GP win for Toulayna Van Het Bloesemhof Z in Wellington

A few weeks ago they had to be satisfied with the 3rd place in the ranking, but last weekend the American rider Kent Farrington and his 9-year-old mare Toulayna took their GP victory at Wellington International! During the CSI4* GP on Saturday evening they became the final laureates and so their first victory together immediately became one to frame!

Farrington and Toulayna, a daughter of Toulon and Parco, who was born at the home of breeder Jasper Doucé as Toulayna van het Bloesemhof Z, have already achieved some strong performances in recent weeks and also made an excellent start last week in the tenth week of the famous Winter Equestrian Festival. During the 1.50m main class on Thursday they managed to ensure a clear round and secured a 9th place in the ranking.

But they kept the best for during the CSI4* GP on Saturday evening. After a clear round, Farrington and Toulayna were one of the 9 combinations that managed to qualify for the jump-off. In a particularly exciting jump-off where it went faster and faster, the duo once again managed to deliver a flawless performance and with a finish time of 37.38 seconds they wrote this CSI4* GP on their list of honors!

Kent Farrington: “This is definitely the biggest track she’s jumped! I have high hopes for this horse. She’s fast, careful and everything I like in a show jumper. I’m very confident on this horse and that’s the way I like to do it; get them when they are young and produce them myself so I know them quite well. Even if they are green stepping up to this level, I know where I can take a shot.”

After their good performances of the week before, also the American lady rider Lillie Keenan managed to jump into the picture again with her 12-year-old stallion Agana van het Gerendal Z, a breeding product of the Verhey family who carries the blood of our chestnut stallion Aganix du Seigneur Z in combination with Topas. Keenan and Agana van het Gerendal Z were also among the 9 combinations that managed to qualify for the jump-off during the CSI4* GP and secured a 4th place after another flawless performance.

On Friday, Keenan's compatriot Cathleen Driscoll secured a top 10 ranking with the 12-year-old mare Go With the Flow (ex Diarola G&C 2000 Z - Diarado x Coronado - B: Melanie Gelin). During the 1.45m high speed class, the duo managed to ensure a clear round and this performance earned them a 7th place in the ranking.

Next to the 9th place for Kent Farrington and Toulayna, we saw a second Zangersheide horse in the top 10 of the ranking during the 1.50m class on Thursday. The 7th place went to the American rider Quentin Judge with the 10-year-old gelding HH Zorro Z (ex Zorro vd Mespel Z – VDL Zirocco Blue N.O.P. x Escudo I – B: Bart Veldeman). They managed to qualify for the jump-off and in that jump-off they also jumped to a 7th place. Finally, the Irish rider Darragh Kenny was placed with the 9-year-old stallion Hamrah van het Exelshof Z (Harley VDL x Cassini I – B: Werner Essers). During the 1.40m class on Thursday they managed to keep it clear in both the 1st and the 2nd phase, with an 8th place as a result.