Dhalida Diamond Vd Krekebeke Z wins in Valkenswaard

For the Longines Global Champions Tour, it will be a while before the end of next month, but last weekend at the Longines Tops international Arena of Valkenswaard there was already international action during the first week of the Summer Festival 2024. On Friday during the opening day, Brazilian rider Rodrigo Pessoa managed to jump straight to victory with the 10-year-old mare Dhalida, the daughter of Diamant de Semilly and Calvaro Z who was born to breeders Robrecht and Patricia Segaert as Dhalida Diamond Vd Krekebeke Z. During the 1.50m GP Qualifier, Pessoa and Dhalida sped to the finish line in a convincing 62.15 seconds, giving them a comfortable lead of more than 2 full seconds over the competition.

Also in this class, German rider Daniel Deusser was one of the prize winners with his now 16-year-old chestnut stallion Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z, the son of Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve and Mr. Blue from the breeding farm of Jonas Bellemans. Deusser and Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z also immediately provided a flawless performance and their time of 69.03 seconds was good for eighth place in the standings. Moreover, a day later the duo reaffirmed this performance when they managed another ^6th place during the second GP Qualifier.

During this second GP Qualifier on Saturday, ^5th place was also taken by a Zangersheide horse thanks to Dutch rider Gerben Morsink with his 15-year-old home-bred stallion Navarone Z, a son of Nabab de Rêve and Amor. They were 3 hundredths of a second faster than Deusser and Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z with a clear round in 65.84 seconds.

CSI2* competition

In addition to the CSI4* competition, the Valkenswaard grass arena also hosted two-star competitions in which several Zangersheide horses managed to jump into the limelight. Yesterday evening at the CSI2* GP, for example, Daniel Deusser and the 10-year-old mare Ellabelle de Rie Z, a breeding product of Equi Consult VOF who combined the blood of Elvis Ter Putte with that of Tornedo FCS, achieved a top 5. Deusser and Ellabelle de Rie Z were one of 12 combinations who managed to advance to the jump-off, in which they eventually secured ^4th place.

Another notable combination in the CSI2* competition was Dutch rider Piet Raijmakers Jr. and his 12-year-old mare Van Schijndel's Olaya Z, the daughter of Ogano Sitte and Concorde out of the breeding farm of F. van Och. During both the 1.45m-high GP Qualifier on Friday and the one on Saturday, Raijmakers Jr. and Van Schijndel's Olaya Z managed to keep all the bars in the scoops, which earned them ^3rd place in the standings twice.

During the opening day on Friday, Italian rider Gianni Govoni came out on top by winning prizes with two Zangersheide horses. In the 1.45m GP Qualifier, for example, he finished^2nd with the 10-year-old chestnut mare Kir Royal Delta Mossel Z (Kannan x Vigo d'Arsouilles - B: Wim van de Plasse) and also won the 1.35m class with the also 10-year-old mare L'Alize Z (L'Arc de Triomphe x Quattro B - B: Herald Gassen).