Beauville Z N.O.P. and Dexter Fontenis Z shine with silver in Basel

After a quiet first week of 2025, there was a lot of activity again last weekend with international competitions all over the world. The St Jakobshalle of Basel in Switzerland, for example, was the setting for the Longines CHI Classics Basel five-star competition over the past few days, where several Zangersheide horses got off to an immediate good start to their year.

The highlight of the weekend was of course the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup on Sunday afternoon, in which there was a starring role for Dutch rider Maikel van der Vleuten and his 15-top gelding Beauville Z N.O.P., the son of Bustique and Jumpy des Fontaines from the breeding farm of Pascal Habets in the Netherlands. The bronze medallists from last year's Paris Olympics stayed clear in the 1.60m basic round by piste builders Gérard Lachat and Gregory Bodo, making them among the eight combinations who managed to qualify for the jump-off. As the fifth combination to start, they once again managed to ensure a flawless round and their finishing time of 41.49 seconds earned them a brilliant^2nd place in the standings.

Maikel van der Vleuten: "Beauville is feeling very good at the moment and also finished strongly last year in Madrid and La Coruña. After that we gave him a few quiet weeks and last week he ran a good national round. At this show we jumped a 1.45m class on Thursday, which felt good, so we decided to leave him for a bit the days after. He obviously has the necessary experience and I thought he jumped very easily today."

On Friday the Longines Grand Prix of Basel could already be enjoyed in Basel and in it too we saw a Zangersheide horse in the top three of the standings. This was done by French rider Simon Delestre with his 12-year-old gelding Dexter Fontenis Z, the son of Diarado and Voltaire, bred by S.C.R.I S.Ky Horses and with whom Delestre also had a strong showing at the CHI de Genève last month. In a jump-off for which no fewer than 17 combinations managed to qualify, Delestre and Dexter Fontenis Z raced to the finish in 39.01 seconds and this performance also earned them^2nd place.

Earlier on Friday, a 1.45m class was also on the programme for the CSI5* competition, in which victory did colour blue and yellow. It was Swiss rider Niklaus Rutschi who managed to claim victory with the 12-year-old chestnut gelding Amar des Brimbelles Z, a son of Amadeus Z Brimbelles and Russel bred in France by Haras des Brimbelles. In a class against the clock, Rutschi and Amar des Brimbelles Z sped to the finish in 54.88 seconds, just under two full seconds ahead of the competition. A day later, the duo also confirmed this performance by finishing ^9th in the 1.50m Speed & Handiness class.

Another combination that managed to ensure a blue/yellow victory in Basel's CSI5* competition were Brazilian rider Marlon Modolo Zanotelli and 10-year-old grey mare Talina du Vivier Z, a daughter of Taalex and Quick Star bred by Alphonse Nicolaije. In the 1.45m opening class on Thursday, Zanotelli and Talina du Vivier Z kept it clear in both the^1st and^2nd phases and with a finishing time of 25.03 seconds they managed to outclass the competition by 2 hundredths of a second. And during the 1.50m Speed & Handiness class on Saturday, Zanotelli and Talina du Vivier Z were also on the rendezvous, this time taking ^3rd place.

Most of the attention was naturally focused on the CSI5* competition, but in addition to that, classes for the CSIU25 competition were also on the programme in Basel over the past few days. A striking combination in that was Swiss rider Gaëtan Joliat with the 12-year-old chestnut gelding Chelsea Z, a son of Chellano Alpha Z and Cicero Z who was bred by Willy Sijbers and who we know mainly from under the saddle of Bryan Balsiger and Pius Schwizer. Joliat and Chelsea Z immediately started their competition excellently on Thursday with a ^3rd place during the 1.40m opening class, but had their highlight of the weekend during the 1.40m class on Friday morning. In a class against the clock, they crossed the finish line in a convincing 58.59 seconds, putting them more than two full seconds ahead of the competition.

Also in the CSIU25 competition, French rider Lucas Fournier managed to secure a victory with the 11-year-old mare Cyrannan Z, the breeding product of Francesca Gobessi and Najem Joy who combined the blood of Cyrano du Ruisseau Z with that of Heartbreaker. In the 1.40m opening class on Thursday, they claimed victory, where a clear^2nd phase in 25.27 seconds also gave them a comfortable lead over the competition. Yesterday during the final day, Fournier and Cyrannan Z managed to jump into the limelight again, where they claimed ^5th place in the CSIU25 Grand Prix.