22 January '25

Z-horses dominate in the CSI4* Grand Prix of Ocala

Studbook
Toulayna - Kent Farrington - ©Andrew Ryback Photography

© Andrew Ryback Photography

On US soil, international show jumping was once again taking place last weekend at both the magnificent World Equestrian Centre of Ocala and the renowned Winter Equestrian Festival of Wellington International. Ocala's World Equestrian Centre hosted a four-star competition during this third week of the 2025 Winter Spectacular Show Series, with the CSI4* Grand Prix dominated by two Z horses.

Saturday night is traditionally Grand Prix-time in the United States, and for the CSI4* Grand Prix of Ocala, Mexican course builder Anderson Lima had designed a challenging course that kept both riders and spectators on the edge of their seats. The 1.55m high base course did not seem the most difficult at first sight, yet only 3 combinations managed to get through the course unscathed. One of those three was American rider Kent Farrington with the 11-year-old mare Toulayna, a daughter of Toulon and Parco who was born as Toulayna van het Bloesemhof Z at her Belgian breeder Jasper Doucé and with whom Farrington came a brilliant2nd at the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final in Geneva last month. Farrington and Toulayna reappeared in the jump-off as the second combination in the ring and after a dazzling round in 38.62 seconds they wrote this CSI4* Grand Prix on their record.

Toulayna - Kent Farrington - ©Andrew Ryback Photography (1)

Kent Farrington: "I have had Toulayna with Rabbit Root Stables in California since she was 7 years old. They bought her completely in confidence with me, without ever having seen the horse, and they have been an incredible partner. We have already had a lot of success and she has been a fantastic winner, really from the beginning. She has since grown to the highest level and has always performed well in the process. This was only her first show since Geneva, where she was great, and she was clearly in fantastic form tonight."

Toulayna - Kent Farrington - ©Andrew Ryback Photography (2)

But the silver in this CSI4* Grand Prix was also blue and yellow and for that Farrington's compatriot Laura Kraut took care of it with the 11-year-old mare Bisquetta, a daughter of Bisquet Balou van de Mispelaere and Takashi van Berkenbroek who was given the birth name Bisquetta Squalls Estate Z by her breeder Claire McCarthy-Winters. Kraut and Bisquetta, also good for 7th place in the 1.50m class on Thursday, were allowed to take the lead in the jump-off, setting the tone with a clear round in 39.01 seconds.

Bisquetta - Laura Kraut - ©Andrew Ryback Photography

Another notable combination in Ocala was American rider Kristen Vanderveen with the 10-year-old grey stallion Bull Run's Celestrial, a son of Cicero Z and Numero Uno who was born as Cilestro Z to that breeder Maurice Ruisbroek of Ruisbroek Farms. Vanderveen and Bull Run's Celestrian competed twice in a 1.45m class, where they managed to finish2nd on Wednesday and 3rd on Thursday.

There were also two placings for Irish rider Shane Sweetnam with the 9-year-old chestnut stallion Coriaan Van Klapscheut Z, a breeding product of the Van Rossem family of Mivaro BV combining the blood of Comme Il Faut with that of Lord Z. In both the 1.40m class on Wednesday and the 1.50m class on Thursday, Sweetnam and Coriaan Van Klapscheut Z did not make a single mistake and this earned them a 6th place in the ranking twice.

Finally, Argentine rider Luis Pedro Biraben also managed to jump into the prizes with the 9-year-old mare Baileys Van De Broy Z (Bisquet Balou van de Mispelaere x Lord Z - B: Birgit Engelbosch). During the 1.40m speed class on Thursday, they kept all the bars neatly in the reels, with a 4th place as final result.

This is an automatically generated translation by DeepL.

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