27 August '24
Zangersheide horses dominate Ottawa CSI5* GP
© MLSJ Clark Mackenzie
With the Major League Show Jumping in Ottawa, last weekend marked the second week in a row a five-star competition was on the programme on Canadian soil. The absolute highlight of the weekend was of course the CSI5* GP on Sunday, and with both gold and silver, it was completely dominated by the Zangersheide horses!
The leading role in this CSI5* GP was reserved for Canadian rider Tiffany Foster and the 10-year-old chestnut mare Electrique, a daughter of Emerald van 't Ruytershof and Voltaire, who was born Electrique van het Cauterhof Z at breeder Spiessens & Co BVBA. Foster and Electrique had also been good for a2nd and 3rd place at the three-star competition in Vancouver two weeks earlier and were one of the seven combinations that managed to secure a place in the jump-off after a clear round. In that, the duo once again managed to ensure a flawless round and with and with a finishing time of 41.34 seconds, they were more than 2 full seconds ahead of the competition.
But the2nd place in this GP also coloured blue and yellow and American rider Bliss Heers took care of that with the 11-year-old stallion Quality Star Z, a son of Quality Time TN and Cash who was bred in the Netherlands by Niels de Bruijn. Heers and Quality Star Z also managed a clear round in the jump-off, but with a time of 43.52 seconds they clearly had to beat Foster and Electrique.
Also in the jump-off we saw American rider Kent Farrington and his 10-year-old mare Toulayna (Toulayna van het Bloesemhof Z - Toulon x Parco - B: Jasper Doucé), with whom he finished 2nd in the CSI5* GP of Toronto just last week. Farrington and Toulayna managed to go even faster than Foster and Electrique in the jump-off in 40.18 seconds, but had one fault along the way, they eventually had to settle for 6th place in the standings.
On Friday, Canadian rider Sean Jobin and the 12-year-old grey gelding Coquelicot vh Heuvelland Z, a son of Catoki and Cassini II bred by Frans Nollet, were also victorious in Ottawas. During the 1.45m class, Jobin and Coquelicot vh Heuvelland Z managed to keep it neatly clear in both the1st and2nd stages and their finishing time of 35.47 seconds gave them a lead of 6 hundredths of a second over the competition.
Finally, Jobin's compatriot Ali Ramsay also managed to jump into the prizes in Ottawa with the 11-year-old gelding Conrado 12 (Conrado Z - Cardento VDL x Diarado - B: Duka Invest D.O.O.). During the 1.50m class on Friday, the duo could not be faulted in both the basic round and the jump-off and this performance earned them 5th place in the standings.