29 décembre '23
Victory for Wim Vinckx and Constantino Van 't Ravennest in the 7-year-old stallions
© Paardenfotograaf
Immediately after the impressive performances of the 6-year-old stallions, it was the turn of the 7-year-old stallions to enter the Christmas Arena last Wednesday at Jumping Mechelen. It became a class where the level was particularly high, because of the 18 combinations that appeared at the start, no fewer than 9 managed to qualify for the jump-off. In that jump-off it was ultimately the Belgian rider Wim Vinckx who managed to jump to victory with the stallion Constantino Van 't Ravennest, a son of Cornet Obolensky in combination with Casall. Vinckx and Constantino appeared as the very last combination in the ring and beat the competition with a flawless jump-off round in 39.58 seconds.
Vinckx's fast round meant that former Belgian Champion Karel Cox had to settle for 2nd place in the rankings. Cox and the Zangersheide stallion Double Fun Marienshof Z, a son of Sea Coast Don't Touch Tiji Hero and Indorado who was bred Stal Marienshof, had opened the jump-off with a clear round in 39.84 seconds, but it turned out to be just not enough for the victory.
3rd place went to the Belgian rider Nathan Budd and the Zangersheide stallion Coldplay Des Rosiers Z, a breeding product of Herik Duran who combined the blood of Cornet Obolensky with that of Cardento VDL. Budd and Coldplay Des Rosiers also kept it clear in the jump-off in a time of 43.62 seconds.
4th place went to the Belgian rider Thibeau Spits with the Zangersheide stallion Conrad Quality Z (Connor x Corrado I – B: Quality Stud). They managed to set the fastest time in 37.76 seconds, but a fault at the very last fence ultimately kept them from victory. His compatriot Andres Vereecke and the Zangersheide stallion Cuba Libre Van Paemel Z (Cicero Z x Calvaro Z – B: Stoeterij Van Paemel) completed the top of the rankings in 5th place.