29 January '25
Dijon Terdoorn Z triumphs in the CSI3* Grand Prix of Ocala
© Andrew Ryback Photography
The fourth week of the 2025 Winter Spectacular Show Series at the World Equestrian Centre of Ocala was another success for our blue and yellow colours of Zangerheide last week! Following Kent Farrington and his top mare Toulayna's Grand Prix win at the CSI4* Grand Prix the week before, this week's CSI3* Grand Prix now also got a Z horse at the top of the leaderboard.
The cold weather did not stop the crowds at the World Equestrian Centre from gathering on Saturday evening for the CSI3* Grand Prix, the absolute highlight of the week. Brazilian course builder Marina Azevedo had designed a particularly technical course for this Grand Prix, with a tight time allowed and demanding lines. As a result, of the 31 combinations that started, only three managed to advance to the jump-off. One of them was Swiss rider Beat Mändli with the 14-year-old gelding Dijon Terdoorn Z, a son of Diamant de Semilly and Lord Z who was bred by Paul Van Britsom and with whom Mändli was also good for 5th place twice the days before. Mändli and Dijon Ternoorn Z appeared in that three-man jump-off as the second combination in the ring again and with a clear round in 38.37 seconds they managed to write this CSI3* Grand Prix on their record.
Beat Mändli: "He is a very careful horse. He is Katherine Dinan's horse, but she let me ride him because I don't have that many horses at the moment. I have known him since he was 7 years old. Tonight he made my life very easy. He was right there from the first to the last jump and I'm super happy with him."
The 1.50m main class on Thursday saw a podium finish for American rider Molly Ashe Cawley with the also 14-year-old mare Berdien Z, a daughter of Bustique and Querlybet Hero bred in the Netherlands by H.J. Lamers-van Ingen. In both the basic round and the jump-off, Ashe Cawley and Berdien Z managed to ensure a flawless round and this performance eventually earned them 3rd place in the standings.
Furthermore, it was also a successful competition in Ocala for Chilean rider Samuel Parot with the 12-year-old gelding Top Gun Z, a breeding product of Guido Bellemans who combined the blood of Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z with that of Ugano Sitte. After Parot and Top Gun Z already started their competition on Thursday with a clear round during the 1.40m class, they secured a nice 5th place during the 1.45m class a day later.