Shared victory for Chica Bomb van Plockroy Z and Devino van 't Langeveld Z in Opglabbeek

Last weekend there was a lot of action outside our national borders, but also in Belgium there was another international show on the programme in the past few days. For this first international competition of the year on Belgian soil, we went to the Sentower Park in Opglabbeek, where the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test on Friday evening was dominated by two Z-horses.

The Longines Ranking Test on Friday evening is traditionally the first highlight of the weekend in Opglabbeek and it had a particularly exciting run last weekend. A total of 75 combinations took their chances in the basic round run by track builder Bernard Mathy and his team, and of these, 17 managed to jump to a place in the jump-off. So it was a jump-off at the cutting edge with not one, but two Z-horses at the top of the standings in the end! Both Belgian rider Michaël Vreys with his 10-year-old home-bred mare Chica Bomb Van Plockroy Z (Comment van het Lindehof x Ogano Sitte) and his compatriot Ugo Berrittella with the 9-year-old gelding Devino Van 'T Langeveld Z (Dayton Sitte x For Pleasure), bred by Bert Thienpond, managed to clock a time of 35.31 seconds in the busy jump-off, allowing them both to add this Longines Ranking Test to their record of achievements!

In addition to his victory with Chica Bomb Van Plockroy Z, Michaël Vreys also had a strong weekend in Opglabbeek with his other two Z-horses. In the 1.40m class on Thursday, he secured a place on the podium with the also 10-year-old mare Estrella Van Plockroy Z, a daughter of Excellent Vd Zuuthoeve and Darco who was also born and raised at Vreys' home. In a class against the clock, they neatly kept all the bars in the scoops and this performance earned the duo^2nd place in the standings. With the 9-year-old mare Heideroosje Van Plockroy Z (Heidelberg van het Lindehof x Ogano Sitte - B: Vreys Horses) Vreys managed to jump into the prizes three times. During both the 1.35m classes on Friday and Saturday and the 1.40m class on Sunday, they finished in ^4th place.

On Sunday afternoon, Opglabbeek was all about the CSI2* Grand Prix and some Z-horses performed well in this class too. For example, there was a ^4th place for Belgian rider Wilm Vermeir with the 10-year-old grey mare Magic Van 't Hulgenrode Z, the daughter of Midas vh Endhouse and Vigo d'Arsouilles, who was bred by Marcel De Ridder and with whom Vermeir also managed to secure a victory at the World Cup competition in London last month. After a clear first round, Vermeir and Magic Van 't Hulgenrode Z also held on nicely in the jump-off and with a finishing time of 37.76 seconds they were a quarter of a second short of a podium place.

His compatriot Andres Vereecke then followed in ^5th place with the 13-year-old grey mare Call Me de Muze Z, the daughter of Clarissimo Z and Ramiro Z bred by Joris De Brabander and Léon Melchior. They too could not be found with a fault in the jump-off. Vereecke also managed to qualify twice with the 11-year-old mare Coconut Van Paemel Z, a daughter of our grey stallion Cicero Z and Sandro Z, who as her name already suggested was bred by Stoeterij Van Paemel. Vereecke and Coconut Van Paemel Z immediately started their competition with a ^4th place during the 1.40m class on Thursday and a day later they managed to secure a great^2nd place during another 1.40m class.

During the opening day on Thursday there was also a 1.45m Grand Prix Qualifier on the programme for the CSI2* competition and here too we saw a Z-horse shine on the podium. Indeed, ^3rd place here went to Belgian rider Brecht Goossens with the 16-year-old gelding Noukie Z, a son of Nabab de Rêve and Chin Chin from the breeding farm of Rob Santermans. In this class against the clock, Goossens and Noukie Z could not be caught out on a fault.

Finally, there were other combinations who managed to jump into the limelight twice. Thus, Belgian rider Thomas de Wit and the 10-year-old stallion Ecuador DW Z (El Torreo de Muze x Quasimodo van de Molendreef - B: DW-Stables) finished ^6th and ^8th once, Wilm Vermeir with the also 10-year-old stallion Eytuka Of Two Notes Z (Emerald van 't Ruytershof x Chin Chin - B: Toby Huys) once ^7th and ^10th, Norwegian rider Oda Charlotte Lyngvaer with the 11-year-old mare Carabella Vd Neyen Z (Carrera VDL x Lux Z - B: Claes) once ^9th and ^10th and Dutchman Niels Knape and the 10-year-old mare Cinderella Z(Comilfo Plus Z x Chacco Blue - B: Egarter Ewarld) once^2nd and ^6th.