Succesful weekend in Oliva

The opening week of Tour IV of the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour, Oliva, brought again a lot of successes for the blue/yellow colors of Zangersheide last weekend!

For example, we got 2 Zangersheide horses on the podium during the CSI2* GP on Sunday afternoon. The 2nd place went to the Belgian Junior rider Mathieu Guery with the 9-year-old gelding Vellington de Carat Z, a son of Vivaldi du Seigneur and Casall who was bred by Marielle Bigot and who comes from the same dam line as Zandor Z. Guery and Vellington de Carat Z also placed 11th on Friday during the 1.45m high Longines Ranking class and were one of the 7 combinations that managed to qualify for the jump-off during the CSI2* GP. They managed to keep it clear again and with a finish time of 36.76 seconds they only had to tolerate the Swiss lady rider Nadja Peter Steiner ahead of them.

But also the 3rd place during this CSI2* GP colored blue and yellow and that was ensured by the young German rider Cédric Wolf with the 12-year-old gelding Capitano Z (Cornado NRW x Lordanos – B: Charlotte Peeters). Wolf and Captiano Z already won the 1.45m main class on Thursday and also managed to ensure a flawless performance in the jump-off of this GP. They crossed the finish line in 36.85 seconds and so ensured again a place on the podium.

In 5th place in this GP we saw Guery's compatriot Cyril Cools and the 13-year-old grey mare Cloe GP Z (Corrdino x Takashi Van Berkenbroek – B: Juan Carlos Hernandez), with whom he was already successful a few weeks ago at the Andalucía Sunshine Tour. Cools and Cloe GP Z already jumped to a 3rd place on Friday during the 1.45m high Longines Ranking class and also ensured a top ranking in this CSI2* GP.

Earlier on Sunday, Mathieu Guery already jumped into the picture with a victory during the Gold 1.40m class. For this victory he could count on the 9-year-old gelding Tender Dream Hero Z, a son of Thunder van de Zuuthoeve and Carthago Z who was bred by Luc Henry. Guery and Tender Dream Hero Z managed to keep it clear in both the 1st and the 2nd phase and with a time of 22.45 seconds beated the competition.

Cyril Cools managed to take 2nd place in this class with the 14-year-old mare Seahorse Z (Scendix x Chellano Z – B: NV Chatho). He also ensured a double clear round, but this in a time of 22.58 seconds. Cools was also placed twice with the 11-year-old stallion Dalet GP Z (Diamant de Semilly x Eurocommerce Cartagene – B: Martina Romagnoli). During the 1.45m main class on Thursday they jumped to a 5th place and during the 1.45m high Longines Ranking class on Saturday they ensured a 6th place in the ranking.

Another striking combination was the Dutch rider Remco Been and the 11-year-old gelding Bridgetown Z (Big Star Jr K Z x Carolus H – B: M.J. Greeve), with whom he finished 2nd in the CSI2* GP of Ghent in February. Been and Bridgetown Z won the Gold 1.30m class on Saturday and on Sunday a 5th place followed during the same Gold 1.40m class.

Finally, we also got two Zangersheide victories during the opening day on Thursday. The Gold 1.40m class was won by Jérôme Guery with the 9-year-old mare Come Away Flamingo Z (Cardento VDL x Dollar du Murier- B: Alexandra Rantet). With a clear 2nd phase in 38.26 seconds he beated the competition. The Italian rider Roberto Turchetto jumped to 2nd place in this class with the 8-year-old stallion Asjemenou Sr Z (Andiamo Z x Carthago Z – B: Keystud / E & MJ Sleutels). He finished the 2nd phase in 38.28 seconds, falling short of victory by 2 hundredths of a second.

The last victory in Oliva was secured by the Spanish rider Agusti Sastra Caballero with the 10-year-old mare Soraya Vdg Z (Hunters Scendro x Clinton – B: Andre Lavigne). They won the Gold 1.30m class where they had more than a full second ahead of the competition with a clear round in 62.68 seconds.