumping to silver with the Dutch team at the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning, and a scattering of 4* wins and 5* podium finishes since. The win in Valkenswaard means they punched their ticket for the LGCT Super Grand Prix in Prague.
One thing is for sure, there is still much to be seen from Thijssen and her out of this world stallion.
