Silver for Navarone Z in the CSI3* GP of Lichtenvoorde

While back home last weekend we were guests at Opglabbeek's Sentower Park, the Netherlands could enjoy another edition of Outdoor Gelderland in beautiful Lichtenvoorde. During the CSI3* GP on Sunday afternoon, Dutch rider Gerben Morsink managed to jump to a podium place with his 15-year-old homebred stallion Navarone Z, a son of Nabab de Rêve and Amor, with whom he has in fact also performed strongly several times in recent weeks. Morsink and Navarone Z stayed neatly clear in the technical basic round designed by track builder Louis Koninckx and his team, making them one of only five combinations to advance to the jump-off. In that jump-off they also managed to ensure a flawless round and this performance earned them a nice^2nd place in the standings.

Gerben Morsink: "This course was tailor-made for me. It already felt good during the course. Navarone Z is in form, last weekend he had two top-three placings in Riesenbeck. It is fantastic that people are so supportive. I heard the audience going wild, super nice!"

Another notable combination in Lichtenvoorde was Morsink's compatriot Meike Zwartjens and her 9-year-old chestnut gelding Twindam Z, a son of Twister de la Pomme and Landwind II B who was born and raised with the Zwartjens family. The duo competed three times throughout the weekend and also managed to jump to a top 10 ranking three times. Zwartjens and Twindam Z started their competition with a ^4th place in the 1.40m class on Thursday, followed by a ^5th place in the 1.40m class on Friday and a ^9th place in the 1.40m class on Sunday.

Finally, Dutchman Marc Houtzager also managed to jump twice in the prizes with the 10-year-old mare Dwivoli van de Groote Kamps Z, a breeding product of E.W.J. Bakker who combined the blood of Denzel van 't Meulenhof with that of Roven XX. Houtzager and Dwivoli van de Groote Kamps Z secured ^eighth place in the 1.45m class on Friday, followed by ^sixth place in another 1.45m class a day later.