Bronze for Elton van het Exelhof Z in the CSI3* GP of Gorla Minore

Last weekend, there was plenty of international show jumping action on Spanish soil with the Oliva and Valencia show jumping competitions, but several international competitions also took place in Italy. One such event was the three-star competition at the Equieffe Equestrian Centre of Gorla Minore, where the CSI3* Grand Prix on Sunday proved successful for Zangersheide's blue and yellow colours.

Indeed, there was a podium finish for Argentinian rider Mariano Ossa and the 12-year-old gelding Elton van het Exelhof Z, a son of Elvis Ter Putte and Cassini I, bred by Werner Essers van het Exelhof. Ossa and Elton van het Exelhof Z were one of 11 combinations who managed to stay clear in the basic round and thus secured a place in the jump-off. Also in that decisive round, they kept all bars in the reels and with a fast time of 40.33 seconds they secured a great ^3rd place.

Also in this CSI3* Grand Prix, we saw a strong performance from Swiss rider Niklaus Rutschi with the 11-year-old chestnut gelding Amar des Brimbelles Z, a son of Amadeus Z and Russel, who was bred in France by Haras des Brimbelles. Rutschi and Amar des Brimbelles Z were already good for a nice^2nd place in the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test on Friday and managed to set the fastest time in the jump-off of the Grand Prix in 38.09 seconds. Unfortunately, a mistake on the way kept them from victory, so they had to settle for ^6th place.

Earlier on Sunday, a 1.40m class was also run for the CSI3* competition. Here, French rider Franck Goubard managed to be in the prizes again with the 8-year-old mare Ionella IL Mondo Z, a daughter of I'M Special de Muze and Baloubet du Rouet, bred by Tim Naessens. Having previously gained two ^8th places in the 1.35m classes on Friday and Saturday, this duo secured a handsome ^3rd place with a clear round this time.

Finally, in addition to Rutschi and Amar des Brimbelles Z's second place, Belgian rider Mike van Olst and the 9-year-old mare Comme Elle Faut ODTH Z also managed to reach the podium in Friday's Longines Ranking class. In this class against the clock, the daughter of Comme Il Faut and Canabis Z, bred by NV ODTH, gave van Olst a nice ^3rd place in the rankings.