Adora van 't Ruytershof wins final of free jumping for 2-year-olds

The Nekkerhal in Mechelen is once again the setting for Jumping Mechelen, one of the absolute highlights of Belgian equestrian sport, these days. Traditionally, breeding takes centre stage on the second day of the show with the final of the free jumping, the stallion classes for the 6- and 7-year-olds and, as the highlight, the Léon Melchior Prize, the famous Zangersheide Sires Of The World.

This annual 'Zangersheide Day' kicked off this morning at 10am at the New Year Arena with the final of the free jumping for 2-year-old horses. Forty-seven horses, selected during the semi-final in Lier earlier this year, appeared in the lane and were judged by the expert jury on their technique and canter by percentage. The average of these two points then gave the final score out of 100.

The horse that managed to impress the most in this was the mare Adora van 't Ruytershof, a daughter of Cavalier Russe Z and Bamako de Muze bred by Joris De Brabander. Adora van 't Ruytershof is a daughter of the mare Brillianthina V't Ruytershof Z, who herself jumped at 1.40m level under Elise van den Branden, and thus a half-sister of the Grand Prix horses Mercy van 't Ruytershof (Arko III) and Active Spirit (Vigo d'Arsouilles). Adora van 't Ruytershof received a score of 92 for technique and 85 for canter, making a final total of 88.50 points.

Silver was for the stallion Artis vd Bisschop, who, as his name already suggested, was bred by Tom De Craene of Stal den Bisschop. Artis vd Bisschop is a son of Gino H combined with the blood of European Champion United Touch S. Artis vd Bisschop's grandmother is the mare Quibelle vd Bisschop, who herself jumps at 1.45m level with Swedish rider Sofia Westborg. Artis vd Bisschop was awarded a score of 90 points for his technique, while he was then assessed with 84 points for his canter. This gave him a total of 87 points.

^3rd place during this final went to the gelding R'Mes de La Petite Hunelle, a son of Greco Sitte and our black pearl Dominator 2000 Z born to breeder Julie Deplus. R'Mes de La Petite Hunelle finished with a score of 85.5 points, scoring 89 points for his technique and 82 for his canter.

The mare Alana van het Oosthof (Eldorado van de Zeshoek x Harley VDL - breeder: Adon BVBA) and the stallion Aramis LB (Orak d'Hamwyck x Solid Gold Z - breeder: Laura Brouwers) were numbers 4 and 5 in the rankings with 83.5 points and 83 points respectively.

Click here for the results.