Dacantos Boy Z shines in the CSI2* Grand Prix of Bourg-en-Bresse

While Italy was the scene of some great competitions last weekend, France also saw some solid competition at international level. Spread across the country, no less than three international competitions were on the programme, including the show in Bourg-en-Bresse. There, Christian Ahlmann and our stallion Dacantos Boy Z stood out with a top ranking in the CSI2* Grand Prix.

Christian Ahlmann travelled to France for the Bourg-en-Bresse show last week and appeared at the start with, among others, our 8-year-old stallion Dacantos Boy Z, the son of Dacantos and Balous Bellini bred in Germany by Martin Dieckhoff-Holsen. On Wednesday during the opening day, Ahlmann and Dacantos Boy Z immediately made themselves heard with a clear round in the 1.40m class, but their highlight of the weekend followed during the CSI2* Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon. The basic round of this 1.45m class proved a particularly tough task, as only seven of the sixty combinations who took their chances managed to advance to the jump-off. Christian Ahlmann and Dacantos Boy Z were one of those seven standouts, keeping all the rails neatly in the jump-off as well. They crossed the finish line in 35.49 seconds, which yielded a nice ^4th place.

In addition to Dacantos Boy Z, Christan Ahlmann also brought our 8-year-old chestnut stallion Astronomic vh Legita Hof Z (Aganix du Seigneur Z x Nabab de Rêve) to the start in Bourg-en-Bresse and they too managed to jump into the prizes. In the 1.35m class on Friday, Ahlmann guided the Guisson family's breeding product clear to the finish and that round resulted in a ^9th place.

Within the CSI2* competition there was also a blue/yellow victory in Bourg-en-Bresse, which was scored by Luxembourg rider Victor Bettendorf and the 13-year-old grey gelding Simolo de la Roque Z, a son of Spartacus TN and Casall ASK bred by Alexandrine Hecart, with whom Bettendorf has already amassed a fine record over the past few years. In the 1.40m class on Thursday, Bettendorf and Simolo de la Roque Z finished in 62.06 seconds, more than half a second ahead of the rest of the field.

Belgian rider Thibeau Spits also managed to secure a place on the podium in this class with the 8-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. In this speed class, Spits and CLoverly DH Z did not make a single mistake and a finishing time of 64.49 seconds put them in ^3rd place.