Annika van den Berg

Hi everyone,
How lovely that you’re taking the time to read this.

My name is Annika van den Berg. I am 41 years old and from Boxtel (North Brabant). Together with my husband Tom, I have two small ponies with whom I compete in carriage driving.

My 105 cm, ten-year-old Shetlander is Jack Daniels af Jäboruder (Discovery af Jäboruder x Timothy af Jäboruder). Jack is the sweetest Shetlander you could ever imagine — always working hard and without the typical Shetlander cheekiness. He currently competes in single pony M-level dressage with wins and M-level cones with wins. In 2025, he became Dutch Champion in L-level dressage — something we are incredibly proud of, and which makes him very special to me. After all, becoming Dutch Champion with your Shetlander and outperforming all the big dressage ponies is quite remarkable!

My other pony is Loki (breeding unknown). He is an eleven-year-old Shetlander x Welsh, 115 cm tall. Even though he’s only half Shetlander, he sometimes behaves like a full one. There’s always something to laugh about with him, and he’s the perfect companion when you need to vent. But when it’s time to work, he is extremely well-behaved and always tries his best. Loki currently competes in single pony Z-level dressage with wins and will soon make his debut in Z-level cones. We also compete in marathons. We mainly do this because we enjoy it — it doesn’t always go perfectly, and we sometimes still lose our way, but we’re improving all the time.

At the beginning of 2025, I received a message from Hartog on my Instagram page, @driving_smallboys, asking if I would like to become an ambassador. At first, that felt a little surreal — what would a big brand like Hartog see in me and my small ponies? But I quickly felt very welcome and became enthusiastic about their beautiful products. I especially enjoy creating Reels with a humorous touch — and my ponies are more than happy to cooperate.

We are active on Instagram and Facebook, and you can also find us on TikTok. Together, we have over 20,000 followers who actively follow the lives of two small ponies competing in carriage driving. My account is all about honesty: no perfect pictures when things aren’t going well — just sharing what we experience daily and what we’ve been working on. Of course, we also proudly share our successes and hope to inspire more people to take part in this wonderful discipline.

At the moment, my ponies are fed Hartog Digest and Hartog Essential. This is ideal for my little boys. The fact that the products are grain- and molasses-free immediately appealed to me, and with Hartog Essential they still receive all the necessary vitamins and minerals. I have truly become a fan of Hartog and would recommend it to everyone. They offer so much choice that you can find the perfect nutrition for every horse.