19 October '26
Akito Von Rocherath Z shines on the World Cup podium in El Jadida
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Studbook
© Chloe Aston
The Morocco Royal Tour 2026 has come to an end! Three weeks of international show jumping on Moroccan soil concluded last weekend with the competition in El Jadida, where a five-star World Cup event was held for the first time. In the CSI5* World Cup, the stallion Akito Von Rocherath Z took centre stage, securing a place on the World Cup podium following a strong performance.
On Sunday afternoon, all eyes in El Jadida were on the CSI5* World Cup Grand Prix, with a total of forty-four rider-horse pairs taking to the arena. For this first five-star World Cup event of the Morocco Royal Tour, Italian course designer Uliano Vezzani had drawn up a challenging course, which was contested over two rounds, with the best eleven pairs returning to the arena for a decisive second round. One of those eleven ‘finalists’ was the British rider Chloé Aston with her 11-year-old stallion Akito Von Rocherath Z, a son of Arko III and Numero Uno, bred by Edgar Stoffels. Following their clear first round, Aston and Akito Von Rocherath Z also managed to complete the second round flawlessly and, with a finishing time of 47.79 seconds, secured an impressivesecond place.
Also qualifying for the second round were the Colombian rider Santiago Diaz Ortega and the equally 11-year-old grey gelding Chasspleen Flamingo Z, a son of Cardento VDL and Dollar du Murier, bred in France by Alexandra Rantet. Diaz Ortega and Chasspleen Flamingo Z, who had already secured9th place in the 1.45m class on Thursday, managed to take9th place in this World Cup.
In addition to these fine performances with Chasspleen Flamingo Z, Diaz Ortega also made a name for himself in El Jadida with the 9-year-old gelding Karajan JT Z (Kannan x Clinton), where the letters JT refer to Johan Thijs’s stud farm. Diaz Ortega and Karajan secured a blue-and-yellow victory by winning the 1.45m class on Friday. They remained faultless in both thefirst andsecond phases, and with a finishing time of 25.60 seconds, they were almost three-quarters of a second ahead of the competition.
On Saturday, Dutch rider Finn Boerekamp in turn achieved a strong result with the 9-year-old gelding Danny Boy 111 Z, a son of Dominator 2000 Z and Chopin van het Moleneind who, as his name suggests, was bred by the Theeuwes family of Stud 111. Boerekamp and Danny Boy 111 Z competed in the 1.50m class, where they tookthird place after a faultless round.
Furthermore, the Belgian rider Mike van Olst secured a podium finish with his 11-year-old mare Comme Elle Faut ODTH Z, the daughter of Comme Il Faut and Canabis Z, bred by NV ODTH. Among other things, they competed in the 1.45m class on Thursday, where they securedsecond place after two clear rounds.
Finally, his compatriot Thomas De Wit also managed to secure two placings with his 11-year-old home-bred horse Ecuador DW Z, a son of El Torreo de Muze and Quasimodo vd Molendreef. They first made their mark on Friday with afifth place in the 1.50m class, before securingninth place on Saturday in the 1.55m class.
Two-Star Competition
The five-star competition naturally attracted the most attention in El Jadida, but there were also competitions at two-star level. The highlight of these was the CSI2* Grand Prix on Sunday morning, in which it was a Z-class horse that took the top prize. That honour went to the Dutch rider Bart Lips and the 14-year-old gelding Davinci Z, a son of Dutch Capitol and St. Ludwigs Aquillino who was born in the Netherlands at Stal De Claesstraete. In a jump-off for which no fewer than nineteen pairs managed to qualify, Lips and Davinci Z crossed the line in 36.85 seconds, narrowly edging out the competition.
Also in this CSI2* Grand Prix, Greek rider Ioli Mytilineou once again achieved a fine result with the 9-year-old stallion Ansingh de Lis Z, a son of Aganix du Seigneur Z , and Kannan, bred by W.M. Lisman. Mytilineou and Ansingh de Lis Z opted for a cautious round in the jump-off and, with a finishing time of 49.17 seconds, secured5th place.
This put them one place ahead of the French rider Olivier Perreau and the 8-year-old mare Celeana des Joanins Z, bred by Stephane Monier, who combined the bloodlines of Chacco Blue with those of Bamako de Muze. Perreau and Celeana des Joanins Z, who had already secured5th place on Friday in the 1.40mclass, managed to clock the fastest finishing time of 35.73 seconds, but a small mistake along the way ultimately cost them victory and meant they had to settle forsixth place.