Aganix du Seigneur Z son wins the CSI2* Grand Prix of Bonheiden

In addition to the many international competitions outside our national borders, international-level show jumping was once again taking place at home last weekend. The equestrian centre of Jumping Bonheiden was the beating heart of the Belgian show jumping weekend, where the outdoor season ended with a two-star competition. Throughout the weekend, the Z-horses there once again provided many striking performances, with the absolute highlight being a blue/yellow victory in the CSI2* Grand Prix.

The CSI2* Grand Prix over a height of 1.45m formed the finale of the weekend on Sunday afternoon in Bonheiden and brought a total of sixty-seven combinations to the start. The level was high, as only twenty-three of these sixty-seven competitors managed to advance to the ultimate jump-off. One of those barragists was Brazilian rider Eduardo Pereira De Menezes with the 9-year-old stallion H5 Agando Butterfly Z, a son of our chestnut stallion Aganix du Seigneur Z and Spartacus TN who was born in the Netherlands at breeder Stal Bergmans. Pereira De Menzes and H5 Agando Butterfly Z, who also shone on Friday with a ^3rd place in the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test, managed to keep their cool again in the jump-off and with a chrono time of 38.54 seconds, they had a small lead of nine hundredths of a second over the competition.

Besides the CSI2* Grand Prix on Sunday, the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test on Friday also got a Z horse at the top of the leaderboard. Making sure of that was Colombian rider Santiago Diaz Ortega and the 10-year-old grey gelding Chasspleen Flamingo Z, a son of Cardento VDL and Dollar du Murier bred in France by Alexandra Rantet. In both the first and second rounds, the duo did not make a mistake and recorded a time of 46.19 seconds.

The silver in this Longines Ranking class on Friday was in turn for British rider Joe Clee and our 8-year-old stallion Ansingh de Lis Z (Aganix du Seigneur Z x Kannan - Breeder: W.M. Lisman), with whom he also took ^6th place in the 1.40m class the day before. Clee and Ansingh de Lis Z also provided a flawless performance twice and with a finishing time of 46.98 seconds, they provided an integral blue/yellow podium.

Another striking combination was Estonian rider Mia Marleen Lanno with the 9-year-old mare Activity Z (Aktion Pur Z x Cornet Obolensky), who was born and raised with us at Zangersheide Stud. Lanno and Activity Z managed to jump into prizes three times over the weekend, taking ^4th place in both the 1.40m class on Thursday and the CSI2* Grand Prix.

There were also two top 10 placings for Belgian rider Leonie Peeters and her top 15-year-old mare Tinkoucha Hero Z (Tinka's Boy x Diamant de Semilly - Breeder: Luc Henry). Peeters and Tinkoucha Hero Z made a first appearance on Friday with a ^10th place during the Longines Ranking Test, while on Sunday they secured a brilliant ^3rd place during the CSI2* Grand Prix.

Who also managed to place twice were Peeters' compatriot Christophe Vanderhasselt and the 8-year-old mare Axxess Pur Z (Aktion Pur Z x Sam R - Breeder: Elke Luyten). They finished ^9th in the Longines Ranking Test on Friday and in the CSI2* Grand Prix they closed their competition with a ^6th place.

There were also two more podium places for young Belgian rider Emilia Housen and the 12-year-old mare Karenina Z (Kannan x Quick Star) from the breeding farm of Hanna Remans. In both the 1.40m class on Friday and the 1.35m class on Sunday, Housen and Karenina Z secured ^3rd place after a flawless round.

Last but not least, Malaysian rider Shoorendran Nageswaran also managed to achieve another top ranking with the 8-year-old mare Verena Mb Z (Vigo d'Arsouilles STX x Numero Uno - Breeder: M. Bokdam). During the 1.40m main class on Saturday, they kept nicely clear in both the basic round and the decisive jump-off, resulting in a great^2nd place.