Thibeau Spits and Gin Flip de Muze Z shine with win in Zangersheide Prize for 7-year-old stallions

At the Christmas Arena of Jumping Mechelen this afternoon, the breeders could get ready for a second Zangersheide Prize with the stallion class for the 7-year-olds. In it, a total of 20 combinations appeared at the start, six of which managed to successfully complete the 1.35m high basic course of arena builder Bart Vonck and his team. One of those six was Belgian rider Thibeau Spits with the stallion Gin Flip de Muze Z, the son of Gino H and Elvis Ter Putte who was bred by vet Jef Desmedt and his partner Lies De Backer. As the penultimate combination at the start, Spits and Gin Flip de Muze Z went all out and with a finishing time of 35.70 seconds they managed to write the victory on their record with much conviction.

The last combination was Christian Ahlmann and our stallion Dacantos Boy Z (Dacantos x Balou Bellini - B: Martin Dieckhoff-Holsen). Ahlmann made an ultimate attempt to win a stallion class for the second year in a row, but with a time of 36.42 seconds he was still more than half a second short of knocking the young Belgian off his throne.

Taking bronze was Belgian rider Jens Vandenberk and the chestnut stallion Gancio van 't Smisveld Z, a son of Gino H and Nabab de Rêve bred by Ive Tonet and a grandson of Niels Bruynseels' former Grand Prix mare Gancia de Muze. Vandenberk and Gancio van 't Smisveld Z re-entered the ring as the fourth combination and opted for certainty with a clear round in 41.98 seconds.

Dutch rider Willem Greve followed just off the podium in ^4th place with Rockit-K Van 't Kattenheye (Cornet Obolensky x Kannan - B: Tony & Mieke Raman - Strobbe), while Belgian rider Pieter Kenis completed the top five with the stallion Riesling van de Gaathoeve (Iron Man Vd Padenborre x Diamant de Semilly - B: Hugo Lieten).

Click here for the results.