08 September '23
Five blue/yellow victories during CSI Exloo!
© Thieu Huijbregts / Chantal Regter
Next to the three-star show in Azelhof, Lier, there was also some international action in the Netherlands last weekend and more specifically in Hippisch Centrum Exloo, where a new edition of CSI Exloo was on the program. The Zangersheide horses performed particularly well, because they managed to score no fewer than 5 victories during the classes of the CSI2* competition!
The Dutch rider Thieu Huijbregts secured one of those victories with the 13-year-old chestnut stallion Quint vh Maarlo Z, a son of Quidam de Rêvel and Landetto, bred by A. Breedveld. Huijbregts and Quint vh Maarlo Z had already attracted the spotlight for the first time on Thursday with a 2nd place during the 1.40m high speed class, but their highlight of the weekend came during the 1.45m high Longines Ranking class on Friday. After a flawless basic round, they were one of the 18 combinations that managed to qualify for the jump-off. They once again managed to ensure a clear round and with a finishing time of 40.47 seconds they were able to add this Longines Ranking test to their list of honors.
During the 1.40m class on Thursday, it was Huijbregts' compatriot Chantel Regter who jumped to the victory with the 14-year-old black stallion Big Star Jr K Z, a son of Big Star and Polydor who was bred by Cees Klaver. Regter and Big Star Jr K Z finished in this class against the clock in 60.32 seconds and thus managed to outclass the competition. And also during the following days, Regter and Big Star Jr K Z confirmed their excellent form. They jumped to a nice 2nd place during the 1.35m class on Saturday and achieved their second victory of the weekend during the 1.35m class on Sunday.
Next to her good performances with Big Star Jr K Z, Chantal Regter also managed to jump into the picture in Exloo with the 11-year-old stallion Can Fly Z (Can Remember x Contendro I – B: Niels de Bruijn). They started their show with a 4th place during the 1.45m class on Thursday and a day later followed a 7th place during the 1.40m class.
On Friday, we also received a second blue/yellow victory next to the victory of Thieu Huijbregts en Quint vh Maarlo Z. The 1.40m class, that was first on the program in the morning, was won by the Dutch rider Logan Fiechter with the 11-year-old chestnut gelding E Hoodstock Z, a son of Emerald van 't Ruytershof and Vigaro who was bred by A.J. Smolders. During both the 1st and the 2nd phases, all poles remained in the cups and with a finishing time of 28.48 seconds they had a lead of more than half a second over the competition. With Fiechter's compatriot Robert Vos and the 8-year-old stallion Cadillac Z (Carrera VDL x Quasimodo vd Molendreef - B: G. Weggemans), we also had a second Zangersheide horse on the podium in this class. They finished in 29.55 seconds, which was good for a 3rd place in the ranking.
Finally, who also secured a victory was the Dutch rider Michael Greeve with the 7-year-old stallion Chilipepper Z, a son of Crunch 3 and Diarado who was bred by Martin Poppen. During the 1.40m class on Saturday they were one of the 10 combinations that managed to qualify for the jump-off and they managed to beat the competition with a clear round in 35.38 seconds.
It became also a good weekend for the Dutch lady rider Sabrina van Rijswijk and the 8-year-old stallion Cobalt Vd Bisschop Z, a son of our grey stallion Cicero Z and Berlin who was bred by Tom De Craene. Van Rijswijk and Cobalt Vd Bisschop Z jumped to a 7th place on Friday during the 1.45m high Longines Ranking class and during the final day on Sunday they secured an 8th place during the CSI2* GP. They managed to ensure a flawless performance both during the basic round and during the jump-off.
During the CSI2* GP, however, it was the Dutch rider Mark van den Top and the 15-year-old stallion Colombo Z (Casall x Carthago Z – B: Horsestud Thijs BVBA) who achieved the best blue/yellow performance. With a clear jump-off in 41.98 seconds, they were 2.5 seconds faster than van Rijswijk and Cobalt Vd Bisschop Z and this was good for a 6th place in the ranking.
Last but not least, the Dutch rider Pim Mulder also managed to place twice with the 10-year-old stallion Viktor Z (Verdi TN x Caretano Z – B: Freek Hoogenboom). After a 2nd place during the 1.45m class on Thursday, they secured a 10th place during the CSI2* GP. Unfortunately, a fault in the jump-off kept them from the victory here.