06 Juni '23
Another top weekend for Dexter Fontenis Z!
© Longines Global Champions Tour
In the Longines Global Champions Tour, the 5th leg of the season was held last weekend and for that they went to Ramatuelle in the sunny St. Tropez. It became another top weekend for the French rider Simon Delestre with his 10-year-old gelding Dexter Fontenis Z, the son of Diarado and Voltaire who was bred in France by Jérôme Hennau and with whom Delestre already shone in Doha earlier this season.
Delestre and Dexter Fontenis Z managed to jump into the picture the first time on Friday during the first round of the Global Champions League, in which they were jumping for both a team ranking and an individual ranking. In a class against the clock, they finished in 62.54 seconds and with that they managed to claim victory in the individual ranking with more than a full second ahead of the competition.
But also during the LGCT Grand Prix on Saturday evening, the successful duo once again played a leading role. After a clear round, they were one of the 6 combinations that managed to qualify for the jump-off. As the 2nd combination at the start, they again managed to deliver a flawless performance and this resulted in a 3rd place in the ranking, just like during the LGCT Grand Prix of Doha.
Simon Delestre: “Dexter has had an amazing start to the year. He was second and third in Doha, and now still third, so it’s very positive for the rest of the season, I can only be happy with this result."
Next to the victory of Delestre and Dexter Fontenis Z, we also saw a second Zangersheide horse in the top 3 of the ranking during the first round of the Global Champions League on Friday. The 3rd place here went to Delestre's compatriot Kevin Staut with the 10-year-old mare Beau de Laubry Z (Bisquet Blou van de Mispelaere x Nabab de Rêve – B: Haras De Laubry). They also managed to ensure a clear round, but in 64.47 seconds they took almost 2 full seconds longer than Delestre and Dexter Fontenis Z.
During the 1.45m high opening class on Thursday, a podium place was reserved for the Belgian rider Jérôme Guery with the 10-year-old stallion Quality Star Z (Quality Time TN x Cash – B: Niels de Bruijn). During both the 1st and 2nd phases they managed to keep all the poles in the cups and this performance earned them a 3rd place in the ranking. The British lady rider Lily Atwood and her 13-year-old stallion Cor-Leon Vd Vlierbeek Z (Calvaro Z x Omar – B: De Vlierbeek NV) finished in 6th place in this class.
Next to the 5th leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour, there was also a CSI2* competition on the program in St. Tropez last weekend. The French lady rider Capucine Prudhomme was placed here with the 10-year-old mare Cayenne BF Z (Capalino x Heartbreaker – B: Gerry Brouwers). During the 1.40m class on Thursday they remained clear twice, which was also good for a 3rd place in the ranking.