Cupcake Z experiences strong weekend in Cannes

With no fewer than three five-star competitions on the programme worldwide, there was a lot of activity at the very highest level last weekend. One of those competitions was the sixth stage of the Longines Global Champions Tour, which took place in the French film city of Cannes. Among the competitors there were Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen and the mare Cupcake Z, and they managed to stand out again with some great performances.

The Longines Global Champions Tour of Cannes kicked off on Thursday, and traditionally the opening day of this is dominated by the team competition of the Global Champions League. However, in addition to the team classification, there is also competition for an individual result and in this, Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen immediately made herself noticed with the 13-year-old mare Cupcake Z, a daughter of Chacco Blue and Caretano Z from the breeding of Sandra van den Broek-Wilmes. The first round was a height of 1.60m and was also qualifying for Saturday night's LGCT Grand Prix. Thijssen and Cupcake Z delivered a flawless performance there, good for a nice ^7th place finish.

Later in the evening, the second round of the Global Champions League was then on the programme and in it the successful duo managed to aim a few steps higher. Also in this 1.55m class, Thijssen and Cupcake Z kept all beams neatly in the scoops, which this time earned them a beautifull ^2nd place.

Besides her performance with Cupcake Z, Sanne Thijssen also made herself noticed in Cannes with the 9-year-old mare Farah Z, a daughter of For Pleasure and Caretano bred by Freek Hoogenboom. Thijssen and Farah Z appeared among others at the start of the 1.45m class on Saturday, in which they finished 4th after a flawless round.

Furthermore, in Cannes it was another successful competition for former Belgian champion Gilles Thomas and the 11-year-old grey stallion Chuck Marienshof Z (Colestus x Emerald van 't Ruytershof), a breeding product of Sandra Ecker of Stal Marienshof. Thomas and Chuck Marienshof Z, who have been in excellent form in recent weeks, made their first appearance on Friday with a ^4th place in the 1.45m class. On Saturday, they then rounded off their weekend with a ^6th place in another 1.45m class.

During that 1.45m class on Friday, French rider Antoine Ermann managed to secure a podium finish on the 10-year-old stallion Delirium Zoetendaele Z, a son of Diamant de Semilly and Der Senaat 111 born to breeders Carine and Arnold Lootens. A clear^1st and^2nd phase earned them a nice ^3rd place.

Besides the five-star competition, the last few days in Cannes also saw two-star jumping, in which a Z-horse also managed to excel. Ermann's compatriot Arnaud Fontenelle and the 8-year-old stallion Copy Harry Z, a son of Copycat Z and Cessna 10 who was born in Germany to breeder Michael Duvenhorst, did just that. Fontenelle and Copy Harry Z provided a top result on Friday with a resounding victory in the 1.45m class. In a class against the clock, they sped to the finish in 62.67 seconds, almost a full second ahead of the rest of the field of competitors. During the CSI2* Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon, they confirmed this performance by finishing another ^eighth. Then a jumping fault in the basic round kept them out of the decisive jump-off.