New Grand Prix victory for SV Vroom de la Pomme Z

No international action at the very highest level last weekend, but numerous international competitions took place at three-star level. One of these took place on French soil, where the Jump'Est competition in Nancy was on the programme in the east of the country. On Sunday, the show traditionally concluded with the CSI3* Grand Prix, in which it was Sweden's top rider Peder Fredricson who took the top prize thanks to a rock-solid performance with his Z-bred partner SV Vroom de la Pomme Z.

Fredricson and SV Vroom de la Pomme Z, a son of Vigo d'Arsouilles and Untouchable out of the breeding of Geert Baertsoen of Haras de la Pomme, already shone first on Friday with a handsome 3rd place during the 1.50m Grand Prix qualifier, but the highlight of the weekend was experienced during that CSI3* Grand Prix itself. Fredricson and SV Vroom de la Pomme Z were one of nine combinations who managed to complete the basic round by Olympic track rider Grégory Bodo and his team to advance to the jump-off. In there, they managed to repeat that flawless performance from the basic round and with a finishing time of 35.28 seconds they wrote another Grand Prix victory on their record after their victory in the CSI4* Grand Prix of Stockholm.

However, Fredricson and SV Vroom de la Pomme Z were not the only ones to come out strong at this CSI3* Grand Prix, as we also saw another three Z-horses in the top ten of the standings. Thus, ^4th place was reserved for Frenchwoman Lara Tryba and the 13-year-old grey gelding Memphis Z, a son of Mylord Carthago and Candillo Z bred in the Netherlands by Freek Hoogenboom. Tryba and Memphis Z also managed to ensure a clear jump-off, but it took them 38.75 seconds to complete their round. Then her compatriots Alexa Ferrer with the 10-year-old mare Caetlin Vd Heffinck Z (Chacco Blue x Cabrio Z - B: Van De Heffinck) and Cédric Hurel with the 15-year-old gelding Fantasio Floreval Z (Florian de La Vie x Clinton - B: Evelyne Pater) followed in ^6th and ^7th place respectively.

On Saturday, the main class of the day in Nancy was a 1.45m Longines Ranking class and in it, too, victory coloured blue and yellow. Belgian rider Sacha Beghuin took care of that with his 13-year-old stallion Elcup Van Beek II Z, the son of Elvis Ter Putte and Armitage, bred by Guido Herijgers and with whom Beghuin managed to achieve a great^2nd place at our Zangersheide International in February. In a class against the clock, Beghuin and Elcup Van Beek II Z sped to the finishing line in a convincing 65.62 seconds, putting them over a second and a half ahead of the rest of the field.

In turn, ^5th place in this Longines Ranking Test on Saturday went to Swiss rider Pius Schwizer and the 11-year-old mare Jheevana Hero Z, a daughter of our stallion Jenson van 't Meulenhof Z and Lys de Darmen bred by Luc Henry and Gerry Marron. Schwizer and Jheevana Hero Z, also good for a ^10th place in the 1.45m class on Thursday and an ^eighth place in the 1.40m class on Friday, also managed to have a clear round, but they crossed the finish line in 70.95 seconds.

Furthermore, French rider Simon Delestre also managed to jump into the prizes in this class with the 8-year-old chestnut mare Castanha van het Beeckhof Z, a daughter of Comilfo Plus Z and Tsar Hero bred by Patrick and Romy Vandereyt. Delestre and Castanha van het Beeckhof Z secured ^7th place in the standings after a flawless round.

Also in this class, Delestre's compatriot Geoffroy de Coligny was among the prize winners with the 10-year-old stallion Charlie La Loi Z, a son of Scuderia 1918 Casago and Hors La Loi II bred by Ann Van Heyst. They managed to do just a little better this time after a ^9th place in the 1.45m class on Thursday, finishing ^8th.

Another notable combination was Belgian rider Mike van Olst and the 10-year-old mare Comme Elle Faut Odth Z, a breeding product of Odth NV who combined the blood of Comme Il Faut with that of Canabis Z. Van Olst and Comme Elle Faut Odth Z started their competition on Thursday with an ^8th place during the 1.45m main class and followed this up a day later with a ^9th place during the 1.50m Grand Prix qualifier. Then one time penalty in the basic round unfortunately kept them out of the jump-off.

During the opening day on Thursday, Swiss rider Bryan Smits also managed to secure another Zangersheide victory with the 10-year-old gelding Verdi Van 'T Laerhof Z, a son of Vigo d'Arsouilles and Heartbreaker bred by Hans Van Laer. In this class against the clock, Smits and Verdi Van 'T Laerhof Z sped to the finishing line in 60.58 seconds, just under half a second ahead of the competition.

But the other podium places during this 1.35 class were also taken by Z-horses thanks to Belgian rider Louise Losfeld with the 12-year-old mare Athina Louise Z (Arko III x Ugano Sitte B: Christine Callewaert) and German rider Kendra Claricia Brinkop with the 13-year-old stallion Dawa de Greenbay Z (Diarado x Schilling ET - B: Stephane Chantot). They crossed the finish line in 61.06 seconds and 62.07 seconds respectively. Brinkop and Dawa de Greenbay Z also confirmed this performance a day later by jumping to ^4th place in the 1.40m class.