16 April '25
Belano vd Wijnhoeve Z triumphs in the CSI2* Grand Prix of Oliva
© Hervé Bonnaud
Last weekend, international show jumping was once again on Spanish soil, where the fourth and final part of the Spring MET 2025 kicked off at the Oliva Nova Equestrian Centre. On Sunday, the programme traditionally included the CSI2* Grand Prix, in which the Spanish public got a dream winner thanks to home rider Mariano Martinez Bastida and his topper Belano vd Wijnhoeve Z.
A total of sixty-one combinations made their appearance in the CSI2* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon at the Oliva Nova Arena and of those, fifteen managed to advance to the jump-off after the basic round. Among them was Spaniard Mariano Martinez Bastida and the 16-year-old gelding Belano Vd Wijnhoeve Z, a son of Berlin and Darco from the stud farm of Danny De Cuyper. Martinez Bastida and Belano Vd Wijnhoeve Z, also good for eighth place in the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test the day before, managed to go flawlessly again in the jump-off and with a finishing time of 37.45 seconds they wrote another Grand Prix victory on their record.
Earlier on Sunday, a 1.40m class also took place for the CSI2* competition in Oliva and in this class too, victory was blue and yellow. Indeed, it was British rider Guy Williams who managed to claim the top prize with the 8-year-old gelding Uncle Braun Dk Z, a son of Ultimo Van Ter Moude and Eldorado van de Zeshoek bred in the Netherlands by De Krochten Stables. Williams and Uncle Braun Dk Z, who had already started their competition on Thursday with 9th place during the 1.45m Grand Prix qualifier, finished in 29.85 seconds in the2nd phase, almost a full second ahead of the rest of the field of competitors.
Then in the 1.35m class on Friday, Belgian rider Mike Van Belle was again victorious with the 14-year-old mare Frauke Van 't Hagenhof Z, a breeding product of Patrick Laheyne who combined the blood of Figo de Muze (Golden Hawk) with that of Bentley de Heffinck. In a class against the clock, Van Belle and Frauke Van 't Hagenhof Z were over a quarter of a second ahead of the rest of the field of competitors with a clear round in 63.73 seconds. One day later, they also confirmed this performance by claiming2nd place in the standings during another 1.35m class.
On Friday afternoon in Oliva it was also looking forward to the first Longines Ranking class of the weekend, in which Norwegian rider Pål Flam managed to score a top 10 ranking with the 9-year-old mare Evoila Kvg Z, a daughter of Edjaz Van T Merelsnes and Heartbreaker bred by the Van Gelder family. Again, the show jumped directly on time and a finishing time of 68.43 seconds earned Flam and Evoila Kvg Z a final 7th place in the standings.
During the opening day on Thursday, Austrian rider Christian Rhomberg managed to secure a top 5 ranking with the 11-year-old mare Dianca Z, a daughter of Diamant de Semilly and Casall bred by Mathijs Moors. Rhomberg and Dianca Z appeared at the start of the Gold 1.40m class, in which they managed to secure 4th place after a double clear round.
Last but not least, there were two more placings for British rider Adrian Whiteway with the 8-year-old chestnut mare A Special Diamond Hst Z, a daughter of our chestnut stallion Aganix du Seigneur Z and Heartbreaker from the Holsten Stables breeding farm. During both the Gold 1.30m class on Thursday and the Gold 1.35m class on Saturday, they did not have a fault and this also resulted in a 4th place twice.