Applebridge Tag Z captures bronze in the CSI2* Grand Prix of Riesenbeck

With the weekend off at five-star level, quite a few top international riders appeared at the various two- and three-star competitions last weekend. Christian Ahlmann, for instance, stayed in his home country to compete in the two-star competition at Riesenbeck International, home of Ludger Beerbaum and his team. Ahlmann counted on some of his upcoming talents there and managed to provide some strong performances as well.

One such talent Christian Ahlmann brought to Riesenbeck was the 8-year-old stallion Applebridge Tag Z, a son of our chestnut stallion Aganix du Seigneur Z and VDL Corland bred by Evert and Ilse van Gorp. Ahlmann and Applebridge Tag Z were among the sixty-one combinations at the start of the CSI2* Grand Prix on Saturday. They stayed clear in the 1.45m basic round, qualifying them for the jump-off along with another change. In that decisive round, Ahlmann and Applebridge Tag Z again managed to keep the 0 on the scoreboard and a finishing time of 35.84 seconds earned them a handsome ^3rd place in the standings.

Besides Applebridge Tag Z, Ahlmann also brought our 6-year-old grey stallion Toème de Regor Z (Chacco Blue x Cento - Breeder: Familie Veldeman) to the start last weekend and they too managed to jump into the limelight. During the final of the 1.35m class on Saturday, they kept nicely clear in both the^1st and^2nd phases, with a ^6th place as final result.

However, there was also a blue-and-yellow victory to be noted in Riesenbeck and German rider Sophie Hinners took care of that with the 11-year-old mare Come Away Flamingo Z, a daughter of Cardento VDL and Dollar Murier bred in France by Alexandra Rantet. In the 1.45m Longines Ranking class on Thursday, Hinners and Come Away Flamingo Z sped to the finish line in 61.29 seconds, narrowly beating the competition.

With two top five placings, it was also a successful weekend in Riesenbeck for Swedish rider Annika Axelsson and the 8-year-old mare Comme Picobello Z, a daughter of Comme Il Faut and Indoctro from the breeding farm of the Ruant family of Picobello Horses. Axelsson and Comme Picobello Z started their competition on Wednesday with a ^4th place in the 1.35m class and a day later they secured a ^5th place in the 1.40m class.

Furthermore, Danish Amazon Karen Moller Rohde also managed to jump into the prizes once more with the 9-year-old chestnut gelding Davos ASK Z, a son of Dakar VDL and U.S. bred in the Netherlands by W. De Dalie and R. Vos. Moller Rohde and Davos ASK Z finished ^5th in the 1.40m class on Friday after keeping nicely clear in both the^1st and^2nd stages.