Maikel Van der Vleuten was the first rider to be featured in 'Insider' a new broadcasting show of Global Champions TV. Maikel talked about the first time he rode the top stallion Verdi: "I immediately knew he was special".
"At this moment, Verdi is stabled with team Nijhof, where he is offered for breeding as well", Maikel Van der Vleuten says. "He still gets ridden there and he spends a lot of time in the field. We decided to bring him to the place where he's also available for breeding. That makes his life a lot easier. Normally he would retire 'officially' in Den Bosch, but that show got cancelled. We decided to say goodbye to him next year in then Bosch.
"I still remember the first time I rode Verdi", Van der Vleuten continues. "He was 4 years old and I immediately felt he was special. He immediately felt at ease the first time I rode him and that's very important to me. Besides that I also noticed he was very scopy and he had a good mentality. Of course I didn't know back then he would become the top horse he is, but I did notice certain qualities. At that point he still had a big future in front of him and if I had known that future, I probably wouldn't have believed you".
