New Grand Prix victory in Wuustwezel

For the second week in a row, international showjumping took place at the home of Jan Vermeiren in Wuustwezel last weekend and also for the second week in a row, the CSI2* GP on Sunday yielded a victory for the blue/yellow colours of Zangersheide! After the victory of Dutch rider Thieu Huijbregts and his chestnut stallion Quint vh Maarlo Z (Quidam de Rêvel x Landetto - F: Adrianus Breedveld) during the opening week, last weekend it was British rider Samuel Hutton who jumped to victory with the 10-year-old mare Melusina BVL Z, a daughter of Mylord Carthago and Air Jordan Z bred in the Netherlands by H.L.M. van Lier. Hutton and Melusina BVL Z were one of eight combinations to go clear in the basic round ridden by track builder Bernard Mathy and his team, securing a ticket for the jump-off. In that jump-off, they managed to repeat that flawless performance from the basic round and with a finishing time of 36.35 seconds, they were about three-quarters of a second ahead of the competition.

However, Samuel Hutton and Melusina BVL Z were not the only ones to ensure Zangersheide success in Wuustwezel. The 1.45m Longines Ranking class on Friday, for example, saw Belgian rider Alexander Housen and the 13-year-old gelding Cayadix Hero Z reach the podium, which brings us to a breeding product of Luc Henry. Cayadix Hero Z is a son of Cadence van 't Gelutt Z and is out of the mare Ayade de Septon HDC (Wandor van de Mispelaere), who herself jumped at the very highest level under the saddle of Frenchman Kevin Staut. Housen and Cayadix Hero Z managed to neatly keep all the bars in the scoops in this class against the clock and that performance earned them a ^3rd place in the rankings.

Before the start of this Longines Ranking Test, there was also a 1.40m class on the programme for the CSI2* competition, in which a Zangersheide horse once again topped the rankings. Victory went to Estonian rider Margareth Eikner and the 9-year-old stallion Corvette 2G Z, whose breeder Geoffry Geerts combined the blood of Comme Il Faut with that of Quasimodo vd Molendreef for his breeding product. Eikner and Corvette 2G Z produced a neat clear round in this class against the clock and with a finishing time of 59.66 seconds they were the only combination to keep the time under 60 seconds.

In the 1.45m Small Grand Prix on Saturday, Belgian Champion Gilles Thomas managed to jump into the spotlight with the 8-year-old mare Moon Flower J&F Champblanc Z, a daughter of Montender and Muscaris d'Ariel from the breeding farm of Hengstenhouderij Van Dijck. In both the basic round and the jump-off, all obstacles remained intact, allowing Thomas and Moon Flower J&F Champblanc Z to take ^4th place in this class.

Finally, there was also a blue/yellow victory in the 1.35m class on Thursday. Here it was Swedish rider Ebba Danielsson who took the overall win with the 13-year-old mare T-Gavoli Z, the daughter of Twister de la Pomme and Calvaro Z who was bred by G.J.A. Moerings and with whom she also managed to win 2 classes at Kronenberg's Peelbergen Equestrian Centre last month. Danielsson and T-Gavoli Z kept clear in both the^1st and^2nd phases, adding another victory to their record! For Belgian rider Dieter Vermeiren, there was another ^4th place in this class with his 14-year-old mare Piepke 111 Z (Plot Blue x Lord Z - Stud 111), with whom he won another Longines Ranking Test during the opening week.