Z-horses achieve success at Andalucia Sunshine Tour

There were busy days on Spanish soil last weekend, because in addition to the third week of the Moura Tours in Valencia, there was also a second international show on the programme with the second week of the Andalucia Sunshine Tour in Vejer de la Frontera. Here again, a lot of Zangersheide horses appeared at the start and managed to achieve one or more successes throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, the Irish rider Cian O'Connor and his newest trump card Funky Fred Marienshof Z, the 10-year-old son of Fantomas de Muze and Libero H, bred by Sandra Ecker of the Marienshof Stables, immediately achieved a top ranking. In the 1.50m class of the CSIO3* competition, O'Connor and Funky Fred Marienshof Z managed to keep it neatly clear twice and this performance earned them^2nd place in the standings.

Also in the top 5 of this Longines Ranking Test we saw the Colombian rider Santiago Diaz Ortega and the 11-year-old grey mare Capri DV Z, a breeding product of Pieter Devos who combined the blood of Cardento VDL with that of our grey stallion Cicero Z. Diaz Ortega and Capri DV Z were also clear in both the^1st and^2nd phases and thus secured ^4th place.

On Friday, the CSIO3* Nations Cup in Vejer de la Frontera was on the cards and Cian O'Connor also managed to claim a leading role with a Zangersheide horse. Indeed, together with the 11-year-old gelding VDL Groep Iron Z, a son of VDL Groep Charisma Z and Mr. Blue who was born C-Iron Z at Stoeterij Duyselshof, O'Connor managed to stay clear in the first round and thus had an important contribution in the Irish victory.

The silver in this Nations Cup was for the Belgian équipe and there Thomas De Wit was part of the team with his 13-year-old homebred gelding Tools Dw Z, a son of Toulon and Cicero Z. De Wit and Tools Dw Z stayed clear in the second round and so they too had their share in the Belgian success. In Vejer de Wit also brought his 9-year-old grey mare Ice Twin Girl Dw Z (I'M Special de Muze x Wandor van de Mispelaere) to the start and they too had a successful weekend. De Wit and Ice Twin Girl Dw Z started their competition with a ^5th place in the 1.40m class on Thursday, while they managed to secure a ^6th place in the 1.40m class on Sunday.

In these two 1.40m classes, Italian rider Andrea Messeri also managed to place twice with the 8-year-old mare Karmina de Nyze Z (Kannan x Heartbreaker), which brings us to a breeding product of Danny Nijs. Messeri and Karmina de Nyze Z were good for ^7th place on Thursday and on Sunday they took^2nd place in the standings.

During the opening day on Thursday we also saw some Zangersheide horses coming on strong in the 1.50m main class. These included a ^4th place for Italian rider Giampiero Garofalo with the 8-year-old stallion Lambada Shake Ag (ex Alabama Shake AG Z - Aganix du Seigneur Z x Spartacus - B: Alex Gisbertz), a ^6th place for Monegasque rider Anastasia Niels with the 12-year-old mare Beau van de Hagenhorst Z (Big Star Jr KZ x Coronado NRW - B: H. Verhagen) and ^7th place for Italian rider Filippo Lupis with the 11-year-old stallion Contito Eb Z (Canturano x Candillo - B: Beauty BVBA).

CSI2* competition

Besides the CSIO3* competition, the past few days in Vejer de la Frontera there has also been jumping at two-star level and here too some Zangersheide horses managed to jump into the limelight. On Thursday, for example, during the opening day, Belgian rider Thibault Philippaerts was victorious with the 10-year-old gelding Fufu Z, a son of Fernando - H and Casantos bred in the Netherlands by Wilbert Beukens. In the 1.40m class against the clock, Philippaerts and Fufu Z sped to the finish line in 61.64 seconds, more than a full second ahead of the competition.

Another notable combination in the CSI2* competition was US rider Emily Dehoff and the 10-year-old chestnut gelding Viper Z, a son of Vigo d'Arsouilles and Grannus bred by Guido Sperveslage and previously ridden by Swiss rider Martin Fuchs. Dehoff and Viper Z were good for ^5th place during that 1.40m class on Thursday and during the 1.40m class on Sunday they secured ^4th place in the standings.

Dehoff also managed to jump three times in the prizes with the 12-year-old chestnut gelding Che de Kezeg Z, a breeding product of Walter Vermoesem who combined the blood of Glock's London with that of Heartbreaker. Dehoff and Che de Kezeg Z started their show on Thursday with a ^7th place in the 1.35m class, and the following days saw a ^6th place in the 1.40m class on Friday and a ^4th place in the 1.35m class on Saturday.

In the 1.45m Longines Ranking class on Friday, Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen then managed to impress again with the 11-year-old mare Cupcake Z, a daughter of Chacco Blue and Caretano Z out of the breeding of Sandra van den Broek-Wilmes. In a class against the clock, the duo kept all the bars neatly in the reels, with^2nd place as the final result.

Finally, there were also two combinations who managed to add a ^3rd place to their record of achievements last weekend. In the 1.40m class on Thursday, that honour went to the British Jason Smith with the 11-year-old stallion Warrior de Pleville Z (Winningmood van de Arenberg x Captain Paul I - B: SARL Elevage de Pleville), while in the 1.40m class on Friday it was the Irishman Jack Ryan and the 8-year-old mare Soblensky vh Scheefkasteel Z (Sir Obolensky Z x Diamant de Semilly - B: Johan Hubrechts) who managed to secure a place on the podium.