Ladrano Z triumphs in the CSI5* GP of Wellington!

The 9th week of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington International resulted in another Grand Prix victory for the blue/yellow colors of Studbook Zangersheide last weekend. During the CSI5* GP on Saturday evening, it was the Israeli rider Daniel Bluman who jumped to victory with his 15-year-old gelding Ladriano Z, a son of Lawito and Baloubet du Rouet who was bred in Germany by Paul Schockemöhle, and with whom Bluman won the CSI4* World Cup of Lexington in November.

The renowned Irish course designer Alan Wade had foreseen a difficult basic round for this CSI5* GP, because of the 38 combinations that appeared at the start, only 4 managed to ensure a clear round and so qualified for the jump-off. Bluman and Ladriano Z had the luxury of being the last to re-enter the ring in that jump-off and at that moment it was the Irish rider Shane Sweenam (James Kan Cruz) who was in the lead with a clear round in 43.85 seconds. Bluman and Ladriano Z immediately started their jump-off excellently and with a finish time of 43.24 seconds they improved Sweetnam's time by more than half a second.

Daniel Bluman: “I watched Shane’s round and his horse and mine are both big and scopey, so I tried to do the same as him and edge him in a couple places. Ladriano Z is a really big horse so he’s naturally not the fastest one moving his feet, but you do cover a lot of ground, especially in a jump off like this where it had big galloping. We live to have moments like this where you're competing against people you really admire and horses you really like. It was just the right group in the jump-off and I was really motivated to win it and when I crossed the timers I had a feeling I had.”

Next to the victory of Bluman and Ladriano Z, the American rider Kent Farrington also managed to jump into the spotlight again last weekend with the 10-year-old chestnut gelding Landon, a son of our chestnut stallion Comilfo Plus Z and Quadrillo, who was born at the home of breeder Danny Nijs as Crack de Nyze Z and with whom Farrington won the CSI3* GP a few weeks ago during the second week. Farrington and Landon started their show this week with an 8th place in the 1.55m class on Thursday, but they also jumped to a top 10 ranking during the CSI5* GP. They ran into 4 penalty points in the basic round, but due to a fast finish time they still managed to secure a 7th place in the ranking.

Furthermore, the American lady rider Lillie Keenan was also placed twice again with her 12-year-old stallion Agana van het Gerendal Z, a son of Aganix du Seigneur Z and Topas who was bred in the Netherlands by the Verhey family. Keenan and Agana van het Gerendal jumped to a 10th place during the 1.55m class on Thursday and ended their their show with a 5th place during the 1.50m class on Sunday.

Last but not least, Keenan's compatriot Beezie Madden also managed to provide some great performances with the 9-year-old gelding Hummer Z (Harley VDL x Hemmingway - B: P.H.A.E. Bocken). They competed in the classes of the CSI2* competition and placed 4th in a 1.45m class on Friday, followed by a 7th place a day later.