Cazan Z supreme in Longines Ranking Test of Opglabbeek

The past few days there was a lot of activity outside our borders, but also in Belgium there was international action again last weekend! At the Meynaerts family's Sentower Park in Opglabbeek, the new calendar year got off to a flying start with a real two-star competition, in which some Z-horses were particularly strong.

On Friday evening, the sporting programme in Opglabbeek concluded with the 1.45m Longines Ranking Test, and in this it was the Z-horses who managed to dominate. Thus victory went to Israeli rider Theodore Boris and the 11-year-old chestnut stallion Cazan Z, a son of Comme Il Faut and Vagabond de la Pomme bred by Perry De Winter. Boris and Cazan Z were one of thirteen combinations to clear the basic round by course designer Rafaël Suarez and his team, qualifying for the jump-off. In that ultimate denouement, they once again managed to keep their cool and with a convincing round in 35.00 seconds, they ended up just under a full second ahead of their closest pursuer.

But ^2nd place in this main class on Friday was also coloured blue and yellow thanks to Belgian rider Michaël Vreys and the 11-year-old mare Chica Bomb van Plockroy Z, a daughter of Comment van het Lindehof and Ogano Sitte who was born and raised at the Vreys family home. Like Boris and Cazan Z, Vreys and Chica Bomb van Plockroy Z also managed to go clear again in the jump-off, but they needed 35.97 seconds to complete their decisive round.

However, this ^2nd place with Chica Bomb van Plockroy Z was not the only success for Michaël Vreys in Opglabbeek. Earlier on Friday he also secured a victory with the 10-year-old mare Heideroosje van Plockroy Z (Heidelberg van het Lindehof x Ogano Sitte), also a breeding product of the Vreys family and also a half-sister of Chica Bomb van Plockroy Z. In the 1.35m class, Vreys and Heideroosje van Plockroy Z kept nicely clear in both the ^1st and ^2nd phases and with a finishing time of 26.03 seconds they outclassed the rest of the field.

On Thursday, during the opening day of the two-star competition, Vreys jumped into the picture again with the 10-year-old mare Estrella van Plockroy Z, a descendant of Excellent van de Zuuthoeve and combined with Darco. In the 1.45m Grand Prix Qualifier, they sped to the finishing line in 57.38 seconds, securing^2nd place in the rankings.

Before the start of this Grand Prix Qualifier, however, there was also a 1.40m class on the programme on Thursday for the two-star competition, in which we did see a Z-horse at the top of the rankings. The honour went to the young Dutchman Yves Willems and the 12-year-old mare Dirina O.H. Z, a daughter of Dicasi O.H. and Clarissimo Z from the breeding farm of Guido Op 't Eynde. In this class against the clock, Marcel Willems' son and Dirina O.H. Z neatly kept all the bars in the scoops and a finishing time of 56.50 seconds gave them a lead of over half a second over their closest pursuer.

On Saturday morning a 1.40m class also took place in Opglabbeek and in it, too, victory was coloured blue and yellow. This time it was Dutch rider Berber Dijkman who claimed the top prize with the 9-year-old stallion Don Juan Vdp Z, a son of our black stallion Dominator 2000 Z and Numero Uno bred in the Netherlands by A. and A.J. van de Pol. Dijkman and Don Juan Vdp Z crossed the finish line in 26.25 seconds in the^2nd phase, beating the other 40 combinations.

With this victory, Dijkman and Don Juan Vdp Z beat the likes of German rider Michael Jung and the 11-year-old gelding Carte d'Or Z (Chellsini Z x Darco - breeder: Tom Camerlynck), who secured^2nd place in the rankings. They did not have any faults in the^1st or^2nd phase either, but needed just a little more time in 26.32 seconds than Dijkman and Don Juan Vdp Z. Belgian rider Loris Berrittella and the 10-year-old chestnut gelding Kissinger Hero Z (Kassander van 't Roosakker Z x Albion du Chene Brule - breeder: Luc Henry) were good for ^7th place in this class.

Last but not least, there was also blue/yellow success in Opglabbeek during the CSI2* Grand Prix on Saturday evening. Dutch rider Gerwilmer Ton took care of that with the 12-year-old mare Dwivoli van de Groote Kamps Z, a daughter of Denzel van 't Meulenhof and Roven xx from the breeding farm of E.W.J. Bakker. With a clear basic round and a clear jump-off, they jumped to ^4th place during this highlight of the weekend.