Another Grand Prix success for Dourkhan Hero Z!

Christian Ahlmann and Dourkhan Hero Z are in blood form and they proved that once again last Sunday. The duo competed for the second week in a row at the five-star competition of Monterrey La Silla in Mexico and also for the second week in a row they delivered a top performance in the CSI5* Grand Prix.

Like a week earlier, this week's CSI5* Grand Prix of Monterrey La Silla also took place on Sunday, but this time it was a two-round class. The best 12 combinations from the first round qualified for a second and decisive round, in which they competed for victory. So one of these twelve combinations was Christian Ahlmann and our nine-year-old stallion Dourkhan Hero Z, the son of Sea Coast Don't Touch Tiji Hero and Zandor Z from the breeding farm of Luc Henry. Ahlmann and Dourkhan Hero Z managed to impress again in this decisive round and with a clear round in a time of 41.34 seconds, the successful duo secured ^4th place in the standings this time.

Also in the second round, we saw Mexican rider Carlos Hank Guerreiro at work with the 10-year-old gelding H5 Porthos Maestro Wh Z, a son of Picasso Z and Ogano Sitte bred by van Frank Fory and Christophe Wouters. Hank Guerreiro and H5 Porthos Maestro Wh Z managed to provide the second fastest time in 40.45 seconds, but a jumping fault on the way unfortunately kept them from victory and made them settle for ^9th place in the standings. Belgian rider Nicola Philippaerts and the 12-year-old chestnut mare H&M Luna van 't Ruytershof Z (Levisto Z x For Pleasure - B: Bert Van den Branden/Stal 't Ruytershof Bvba), the 2022 Belgian Champions, followed him in ^10th place. They too saw a bar roll out of the scoops in the second round.

A day earlier, the main class of the day was a 1.45m class with Winning Round and in it Carlos Hank Guerreiro then again jumped to a top 5 ranking with the 10-year-old stallion H5 Ganesh Hero Z (Gemini XX x Diamant de Semilly - B: Luc Henry and Gerry Marron). In both rounds, Hank Guerreiro and H5 Ganesh Hero Z could not be caught out on a fault and this performance earned them ^4th place in the standings. American rider Natalie Dean with the 12-year-old grey gelding Crescendo MB Z (Clinton I x Jodokus - B: M. Bokdam) and Belgian rider Zoe Conter with the 10-year-old mare Tombola Z (Toulon x Dominard - B: Verschueren, Witters, Stevens & Vd Velde) followed in ^5th and ^6th place respectively. Moreover, during the 1.45m class on Thursday, Conter and Tombola Z had also managed to secure ^7th place.

Besides the CSI5* competition, there was also jumping at two-star level in Monterrey La Silla last weekend, and in that competition, too, some Zangersheide horses managed to jump into the limelight. One of them was the 12-year-old gelding Dawa de Greenbay Z, the son of Diarado and Schilling from the Stephane Chantot stud farm. Saddled by Zoe Conter, Dawa de Greenbay Z jumped to ^9th place in the standings in both the 1.45m class on Friday and the CSI2* Grand Prix on Sunday.

Another notable combination in the classes of the CSI2* competition was Argentine rider Juan Manuel Luzardo with the 8-year-old mare Canadian Girl Z, a daughter of Carrera VDL and Quasimodo van de Molendreef bred in the Netherlands by J.A. Weggemans. Manuel Luzardo and Canadian Girl Z went uphill, as after a ^3rd place in the 1.35m class on Thursday and a^2nd place in Friday's class, they ended their week with a resounding victory in the 1.35m class on Saturday.

There were also two placings for Mexican rider Victoria Alvarez Lopez and the 9-year-old mare Chipo Lata Z, a breeding product of Margo van den Hoogen who combined the blood of our grey stallion Cicero Z with that of Forrester 4. Alvarez Lopez and Chipo Lata Z were good for a ^5th place on Friday and a day later they followed just behind Manuel Luzardo and Canadian Girl Z in^2nd place.

Finally, another 1.35m class on Saturday also saw Brazilian rider Eduardo Pereira de Menezes and the 8-year-old stallion Kadco Hero Z take ^3rd place. This Kadco Hero Z, as his name suggests, is a breeding product of Luc Henry and combines the blood of the Zangersheide stallions Kassander van 't Roosakker Z and Aganixdu Seigneur Z.