Kelly Houtappels-Bruder Opens 2022 Season with 1st-Place Finish

Canadian Kelly Houtappels-Bruder of Ariss, ON, now a resident of Steensel, NED, drove her way to first overall in the CAI 3* Horse Single Division at the FEI Driving Competition – Sélestat 2022 event held from April 20-24, 2022 in the northeastern region of France.

Making their season debut, Houtappels-Bruder and her partner Flip (Fidertanz x Carprilli), a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding, whom she co-owns with husband Frank Houtappels, finished first overall, out of 23 competitors representing seven nations.

For the dressage phase, Houtappels-Bruder performed well setting a personal best and topping the field with a score of 75.70 and only 38.92 penalty points. After the duo’s strong start in the dressage, Houtappels-Bruder drove a solid marathon with her groom Meike Paridaans, in an extremely hard combination of clay and gravel, managing around the course smoothly, and finished in seventh place with 82.07.

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