Daughter of Dieu Merci by T&L Z wins CSI4* World Cup of Riyadh

Within the World Cup circuits of the Western European League and the North American League, people could enjoy a weekend off last weekend, but in the Arab League in the Middle East, people were jumping for World Cup points. There, the new World Cup season kicked off with a four-star competition in the Saudi capital Riyadh and it was a Z-horse that took the top prize!

Riyadh's CSI4* World Cup took place as early as Friday evening at the famous Jump Saudi Arena and brought a total of seventeen combinations to the start. German course designer Peter Schumacher and his team had mapped out a technical course for this first leg of the season, and of the seventeen combinations that took their chances, four eventually managed to get through the 1.55m-high basic course unscathed. One of those four prospective winners was home rider Khaled Almobty and the 10-year-old mare Diana du Plevau Z, a daughter of our stallion Dieu Merci by T&L Z and Kashmir van 't Schuttershof bred by Marc Palm. Almobty and Diana du Plevau Z crossed the finish line in 45.32 seconds in the decisive round, writing this first World Cup stage on their record with great flair.

However, Almobty and Diana du Plevau Z were not the only ones who managed to score in this CSI4* World Cup, as ^3rd place also coloured blue and yellow there. That was done by Spanish rider Pilar Lucrecia Cordon and the 12-year-old mare Pica Pica Z, a daughter of Pilgrim II and Abeltus Z bred in Argentina by Haras Rio Bravo. Cordon and Pica Pica Z, who also achieved a ^4th place in the 1.45-metre class on Thursday, also managed to secure a nice finishing time in 45.61 seconds, but did see a fault in the process.

On Thursday during the opening day, a 1.40m class was also on the programme for the riders of the four-star competition, in which we saw no fewer than two Z-horses make it onto the podium.^2nd place went to Polish rider Adam Grzegorzewski with the 9-year-old chestnut stallion Caramoon Red Z (Exciting x Sandro Boy - breeder: Cindy Schulze), while Canadian rider Lily Elliott took ^3rd place with the 11-year-old chestnut gelding Pesgo Adelheid Z (Priamus Z x Chardonnay Z - breeder: J.I. & J.J. Remijnse).