22 July '24
Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z triumphs in the LGCT Grand Prix of Riesenbeck!
© Longines Global Champions Tour
What a great performance again by Belgian rider Thibeau Spits and his 9-year-old black stallion Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z! Only a few weeks after the duo already managed to impress by finishing 4th at the Longines Global Champions Tour in Cannes during their very first CSI5* GP, yesterday they won their very first CSI5* GP as well! On the grass arena of Riesenbeck International in Germany, Spits and Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z confirmed once again and jumped impressively to victory in the LGCT Grand Prix!
The basic round at Ludger Beerbaum's house proved no mean feat yesterday, as only four of the 38 combinations that made their appearance there managed to get through the basic round unscathed and thus secure a place in the jump-off. The Longines double jump at number 13 proved to be a particularly difficult task for many. Thibeau Spits and his Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z (Indoktro K van 't Kattenheye x Vagabond de la Pomme) from the breeding farm of Tony Raman and Mieke Strobbe were one of the combinations that did manage to advance to the jump-off. As the 3rd combination at the start, the former Belgian vice-champion managed to keep their cool and with a clear round in 41.93 seconds they wrote their very first LGCT Grand Prix on their record!
Thibeau Spits: "Winning a Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix is without doubt the biggest achievement of my career. Both my grandfathers and my sister were here, so it's nice to have my family here to support, that makes it all even more special. Impress is only 9 years old, but I have ridden him for 6 years now, so we know each other inside and out. I have always loved this horse! Not everyone saw it, but the feeling he gave with every jump was fantastic. What he has done today is great, but I feel that this is just the beginning and that he is really going to be the horse of my career."
Also in the top 10 of this LGCT Grand Prix we saw Swiss rider Pius Schwizer with the 10-year-old chestnut gelding Chelsea Z, a son of Chellano Alpha Z and Cicero Z who was bred in the Netherlands by Willy Sijbers. Schwizer and Chelsea Z, who were also good for a2nd place in the 1.45m class on Friday, did suffer a jumping fault in the first round, but a fast finish time eventually secured them 9th place in the standings.
Besides the LGCT Grand Prix, there was also a 1.50m speed class on the programme yesterday for the CSI5* competition, in which Dutch rider Gerben Morsink managed to jump to a podium place with his 10-year-old homebred mare Colina Z, a daughter of Ingmar combined with the blood of Carthago Z. Morsink and Colina Z neatly kept all the rails in the scoops and this performance earned them2nd place in the standings.
Another notable combination in Riesenbeck was American rider Laura Kraut and her also 10-year-old mare Bisquetta, the daughter of Bisquet Balou van de Mispelaere and Takashi van Berkenbroeck who was born to breeder Claire McCarthy-Winters as Bisquetta Squealls Estate Z. Kraut and Bisquetta immediately took the limelight on Friday morning when they jumped to victory in the 1.45m opening class. With a clear2nd phase in 30.00 seconds, they were then just under half a second ahead of the competition. A day later, Kraut and Bisquetta jumped into the limelight again when they secured an individual 6th place in the second and decisive round of the Global Champions League.
Finally, French rider Simon Delestre also managed a podium place with his 11-year-old black gelding Dexter Fontenis Z, the son of Diarado and Voltaire from the S.C.R.I S.Ky Horses breeding farm. During the first round of the Global Champions League, Delestre and Dexter Fontenis Z provided a flawless round, which was ultimately good for an individual2nd place in the standings.