Sanne Thijssen and Cupcake Z experience strong weekend in Oliva

In addition to the Casas Novas World Cup competition in La Coruña, there was, of course, vigorous jumping at the Oliva Mediterranean Equestrian Tour in Spain last weekend. One of the weekend's trendsetters were Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen and her 11-year-old mare Cupcake Z, a daughter of Chacco Blue and Caretano Z bred in the Netherlands by Sandra van den Broek-Wilmes.

On Friday, Thijssen and Cupcake Z already opened the weekend with a strong performance by finishing ^2nd in the Longines Ranking Test. But the absolute highlight of the weekend followed for the duo during the 1.45m class on Sunday morning, another class that counted towards the Longines Ranking. Thijssen and Cupcake Z managed to go clear in both the^1st and^2nd phases and with a chrono time of 27.85 seconds, they were more than half a second ahead of the competition.

Furthermore, it was another successful weekend in Oliva for British rider Laura Renwick and her 11-year-old grey mare Enjoy CK Z, a daughter of Echo van 't Spieveld and Coronado bred by Kristof Ceulemans, with whom Renwick managed to win the CSI2* Grand Prix the week before. Renwick and Enjoy CK Z jumped to ^7th place in the Longines Ranking Test on Friday and at the CSI3* Grand Prix on Sunday they managed to secure ^4th place this time. A jumping fault in the jump-off kept them from another podium place.

Also in the Grand Prix, French rider Alexa Ferrer managed to place with the 13-year-old mare Vitalhorse Naiade d'Elsendam Z, a daughter of Nabab de Rêve and Quattro B bred by François Verhulst. They too were among the combinations that managed to qualify for the jump-off, in which they secured ^6th place.

Another notable combination was Belgian rider Andres Vereecke and the 12-year-old grey mare Call Me de Muze Z, a daughter of Clarissimo Z and Ramiro Z bred by Joris De Brabander and by none other than Leon Melchior. Vereecke and Call Me de Muze Z started their weekend on Thursday with a ^9th place in the 1.45m main class and on Saturday they shone with a handsome^2nd place in the 1.45m Longines Ranking class. During the 1.40m class on Thursday, Vereecke additionally became ^3rd with the 10-year-old mare Coconut Van Paemel Z, a daughter of Cicero Z and Sandro Z who was bred at Stoeterij Van Paemel.