Dourkhan Hero Z impresses in the LGCT Grand Prix of Mexico City

Last weekend, the Campo Marte sports complex in Mexico City was the setting for the second leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour 2025. On the iconic grass arena, the world's best riders and horses gathered for a weekend of top-class sport. Christian Ahlmann and our stallion Dourkhan Hero Z also appeared at the start there and had a fantastic weekend with an impressive top five ranking in the LGCT Grand Prix.

The best forty combinations from the second round of the Global Champions League on Friday made their appearance in the ring on Sunday afternoon from 1pm local time for this second LGCT Grand Prix of the season. The 1.60m base round initially proved a tough task, as only two from the first section of 20 combinations managed to qualify for the jump-off. However, the second part brought improvement and in the end nine combinations still managed to advance to the jump-off. One of those nine barragists was Christian Ahlmann with our 10-year-old stallion Dourkhan Hero Z, the son of Sea Coast Don't Touch Tiji Hero and Zandor Z bred by Luc Henry. Ahlmann and Dourkhan Hero Z, who made their debut in the Longines Global Champions Tour in London last year, entered the ring as the second combination and with a whirlwind round in 44.41 seconds they secured ^4th place in the final standings.

Besides Christian Ahlmann and Dourkhan Hero Z, Belgian Champion Gilles Thomas also managed to qualify for the jump-off with the 11-year-old black stallion Elfra van Beek Z, a son of El Salvador and Vagabond de la Pomme bred by Guido Herrijgers. Thomas and Elfra van Beek Z, who were already good for ^5th place in both the 1.45m opening class on Thursday and the second round of the Longines Global Champions League on Friday, reappeared in the ring as the penultimate combination and managed to do it in 43.82 seconds even just a little faster than Ahlmann and Dourkhan Hero Z. Unfortunately for them, the last bar rolled out of the scaffolding, so they had to settle for ^7th place in the end.

In the first round of the Global Champions League over a height of 1.55m, Brazilian rider Luiz Felipe Cortizo Goncalves de Azevedo made his mark with the 11-year-old grey mare Sierra du Piedroux Z, a daughter of Hunter's Scendix and Contefino bred by Claude Noirot. In this class against the clock, they crossed the finish line in 69.99 seconds, good for a handsome ^5th place in the standings. But Frenchwoman Ines Joly also jumped to a place in the top 10 of the standings. She and the 10-year-old stallion Crack D'Aiguilly Z (Comme Il Faut x Nabab de Rêve - breeder: Oliver Perreau) secured 10th place after another flawless round.

On Saturday afternoon it was Belgian rider Wilm Vermeir who managed to ensure blue/yellow success with his 10-year-old gelding D'Amour JMG Z, a breeding product of Jean-Marie Gregoor who combined the blood of our stallion Dieu Merci Van T&L Z with that of Indoctro. In the 1.45m speed class, Vermeir and D'Amour JMG Z kept all the rails neatly in the reels and this performance earned them a fine^2nd place in the rankings.

In addition to the prestigious five-star competition, Mexico City also had a two-star competition on the programme in the past, in which several Z-horses managed to jump into the limelight. With three placings out of three, the most outstanding name was that of the 10-year-old mare Chavelle V&V Z, a daughter of Carrera VDL and Heartbreaker bred in the Netherlands by H. Voort. Under the saddle of Mexican rider Georgina Kaye Puertos, Chavelle V&v Z started her competition with a ^4th place in the 1.35m class on Thursday, while the following days saw an ^8th place in the 1.35m class on Friday and a ^6th place in the 1.35m class on Saturday.

Finally, there was also a Zangersheide victory in Mexico City, which Kaye Puertos' compatriot Ana Sofia Legorreta Hernandez took care of with the 8-year-old mare Marieke Z Santa Rosa, a daughter of Moncler Van Overis and Chellano from the breeding farm of Jens Vandenberk. In the 1.35m class on Friday morning, they sped to the finish line in 64.60 seconds, more than half a second ahead of the rest of the field of competitors.