Chuck Marienshof Z captures bronze in the CSI5* Grand Prix of Amsterdam

The last week of January in the Netherlands is traditionally all about Jumping Amsterdam and this year, too, the prestigious show did not disappoint at all. For four days, riders and audience could once again enjoy a unique mix of atmosphere, sociability and absolute top-class sport at the very highest level. One of the standouts of the week was the grey gelding Chuck Marienshof Z, who this time jumped into the limelight with a handsome podium place during the CSI5* Grand Prix.

The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup on Sunday afternoon in the Dutch capital was undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend, but on Saturday evening the RAI was already getting ready for a particularly exciting CSI5* Grand Prix. A total of forty-one combinations took their chances in it, and of these, eleven eventually managed to complete the 1.60m high basic course designed by course designer Louis Konickx and his team. They included Belgian rider Gilles Thomas and the 11-year-old gelding Chuck Marienshof Z, the son of Colestus and Emerald van 't Ruytershof bred by Johny De Coninck and Sandra Ecker of Stal Marienshof. Thomas and Chuck Marienshof Z already shone at the shows in Stockholm, Geneva and Mechelen in recent weeks and in Amsterdam they confirmed their excellent form once again. After their clear first round, they also succeeded in a flawless round at the bar and after a finishing time of 39.18 seconds they had another great performance in ^3rd place!

Earlier on Saturday, the riders of the five-star competition were also in action in a 1.45m class against the clock and in it, too, we saw a Z-horse in the top 3 of the standings. That honour went to home rider Sanne Thijssen and the 9-year-old mare Farah Z, a daughter of For Pleasure and Caretano Z born to breeder Freek Hoogenboom. Thijssen and Farah Z finished in 54.70 seconds after a flawless round, securing^2nd place.

Also in this class, Belgian rider Annelies Vorsselmans was among the prize winners with the 11-year-old mare C. Kulottie W Z (Comme Il Faut x Guidam - breeder: P.H.B.M. van Wegen). They did not make any mistakes during this speed class either and their finishing time of 56.90 seconds was good for ^eighth place.

During the final day on Sunday, we were of course mainly looking forward to the Longines FEI Jumping World, but before we got to that point, a tough 1.50m class was scheduled just before noon. Forty-one combinations also entered the ring and this time nine of them managed to qualify for the jump-off. One of them was Vorsselmans' compatriot Thibeau Spits with the 9-year-old mare Cloverly DH Z, a daughter of Comme Il Faut and Codex who was born and raised at the Spits-Ceulemans family home. Spits and Cloverly DH Z also showed their class in the jump-off, as they managed to put the second fastest time on the scoreboard in 31.25 seconds. Unfortunately, in their haste they also saw a bar roll out of the scoops, making it a ^4th place for the duo instead of^2nd.

With that, they did just one place better than Dutch rider Frank Schuttert and the 11-year-old gelding Luckey Sr Z (L'Ard de Triomphe x Quick Star - breeder: E. & M.J. Sleutels), who were good for ^5th place in the standings. They also ran into 4 penalties in the jump-off, but needed 32.43 seconds to complete their round successfully.

The ^6th place in this 1.50m class on Sunday got a blue/yellow touch thanks to Swiss rider Alain Jufer and the 10-year-old gelding Dominator MM, a breeding product of Raf Houben who combined the blood of our black pearl Dominator 2000 Z with that of Caritano Z. They too saw a fault in the jump-off.

Finally, there was also success for our blue and yellow colours on Friday during the opening day of the five-star competition. This was achieved by Belgian rider Niels Bruynseels and the 10-year-old mare Devidanga SW Z, a breeding product of the Zijlstra family from the Netherlands, who combined the blood of Dominator 2000 Z with that of Numero Uno. During the 1.45m class, Bruynseels and Devidanga SW Z kept everything untouched in both the^1st and^2nd phases, finishing ^5th.