H5 Ganesh Hero Z shines twice at San Miguel de Allende

Last weekend there was no five-star competition on European soil, but on the other side of the big pond there was jumping at the highest level. The place to be was San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where several Zangersheide horses managed to jump into the limelight.

The most eye-catching name was that of the 10-year-old stallion H5 Ganesh Hero Z, a son of Gemini XX and Diamant de Semilly, who, as his name suggests, was bred by Luc Henry. Under the saddle of Mexican rider Carlos Hank Guerreiro, H5 Ganesh Hero Z immediately managed to impress on Thursday during the opening day with a nice^2nd place in the 1.50m class, but the highlight of the weekend the duo experienced during the 1.50m class on Sunday. After a clear first round, they were in fact one of the eight combinations that managed to advance to the jump-off. There they managed to repeat that flawless performance and with a time of 39.39 seconds they were exactly half a second ahead of their nearest pursuer.

Also in the jump-off of this 1.50m class, we saw Spanish rider Sergio Alvarez Moya with the 9-year-old chestnut gelding Brazilia DK Z, a son of By Ceira d'Ick and Argentinus, bred by EARL Haras d'Ick. Alvarez Moya and Brazilia DK Z already secured ^4th place in the 1.50m class on Thursday, and on Sunday they confirmed their good form with a creditable ^7th place.

On Saturday, the CSI5* Grand Prix was already held in San Miguel de Allende, in which Mexican rider Luis Gerardo Castaneda Mercado provided a strong performance with the 12-year-old grey stallion Untakable Z (Untouchable x Pilot), bred by Tops Horse Trading BV. Castaneda Mercado and Untakable Z managed to keep all the bars neatly in the basic round, but a time penalty unfortunately kept them out of the jump-off and made them settle for ^5th place in the standings.

Finally, with two Zangersheide horses on the podium, there was also plenty of blue/yellow glory in the 1.45m class on Friday. For example, Mexican Eugenio Garza Perez rode the 16-year-old gelding Victer Finn DH Z (Va Vite x Stakkato - B: De Dwerse Hagen BVBA) to^2nd place. They stayed clear in both phases and finished in 23.75 seconds, just 11 hundredths behind the winner. In turn, Belgian rider Zoe Conter captured 3rd place with the 10-year-old mare Tombola Z (Toulon x Dominard - B: Verschueren, Witters, Stevens & Vd Velde). They too could not be faulted.