Silver for Duco Z in the CSI3* GP of Geesteren

Last weekend, the renovated Equestrian Park 'Erve Maathuis' in Geesteren, the Netherlands, was once again the setting for the CSI Twente, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary. The highlight of the weekend was the CSI3* GP on Sunday afternoon, in which Dutch rider Marriet Smit-Hoekstra made it onto the podium with the 10-year-old gelding Duco Z, the son of Dakar TN and Riverman, bred in the Netherlands by P.C. van den Berg, with whom Smit-Hoekstra was also good for ^eighth place in the 1.50m class on Friday. In the CSI3* GP, Marriet Smit-Hoekstra and Duco Z were one of the 15 combinations who stayed clear in the first round, securing a place for the jump-off. In it, they once again managed to keep 0 on the scoreboard and with a finishing time of 37.75 seconds, they only had to beat reigning European Champion Steve Guerdat in the end.

Marriet Smit-Hoekstra: "I absolutely did not expect this. I was already very happy that I was allowed to ride the three-star competition, it is usually already difficult to get in between. The fact that I rode zero in the 1.50m on the first day was already super nice. Duco Z is super-fast by nature and has a fantastic attitude, but never lets himself be lectured. I have to give him the idea he can do it himself. Fortunately, by now I know a lot about his quirks and I notice that we learn from every competition. He is super fit and gives everything, I am very grateful for that. He has been part of the family for six years now."

Besides Marriet Smit-Hoekstra and Duco Z, Argentinian rider Tomas Yofre and the 10-year-old chestnut stallion Thuur Z (Tyson x Flipper d'Elle - B: J. Thijsen) also managed to qualify for the jump-off. They encountered 4 penalties on the way and with a finishing time of 39.74 seconds, they ended up in ^eighth place in the standings.

In the 1.45m class on Friday, Italian rider Gianni Govoni managed to secure a podium place with the 10-year-old mare L'alize Z, a daughter of L'Arc de triomphe and Quattro B bred in Germany by Harald Gassen. During both the^1st and^2nd stages, Govoni and L'alize Z managed to keep the 0 on the scoreboard nicely, but with their time of 30.45 seconds, they were more than half a second short of victory.

Finally, there was also a^2nd place in Geesteren for German rider Mike Patrick Leichle and the 11-year-old chestnut mare Diana Vd Tojopehoeve Z, a daughter of Dakar VDL and Quasimodo Z from the Tojopehoeve breeding farm. During the 1.40m class on Thursday, they ensured a flawless round and so they too had a podium place. Finally, Belgian rider Catherine van Roosbroeck was ^7th in this class with the 9-year-old mare Jess de la Croix Renard Z (Jenson van 't Meulenhof Z x Cabrio Z - B: Vanvinckenroye Societe Agricol).