Grand Prix victory for Eytuka Of Two Notes Z in Opglabbeek

On Belgian soil last weekend there was not only international action at Jumping Bonheiden, Sentower Park in Opglabbeek also welcomed the international show jumping crowd over the past few days. Here, too, the victory in the CSI2* GP coloured blue and yellow, and for that Belgian rider Wilm Vermeir and the 9-year-old chestnut mare Eytuka Of Two Notes Z, a daughter of Emerald van 't Ruytershof and Chin Chin who was bred by Toby Huys and with whom Vermeir also managed to finish^2nd in Fontainebleau last month. Vermeir and Eytuka Of Two Notes Z were one of the 11 combinations that stayed clear in the basic round ridden by arena builder Bart Hendrix and his team, securing a place in the jump-off. In that, they once again managed to make it flawless and with a convincing finishing time of 38.27 seconds, they were more than 3 full seconds ahead of the competition.

Furthermore, Dutch rider Frank Schuttert also managed to qualify for the jump-off with the 9-year-old gelding Luckey Sr Z, a son of L'Arc de Triomphe and Quick Star bred in the Netherlands by E. & M.J. Sleutels. They too managed a nice finish time in 39.33 seconds, but a mistake on the way kept them from^2nd place in the end and made them settle for ^5th place in the standings.

In the 1.45m main class on Saturday, Schuttert's compatriot Niels Kersen managed to jump to a podium place with the 9-year-old mare Akua Van Cleef Z, a daughter of Aktion Pur Z and Lux Z out of Eduard Verwilghen's breeding. In a class against the clock, they left all the bars neatly in the scoops and this performance earned them^2nd place in the standings.

With 2 victories it was also more than a successful weekend in Opglabbeek for Belgian rider Mike Van Belle with his 13-year-old mare Frauke Van 't Hagenhof Z, a breeding product of Patrick Laheyne who combined the blood of Figo de Muze with that of Bentley van de Heffinck. Both in the 1.35m class on Thursday and on Saturday, Van Belle and Frauke Van 't Hagenhof Z were too strong for the competition. During the 1.35m class on Friday, Brazilian rider André Americo De Miranda followed in^2nd place with the 9-year-old chestnut mare Cella Rose Z (Cavalo Z x Dark d'Amour - B: Alwin & Guido Lenges) and on Friday there was then a ^3rd place for Dutch rider Piet Raijmakers Jr. with the also 9-year-old mare Van Schijndel's Alaska Ter Saleghem Z (Aktion Pur Z x Vagabond de la Pomme - B: Stefanie & Steven De Smedt).

Finally, in the classes for the 6-year-old horses, British rider Tabitha Kyle came on strong with the gelding Sing Z, a son of our former stallion Copycat Z and PKZ Contact van de Heffinck bred by Marcel Schrijvers. During both the class on Friday and the final on Sunday, Kyle and Sing Z managed to keep the competition behind them and claim victory.