Top Flight new Job for McIntosh
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
Top New Zealand showjumper Samantha McIntosh’s shot at making the Rio Olympics just took a big step forward with news she has been appointed head competition rider for leading Dutch stable De Margaretha Hoeve.
“I am really looking forward to the future for me at De Margaretha Hoeve,” said 39-year-old McIntosh.
She has ridden at Olympic and World Champs level before and holds the honour of being the only New Zealand showjumper to have been ranked in the FEI’s top 20.
The stables are owned by Eric Berkhof, the director of Van Mossel Group which is the largest Volkswagen and Audi dealer in the Netherlands.
The offer to ride for Team Audi came out of the blue.
“Eric just called me up and asked if I was interested. I have no idea how or where he heard of me but I am fairly well known around the circuit and he has so many contacts so it wouldn’t have taken long to find out about my background.”
As well as her trio of Kiwi horses, she will also have four others to compete on. “Combining my horses from Lakeridge Equestrian with those from Team Audi will give me a really strong string to work with,” she says. “It will definitely be a big help when it comes to qualifying for Rio.
At the end of the last New Zealand jumping season McIntosh headed to Europe with her horses and has been competing with plenty of success.
Her new base, about an hour from Rotterdam, boasts indoor and outdoor arenas, a galloping track, 72 stables, three professional riders and a big support team.. “This is my opportunity get back into the bigger shows and play some serious sport.”
Her first big outing for Team Audi will be to Maastricht for a four star grand prix in mid November, where in 1999 she had a big win, so she’s more than looking forward to heading back there.
