Cor-Leon Vd Vlierbeek Z jumps to silver in CSI4* GP of Samorin

With the weekend off at five-star level, a lot of four-star competitions took place in recent days, including the second week of the Danube Champions Tour in Šamorín, Slovakia. There, British rider Lily Attwood had another strong competition with her 14-year-old gelding Cor-Leon Vd Vlierbeek Z, the son of Calvaro F.C. and Omar bred by Chris Anné and Eva De Meyer van de Vlierbeek NV.

Attwood and Cor-Leon Vd Vlierbeek Z were already good for ^5th place during the 1.50m GP Qualifier on Friday, but experienced their highlight of the weekend during the CSI4* GP on Sunday afternoon. Indeed, there they were one of the 13 combinations that stayed clear in the basic round, securing a spot for the jump-off. As the first combination to start, the duo once again managed to keep it neatly clear and this performance eventually earned them^2nd place in the standings.

Victory during that 1.50m class on Friday then went to Italian rider Antonia Vita Pinardi and the 12-year-old mare Antina v't Merelsnest Z, a daughter of Arko III and Lord from the breeding farm of Walter Van Bunder van Stud Merelsnest. Vita Pinardi and Antina v't Merelsnest Z crossed the finish line in 69.00 seconds after a clear round, giving them a small lead of 7 hundredths of a second over the competition.

Another notable combination in Šamorín was Belgian rider Jeroen Appelen and the 8-year-old gelding Gently Z, a breeding product of Schoof and Vullers who combined the blood of First Gentleman with that of Numero Uno. After Appelen and Gently Z already gained a ^6th place in the 1.40m class on Thursday during the opening day, they closed their competition on Sunday with a nice ^4th place in the 1.45m Longines Ranking class.

Finally the Austrian rider Alessandra Reich also managed to jump into the limelight with the also 8-year-old mare Copyright Cicero Z (Cicero Z x Zavall VDL - B: Jeroen Van Tienen and Jens Vandenberk). Reich and Copyright Cicero Z started three times in a 1.35m class and managed to gain a ^5th, a ^6th and a ^9th place.