15 April '25
Another Grand Prix silver for Iron Man
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Studbook
© Helen Cruden
After last week's Longines FEI World Cup final in Basel, Switzerland, another five-star level showjumping event took place in the United Arab Emirates last weekend. The place to be was the Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club, where the UAE President's Cup was on the programme. This included Irish rider Cian O'Connor and his grey gelding Iron Man at the start and, just like in Ocala last month, they managed to ensure a cracking performance there in the CSI5* Grand Prix.
The President's Cup UAE Showjumping presented by Longines or the CSI5* Grand Prix was the culmination of three days of international showjumping at the very highest level on Sunday evening in Abu Dhabi. Exactly thirty combinations took their chances in the 1.60m class and five of them made it through to the jump-off. Those five included Cian O'Connor and his top 12-year-old Iron Man, a son of Charisma Z and Mr. Blue, who was born as C-Iron Z in the Netherlands at Stoeterij Duysel's Hof. O'Connor and Iron Man came into the jump-off as the third combination to re-enter the ring, and once again they could not find a fault. In doing so, they crossed the finish line in 36.07 seconds and this performance secured them a shining2nd place in the rankings, just like in Ocala.
Furthermore, this CSI5* Grand Prix also featured a strong round by Saudi rider Khaled Abdulrahman Almobty and the 10-year-old mare Diana du Plevau Z, a daughter of our stallion Dieu Merci Van T&L Z and Kashmir Van Schuttershof bred by Marc Palm. Abdulrahman Almobty and Abdulrahman Almobty did keep all the bars in the jump-off nicely, but two penalties for time unfortunately kept and out of the jump-off and made them have to settle for 7th place in the standings.
CSI2* competition
Besides the five-star competition, there was also jumping at two-star level in Abu Dhabi last weekend, and in this event too, some Z-horses managed to jump into the limelight. In the CSI2* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, for example, a top five ranking was reserved for Lebanese rider Toni Assaf and the 8-year-old mare Abba van Grobbenhof Z, a daughter of Action-Breaker and Rubert R from the breeding farm of Alterna NV. Assaf and Abba van Grobbenhof Z left all obstacles untouched in the 1.45m basic round, but they also failed to complete their round within the time allowed. They were therefore charged three penalty points for exceeding the time allowed and this earned them 4th place in the final ranking.
On Friday during the opening day, home rider Abdalla Hamad Ali Al Kirbi managed to secure a victory with the 10-year-old stallion Quintano K van 't Kattenheye Z, a son of Quintero and Caretano Z bred by Tony Raman and Mieke Strobbe. In the 1.40m Grand Prix qualifier against the clock, Hamed Ali Al Kirbi and Quitano K van 't Kattenheye sped to the finish in 55.39 seconds, giving them a lead of over a full second over the rest of the field of competitors.
Who also managed a victory in Abu Dhabi was his compatriot Salim Ahmed Al Suwaidi with the 9-year-old mare Annie S of the Lowlands Z, a breeding product of Jos Heynickx of Lowlands Stud BVBA who combined the blood of Andiamo Z with that of Indoctro. Ahmed Al Suwaidi and Annie S of the Lowlands Z already started their competition on Friday with a 3rd place in the 1.30m opening class, while in the 1.30m class on Friday they managed to put everything and everyone behind them. In a jump-off for which twenty combinations managed to qualify, they were just under one and a half seconds ahead of the competition with a finishing time of 31.17 seconds.