Grand Prix silver for Tapioca M&O Z at Oliva

Once again busy days on Spanish soil last weekend, with international show jumping at both the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour of Oliva and the Andalucia Sunshine Tour of Vejer de la Frontera. In Oliva, the penultimate week of the Jumping Tour 2025 was under way and once again some Z-horses managed to jump into the limelight.

In the CSI3* Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, for example, German rider Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann and the 9-year-old chestnut mare Tapioca M&O Z, a daughter of Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve and Catoki bred by Aurelien Lejeune, were in the lead. Meyer-Zimmermann and Tapioca M&O Z also jumped into the limelight on Friday with a handsome ^3rd place at the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test and were one of seven combinations to qualify for the jump-off at the CSI3* Grand Prix. As the penultimate combination at the start, they also managed to provide the fastest chrono time in 36.51 seconds, but a mistake on the way meant they had to settle for^2nd place overall.

Also in this CSI3* Grand Prix, French rider Michel Robert managed to qualify for the jump-off with his 11-year-old chestnut gelding Calasto Z, a son of Calvaro F.C. and Stakkato bred in the Netherlands by Hans Schipper. Robert and Calasto Z, who were also good for ^10th and ^11th place respectively in the 1.45m classes on Thursday and Friday, also saw a fault in the jump-off and the corresponding finishing time of 41.22 seconds earned them ^6th place.

The 1.45m Longines Ranking class on Friday did see a Z-horse at the top of the leaderboard thanks to British rider James Smith and the 14-year-old grey stallion Eagele Z, a son of Eldorado Vd Zeshoek and Ramiro Z from the breeding farm of Bart Timmermans. In a jump-off for which eighteen combinations managed to qualify, Smith and Eagele Z crossed the finish line in 38.04 seconds, giving them a lead of over a quarter of a second over the competition.

Furthermore, Smith also managed to jump into the spotlight twice again with the 10-year-old gelding Dominican 2000 Z, the son of Dominator 2000 Z and Casir ASK bred by Carl Brems and Mieke Bosma, with whom Smith also managed to win two classes at the Moura Tours in Valencia earlier this month. In both the 1.45m Grand Prix qualifier on Thursday and the 1.35m class on Friday, Smith and Dominican 2000 Z confirmed their good form and secured^2nd place.

The opening day in Oliva on Thursday also saw German rider Anna-Elisa Schäfer and her 8-year-old mare Charlie's Angel Z, a daughter of Comme Il Faut and Cassini I out of the P&C Van Der Heyden-Rijkers breeding farm, take^2nd place. During the Gold 1.40m class, Schäfer and Charlie's Angel Z ensured a flawless performance, finishing on the podium.

Finally, British rider Sammie Jo Coffin also had a strong weekend with the 12-year-old gelding Elsalvador Van 't Schaaphof Z, a breeding product of Maurice Van De Walle who combined the blood of Emilion Van 't Schaaphof with that of Forever. During the Gold 1.40m class on Friday, Jo Coffin and Elsalvador Van 't Schaaphof Z also managed to finish in^2nd place and one day they confirmed that performance by jumping to ^5th place during another 1.40m class.