Casual DV Z and Toulayna shine in the Rolex Grand Prix of 's Hertogenbosch

In the Brabanthallen in 's Hertogenbosch last weekend, it was once again a gathering for The Dutch Masters - Indoor Brabant, one of the finest indoor competitions of the year and also one of the stages that make up the prestigious Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping. The highlight of the weekend was undoubtedly the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, in which some Z-horses also managed to jump into the limelight.

The stands of the Brabanthallen were again well filled on Sunday afternoon for this Rolex Grand Prix, in which no less than 1 million euro in prize money was up for grabs. Dutch track builder Louis Koninckx and his team had laid out a particularly tough and technical basic course and quite a few combinations went wrong once or several times. Of the thirty-nine combinations that appeared at the start, only three eventually managed to advance to the jump-off. However, there almost were four, as Belgian rider Pieter Devos also managed to keep all rails in the scoops with his 10-year-old homebred mare Casual DV Z, daughter of Cornet Obolensky and Cicero Z. However, Devos and Casual DV Z got one time penalty point for exceeding the time allowed, which meant they missed out on a place in the jump-off and had to settle for ^4th place in the rankings.

However, Casual DV Z was not the only Z-horse to perform strongly at this Rolex Grand Prix, as US rider Kent Farrington and his 11-year-old top mare Toulayna were also at the top of the standings. Farrington and Toulayna, a daughter of Toulon and Parco from the breeding farm of Jasper Doucé, saw a fault roll out of the scoops in the basic round, but a good finishing time meant that the successful duo still managed to finish in ^5th place.

Besides the Rolex Grand Prix, a 1.50m class with Winning Round was also on the programme on Sunday during the final day, and in it victory coloured blue and yellow. It was Belgian Champion Gilles Thomas who managed to claim the lead there with the 9-year-old mare Lavanoche T&L Z, a daughter of Lavallino Ter Klomp and Bentley van de Heffinck from the breeding farm of Robert Geens. Thomas and Lavanoche T&L Z had to deal with 4 penalties in the first round, but a sharp finishing time still put them among the top 12 combinations who managed to qualify for the second and decisive round. In it, the counters were reset to zero again and with a clear round in 35.09 seconds, they were exactly a quarter of a second ahead of the rest of the field of competitors.

Finally, it was also a successful competition for German rider Daniel Deusser and his 17-year-old chestnut stallion Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z, the son of Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve and Mr. Blue bred by Jonas Belleman. Deusser and Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z competed twice and during both the 1.45m class on Friday and the one on Saturday they managed to finish ^6th in the standings.