Bisquetta secures bronze in the CSI4* Grand Prix of Ocala

In addition to the eighth week of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington International, international show jumping took place again last weekend in the United States at the magnificent World Equestrian Centre of Ocala. There, too, they enjoyed a four-star competition, where there was also Grand Prix success for our blue and yellow colours of Zangersheide.

The Word Equestrian Centre of Ocala was once again pretty packed on Saturday evening for this CSI4* Grand Prix, with a total of thirty-four combinations making their appearance in the ring. The many top combinations at the start meant that the level was sky-high. Of the thirty-four combinations that took their chances, no fewer than twelve managed to clear the 1.55m high basic round of Olympic course designer Gregory Bodo and his team without any faults. American rider Laura Kraut was one of them with her 12-year-old mare Bisquetta, the daughter of Bisquet Balou van de Mispelaere and Takashi van Berkenbroeck who was given the birth name Bisquetta Squalls Estate Z by breeder Claire McCarthy-Winters. Kraut and Bisquetta, who also secured ^7th place in the 1.50m class on Thursday, once again managed to keep zero on the scoreboard in the jump-off and with a finishing time of 41.31 seconds they finally secured ^3rd place.

Laura Kraut: "Bisquetta is just a great mare! I mean, she really knows the sport, she knows not to touch any bars. She's just everything you could wish for in a horse. My plan was actually not to go full throttle because she is actually not fit enough yet. It was only her first show since December. But once I got into the ring I went for it anyway. (laughs) But apparently it wasn't hard enough to win today anyway."

However, Kraut and Bisquetta were not the only ones to ensure blue/yellow success at this CSI4* Grand Prix of Ocala. For example, her compatriot Kent Farrington also qualified for the jump-off with his also 12-year-old top mare Toulayna, the daughter of Toulon and Parco who was born as Toulayna van het Bloesemhof Z to breeder Jasper Doucé. In 39.27 seconds, Farrington and Toulayna also managed to put the winning time on the scoreboard in the process, but a jumping fault unfortunately kept them from victory and relegated them to 7th place in the rankings.

Another notable combination was British rider Ben Maher and the 9-year-old grey gelding Maddox vh Haringvliet Z (Monte Bellini x Ogano Sitte), a breeding product of the Dutch Hoekstra family. Maher and Maddox vh Haringvliet Z made a first appearance on Thursday with a 3rd place in the 1.50m class and were also among the prize winners in the CSI4* Grand Prix. They too saw a fault in the jump-off and followed just behind Farrington and Toulayna in 8th place.

Besides the CSI4* Grand Prix, a 1.45m class also took place in Ocala on Saturday, in which two Z-horses also managed a top 10 ranking. The best result in this came from American rider Anna Dryden and the 8-year-old chestnut stallion Allegro Z (Amadeo Van 't Vossenhof Z x Twister de la Pomme - breeder: Herman Boerdijk). A flawless round in 67.21 seconds earned them a nice ^5th place. In doing so, they did just one place better than Dryden's compatriot Brian Moggre and the also 8-year-old gelding Johann FS Z (John Doe 5 x Diamant de Semilly - breeder: Sportpferde Felix Schneider). They crossed the finish line in 67.35 seconds, which was thus good for ^6th place.

Finally, at the CSI2* Grand Prix, two Z-horses also managed to advance to the top ten of the rankings. British rider Jessica Mendoza and the 10-year-old mare Ascadina PP Z (Asca Z x Ginus - breeder: Stal Poppelaars BV) finished in ^5th place, while Venezuelan Pablo Barrios and the 9-year-old stallion Don d'Alme C Z (Don Diablo HX x PKZ Contact van de Heffinck - breeder: Erik & Karin Cuypers) took ^6th place. Both combinations ran into 1 penalty point for time in the basic round, which kept them narrowly out of the jump-off.