17 February '24
Julien Anquetin wins the Longines Ranking class again
© Sportfot
The 4th day of 'The Zangersheide International' had many highlights yesterday. There was the denouement of the Zangersheide Stallion Selection, a phenomenal second edition of the Zangersheide Stallion Auction and of course a lot of international show jumping. The highlight was the Prix Catherine De Buyl, a 1.50m Longines Ranking class and also the last qualifier for this afternoon's CSI4* GP. A total of 59 combinations appeared at the start in this class and 11 of them eventually managed to stay clear in the basic round run by British coursedesigner Rafael Suarez and his team. One of those 11 was the French rider Julien Anquetin, who also shone with a win in the Longines Ranking class the day before. This time, Anquetin saddled the 11-year-old grey gelding Z Ice Cube Z (Zacharov TN x Casco 4) from breeder P.J. Amendt, and with a clear jump-off in 31.71 seconds, he once again managed to outclass the competition.
But 2nd place in this Longines Ranking class also went to France, and for that Alexis Borrin took care of it with the 10-year-old gelding Embassy du Chateau (Jarnac x Bolero de Brecey*HN). After a clear round, Borrin and Embassy du Chateau managed to stop the clock in 32.41 seconds falling 60 hundredths of a second short of victory. The British rider Robert Murphy joined the French duo on the podium by taking 3rd place in the rankgings. He was sitting in the saddle of the 12-year-old black mare Hulde G (Vigo d' Arsouilles x Warrant) and crossed the finish line in 32.52 seconds.
Portugal on top
Earlier in the day a 1.40m class also took place for the CSI4* competition and in this class it was the Portuguese rider Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida who managed to claim victory. Giesteira Almeida counted on the 12-year-old chestnut mare Pegasus Cekanane (Kannan x Quaprice Bois Margot) and with a clear 2nd phase in 29.26 seconds he was faster than the competition.
The other podium places during this class were both colored Belgian with a 2nd place for Anthony Wellens and the 9-year-old mare Da Silva Van 't Schaaphof Z (Diamant de Semilly x Clinton) from the breeding farm of Maurice Van De Walle. Wellens and Da Silva Van 't Schaaphof Z were also the winners of the 1.40m class on Thursday, and with a clear round in 29.51 seconds, they were also on the podium in this class. His compatriot Michaël Vreys followed him here in 3rd place in the rankings. He managed to cross the finish line in 31.03 seconds with his 9-year-old homebred mare Chica Bomb Van Plockroy Z (Comment vh Lindehof x Ogano Sitte).
Belgian dominance
Before CSI4* classes began, however, two CSI1* classes were also on the program yesterday and the 1.30m class was completely dominated by the Belgian combinations. It became an integral Belgian podium with ladu rider Julie de Pelsmaeker and the 9-year-old mare Actiongrace PS (Acton-Breaker x Conthargos) in the lead. The duo rushed to the finish line in 20.73 seconds in the 2nd phase, putting them a quarter of a second ahead of the competition.
Lady rider Britt Martens jumped to 2nd place in this class and this with the 7-year-old mare Vedette van het Langwater Z (Vannan x Wiensender) from breeder Patrick Jonkmans. Martens and Vedette van het Langwater Z also managed a flawless round, crossing the finish line in 21.01 seconds. Eliane de Beule and the 14-year-old mare Karamelle (Epleaser Z x Canadian River) also provided an all-female podium by taking 3rd place. They managed to cross the finish line in 21.40 seconds.
Female podium
However, the first class of day yesterday was a 1.15m class and here too it were the lady riders who came out strongest. The victory went to Danish lady rider Cecilie Duelund Vestergaard with her 14-year-old mare Capona (Cantoblanco x Bøgegårdens Apollo). In a class against the clock, Dueland Vestergaard and Capona rushed to the finish line in 55.69 seconds, and with that performance they were almost a full second ahead of the competition.
With this performance, she led an integral female podium with the Dutch lady rider Nina Aspers and her 7-year-old homebred mare Zarina Z (Zapatero VDL x Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve) in 2nd place. Aspers and Zarina Z also managed to jump into the spotlight the previous days with a 6th place on Wednesday and a 3rd place on Thursday and confirmed that excellent form this time with a clear round in 56.66 seconds. The Belgian lady rider Elisa Loconsale completed the podium in 3rd place in the rankings. She managed to put a time of 57.99 seconds on the scoreboard with the 10-year-old gelding Diamond Touch d'Amas Z (Don't Touch Tiji Hero x Quick Star) who was bred by Thomas Hoste.